You made the original prospecting call, you got the appointment (face to face, telephone or online), and you delivered your pitch. Now what? You are at a critical stage in the sales process, and it is vital you know exactly what is going to happen next.
Unfortunately, many salespeople do not get a firm commitment from their prospects with respect to the next steps. They hear, "Let me think about it" or "Let me run this past my boss" or "I'll get back to you in a couple of days," and they think the sales process is moving forward.
However, the truth is that these brush-off statements indicate that the prospect has little or no intention of moving forward. At this stage of the game, it is important to start asking tough questions — questions that will prompt your prospect to think about the decision-making process, questions that your competition is not asking, questions that help you clearly understand what you need to do to keep the ball rolling.
