Sales are not always won or lost because of what happens in a sales call, but in the void between calls. Why?

1) Retention. Someone once told me that a lecture is the quickest way to get the notes of a professor into the notes of a student, without passing through the mind of either. A sales presentation can be very much the same. As you know from your school days, students only retain a small percentage of what they are told. Ten per cent retention is typical. It's also clear that what we do remember has a short half-life. In other words two weeks later we recall even less.

2) Waning urgency. When you leave, focus dissipates as new issues arise. As a result, the buyer's sense of urgency will diminish and new concerns may move to the front burner, pushing your project to the back burner.

3) New options. Even if you did a great job in the pain step, once the buyer becomes aware of a pain, fear or gain she actively begins to search for options. As new options appear and your customer's concept of the solution evolves, you may lose traction.

4) Mutual mystification. Unfortunately, it's also possible the buyer was not being completely strait-forward with you. If a call ends in mutual mystification, you are reduced to guessing and hoping what will happen next.

You need to build a bridge to cross over these gaps. Here are the top 3 rules for managing the spaces between the calls.

RULE #1: Never 'spill your candy in the lobby.'

David Sandler taught me what this means. Recently I read that Ross Perot--the founder of EDS--was also a practitioner of this concept. The buyer always asks you for things--information, quotes, demo's, proposals, answers to questions, references. They want these things from us.

What are they going to do with these things? It depends on the buyer Sometimes they want the information to help them make an informed decision, sometimes they want it and have no intent of buying from you. They want FREE CONSULTING and find sales reps ready and willing to give it away if there's a glimmer of hope that there's a deal. Sometimes they want information from you to help justify the purchase of somebody else's solution. In every country and culture I have visited around the world, people believe they can lie to sales people and still get to heaven.

Regardless of the reasons, what happens if you freely give them everything they want, right up front, without getting anything in return? YOU SPILLED YOUR CANDY IN THE LOBBY. You squandered the little bit of leverage you had going in. The best time to get a commitment from someone is when he or she wants something from you. I used to think that if I was a good guy and worked real hard, they would buy. This approach will turn you into a selling mammal--a hamster on a wheel--working hard and getting nowhere.

Back to Perot. Whether you liked the man as a Presidential candidate or not, he was a successful entrepreneur. He built EDS from nothing to a global powerhouse. He would hold a 'pre-proposal' meeting with the customer. He'd pass out a DRAFT proposal, so that it could be discussed and critiqued. If it was accepted without much change, he'd try to close on the spot. If it required change, he'd pick up the copies and leave, rather than leaving them with the customer. Why? As long as you are still working on the proposal, you have a reason to stay in contact and an ability to influence the outcome. As soon as you hand a final proposal to the buyer you surrender all control of the process to them.

RULE #2: Avoid mutual mystification.

Two common versions of mutual mystification are:

1) Being used as leverage

Avoid being used as leverage in a pricing battle with the person's present supplier. When a buyer immediately wants your best price and gets restless when you slow them down and ask questions about their specific needs, a warning should go off.

2) Mistaking mild interest for commitment

When a prospect says: "Could you send a proposal?" remember there's a difference between someone who is truly committed, and someone who will allow a proposal to enter his mailbox. Proposals should be "Agreements" and not documents that will be paraded along like contestants in a beauty pageant.

How can you, in a professional way, test commitment?

Test commitment by asking about details and building an action plan.

What could get in the way of getting this project off the ground? Is there a way to prevent that or deal with it? Who else will need to be involved? Who will do what and when? Are there any key deadlines?

Test commitment by pointing out potential negatives. It's tempting to gloss over discussions of risk. Though it's natural, it's wrong. It's wrong because if you don't point out potential pitfalls you don't get to test commitment. It's wrong, too, because you miss-set expectations.

When you point out the negatives it increases your credibility? You are also increasing your leverage and your ability to separate 'verbally committed' from 'truly committed.'

RULE #3: The faintest ink is better than the fondest memory.

Written follow up--a recap letter or an 'Ultimate Contract'--can help you cross over the voids in the sales process. It will provide an additional impression or touch between calls. Since it's written it also helps improve retention. Students recall about 10% of what they hear, but 20% of what they hear and see. Product literature or big, thick, fancy proposals won't have the same effect, either. Think about it. What do you do with literature or big, thick proposals? We all have a 'reading pile.' Few of us ever read much of it!

The follow-up email should recap the key points of the conversation, including:

1) The problem. It is especially important to make sure you cover the pain step. Restate, from notes you took during the call, the business problem you are trying to solve, it's impact on the organization, quantification of the impact and cost, and the personal importance of the problem to the person you met with. It's most effective if you use their words, not your own interpretations.

2) A high-level solution concept. Ideally the concept is primarily built based on your customer's vision. It's their baby. Retention is increased to 80% when students are involved in doing--developing answers or solutions on their own. In addition, if it's their baby, they will fight to defend it in the spaces in between contact with you. If the CFO tries to deny it sustenance (funding) they will fight for it. If the competition presents an alternative solution, they will have to tell your customer that her baby is ugly.

3) Project funding and timelines. Real projects have real deadlines and real budgets. While you may not get this on the table in the first call, at some point it has to be discussed.

4) The decision process. Next steps are great. Even better, wouldn't it be nice if you could co build a plan to move through the entire due diligence process--from today to the ultimate 'YES' or 'NO?' Again, it may not be the first meeting, but top sales people 'see the end of the deal at the beginning of the deal.' This plan then becomes the ultimate bridge between the steps of the process.

Good Selling!