Banking Challenges For The Prospect

19 out of 40
48 %

Uncovering the prospect’s pain is an area where you’ve done a poor job. You’ve probably taken some short cuts and assumed too much. If the prospect tells you about his pain, it’s real. If you tell him (or if you assume what the pain is) it’s not nearly as compelling. You probably need to do more qualifying in this critical area. Maybe you’ve been the one who has been doing all the convincing and persuading up to this point.

Here are some suggestions. Are there other issues you can help the prospect with, or have you just found one? Try to determine how long the problem has existed, what solutions have been attempted, whether the solutions worked and what is the financial impact of the problem. Ask what impact the problems are having on the organization as well as on the individuals you’re talking to. Find out if it’s an option to keep things the same, and, if it’s not, what priority this challenge has in the overall scheme of things. Ask when the company wants to start implementing a solution. The acid test for pain is whether or not the prospect has convinced you that there is a problem and that it’s important to find a solution.

Competition

8 out of 15
53 %

Looks like competition is pretty strong. It's critical for you to find out why the prospect would consider leaving their existing bank. Have you found this out? Don't be afraid to ask that question. You’re not being used as “column fodder”, are you? Are they asking you to come in just to provide a proposal so they can use it to negotiate a better deal with someone else? Don’t be afraid to ask that question either (nicely, of course). Finally, there's the hassle of changing banks. Deal with that potential problem as early as possible. Use the "biggest concern" tactic, like this. "Mr. Prospect, my biggest concern is that we'll spend a lot of time going back and forth and several months from now, even though you might be inclined to switch banks, you'll find the hassle involved will be too great and you'll decide to stay where you are. What's the liklihood of that happening?" This will tell you how serious they are.

Decision Process

23 out of 50
46 %

You don’t appear to have a good understanding of the prospect’s decision process and this will hurt your chances of closing the business when you deliver your proposal. Here are a few ideas to improve your chances in this important area. You may be working with someone has no authority to make or possibly influence the decision and you would benefit by gaining greater access to the ultimate decision maker and others who might influence the decision. Make sure you understand what the prospect’s decision making criteria are, how much weight each carries and that you know exactly what they want to see in your presentation so that they can make a decision without additional information. Before you make your presentation, try to get them to agree to give you a decision at that time. Ask them if they would accept your proposal if they felt it was the right solution and fit their financial requirements. Telling them that if they do not see your solutions working for them, they have permission to tell you “no”. This will help you get a decision instead of a “think it over”. Finally, have you developed an inside coach or advocate who will fight to get you in and do you know who in their organization, if anyone, is going to sabotage your efforts? All this is a lot of work, but will pay dividends if you follow our advice.

Financial Qualification

2 out of 5
40 %

This prospect may not be the best candidate from a financial point of view. There may be some unanswered questions that you need to determine, such as their credit worthiness and the profitability of the opportunity. Do that before you get too far down the road.

Rapport

17 out of 20
85 %

People buy from people they like, and it appears you have developed good rapport with this prospect. While this will go a long way toward helping you get this business, don't forget the importance of qualifying completely and following the sales process.