Speed Is No Excuse

Responding to inquiries with urgency is a productive principle, but don’t let your speedy reply cost you.

Recently, my friend Susan provided a prompt, comprehensive quotation in response to a request from a prospect she has been pursuing for months. She was complimented by her contact for her sense of urgency, her thoroughness in addressing stated needs and her competitive price and delivery.

Susan lost the order.

Susan’s quotation was specific and complete. Hers was the first quote received by the prospect. So what happened?

In her haste to demonstrate urgency, Susan drafted her quotation by referring only to the prospect’s request. She did not contact the prospect to probe, clarify and confirm. She lost an opportunity to learn what was hidden within the written request and its stated needs. She missed the chance to build a relationship with the prospect. Susan’s focus on a speedy response reinforced her prospect’s perspective of her company as a commodity and cost her the opportunity to differentiate her business from competitors. Then, it cost her the order.

The prospect sent his request for quotation to five potential suppliers who he views as competing commodity vendors. The supplier who won the deal did things differently than Susan.

Susan’s competitor, Jan, called the prospect and learned what financial benefits would be generated by meeting his needs. She discovered that those needs did not fully reflect the challenges faced by her prospect’s business. Calling him communicated that she was taking his request more seriously. Seeking to learn more about his business separated her from her competitors – one other supplier who called just asked about how best to present his quotation. By focusing her dialogue on his business, Jan revealed that she was more interested in helping her prospect make money than taking it.

Rather than submitting a quotation that targeted the narrow scope of the quote request, Jan’s discussion with the prospect allowed her to propose three optional ways to meet the prospect’s needs. Each option offered her contact choices between amount of value produced, risk and time to receipt of benefits. She knew that people buy from people, not from companies. And people like to have options.

Dialogue with customers breaks the commoditization process. It enables you to learn what the customer values most. It expresses commitment. It allows you to show how your product or service is the best choice for the buyer. But it takes time to gather the intelligence needed to create engaging proposals with options that compel your customer to choose you. Don’t let your speedy reply be the excuse for losing the order.

How does your sales team respond to requests for quote?

What value producing options are included in your proposals?