Now is the Time to Master Financial Conversations

While these are admittedly challenging times for many, I still see a lot of sales being made among the companies we are working with. The biggest difference in selling today is the amount of time it takes for sales to close, especially compared to the last few years. But some sellers aren't feeling any pain - their sales aren't taking longer in spite of the economy - and yours don't have to either.

It used to be that companies would choose to move forward with a solution within a few weeks, or months, at most. Yes, some sales processes could still take a year, but on average, it wasn't as hard to close the sale if you'd done your due diligence and stayed focused on the opportunity.

Financial justification is the biggest blocker in today's economic environment, especially considering that companies have become ultra conservative with their spending. It's for this reason that most sellers shy away from asking tough financial questions, when in reality this could be a key to their success. People are looking for answers. The executives and principals of the companies you work with want you to help them financially justify their decisions.

If you can help answer their important financial questions - in a responsible and informed manner - you'll close the business.

Now is the time to master financial conversations. You don't have to have a Masters degree in Accounting like I do to do it, either!

With some specific questions, you can gather information and provide well informed answers as to "why" a company should spend money with you right now. You can help decision makers validate the expense, prove to them that you're cognizant of their fiscal responsibility and help them make solid business decisions.

If you feel you aren't at your best during financial conversations, don't worry. Follows is a quick example of how things might be handled more effectively.

Recently, a new prospect was making the decision to move forward. He had three choices: us, a competitor, or do nothing. The prospect had a specific business objective in mind based on the company's long term strategic direction: increase their new customer base year over year.

During a financial conversation, the client and I determined their new customer target needed to be 27%. We estimated the revenue increase the company could expect from a 27% increase in new customers. Then we designed and financially justified the project with this business objective in mind. Needless to say, we won the opportunity!

By having a financial conversation early in the process, I was able to establish an important business results goal for the client, tailor our solution recommendation, and financially justify our proposal based on the client's own challenges and needs. You can do the same.

To hold the financial conversation, help your clients identify the business results they need. Question for:

• The cost of avoiding the business issue or initiative you are addressing. Establish what the issue is currently costing the client's business. Identify how much of the organization is impacted, how significant the issue is, and the cost to the client's business in not resolving the challenge. This is what the client will save.
• The financial benefit in addressing the business issue or initiative. Determine any new revenue the client will realize, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Look across the whole organization, and project it over the next 3 years.
• The financial threshold of the issue. This is the amount they're willing to continue losing to live with the issue instead of resolving it. Demonstrate how your solution will yield positive business results more attractive and less risky than the financial threshold.

Kendra Lee is author of "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the Small & Medium Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. For more information, contact the company at +1 303.741.6636 or info@klagroup.com or visit www.klagroup.com.

KLA publishes an industry-leading online newsletter. To subscribe and get a free Quota Gap Calculator ($18.95 value) visit www.klagroup.com. For information on sales training, call 303-741-6636.