In the forum section of a web site that provides information and resources for sales and marketing professionals, a contributor presented a scenario and asked fellow readers to submit their suggestions of what he could do to speed up the selling process of an opportunity that seemed to have bogged down.

Here is a summary of his scenario:

• The salesperson has developed a relationship with the prospect based on trust and respect.
• The prospect has expressed the desire and need for the salesperson's product, has a budget in place to purchase it, and has the authority to make the buying decision.
• The prospect feels that the salesperson presented the most convincing value proposition and understands how the product will help him reach his intended outcome.
• The prospect has not voiced any objections throughout his interactions with the salesperson.
• The prospect is holding off making his buying decision.

The readers' responses were numerous and quite diverse, and some, a bit cryptic. For example, one reader suggested engaging the prospect in a "management of change" conversation. Another reader suggested uncovering the prospect's "motivation strategy" and then, using NLP techniques, discussing the product in a manner consistent with that strategy. Discussing "the cost of inaction" and contrasting it to "the ROI of taking action" as a way to encourage the prospect to act more quickly was also suggested. One reader suggested a more pragmatic approach: simply ask the prospect to reveal his objection or the obstacle to moving ahead with the sale. As varied as they were, all the suggestions submitted relied on the following assumptions:

• The prospect's timeframe for discovering a best-fit solution and his timeframe for making a decision coincide.
• There is an obstacle, uncertainty, or objection responsible for the prospect's delay in making a buying decision.
• The prospect can be persuaded to modify his action to satisfy the salesperson's needs.

Viewing the prospect's delay in moving ahead with the sale as a "problem" to be remedied most likely is not an accurate assessment of the situation. Suppose the prospect's timeframe for making a decision is weeks down the road. If the prospect has no need to make the decision today or is unable to immediately act on a positive decision, then not making a decision now is not a delay tactic, but rather an appropriate action consistent with his plan.

The real problem is that the salesperson is not aware of his prospect's plan. A correlative problem for which the salesperson must also take responsibility is making a presentation without knowing what was going to happen at its conclusion.

So, what can the salesperson do?

At this point, it's unlikely that he can do much, if anything, to speed up the prospect's side of the selling cycle. In the future, however, he can do a better job of managing his time and expectations by determining the prospect's view of the cycle in the early stages of the process and also determining the prospect's timeframe for making a decision. He will have a benchmark by which to determine if the cycle is actually bogging down, or if it is moving ahead as planned. And, he will be able to schedule his presentation close to the decision point on the timeline.

Also, when scheduling the presentation, the salesperson should develop an agreement with his prospect to let him know where he stands at the conclusion of the presentation. That may mean giving him a buying decision; or in a more complex selling situation, telling him if he's still in the running for the next round of decisions.

If the salesperson invests more time uncovering his prospect's process and timeframe for taking action in the early stages of the selling cycle, he'll spend less time later trying to solve "problems" that don't need solving.