Many sales and business development people are looking at how they are going to finish the year and bring in their outstanding deals to hit quota  so here is a closing checklist to help you. 1) Are you really dealing with ALL the decision makers?  2) Is your proposition a “nice to have” or a “necessity”  what urgency to buy have you created? 3) Have you submitted a quote or proposal? 4) Does your proposal show hard cash savings or revenue gains  with a real ROI agreed with the prospect? 5) What risks do you have to minimize to avoid a no go decision?  5)What else could “your” budget be spent on instead of your solution or service –  how will you counter this?

Don’t fool yourself, if there is the slightest doubt – go back get this information. Make a list of what you need to do to close the deal, with dates, and have a formal closing plan.

The sales person has created a need for the product, service or solution and has probably discussed time-scales for a decision with the prospect.  Great, but what’s the business driver (something happening in the business that is forcing change or action) that is creating the need for the product.

What is the compelling event (the date or deadline for the change or action demanded by the business driver) that is behind the time-scale?

Think about it this way:

Need + time-scale = nice to have.

Business driver + compelling event = must have!

Its tough to admit but ask yourself “are you selling to someone who has a real need or are you trying to sell to someone who has listened to you, and thought it would be “nice to have” what you sell, but its not a necessity”.

Maybe you need some new prospects?