Risk & Business Magazine Cain Insurance Spring 2016 | Page 14

What’s the Prospect Really Saying?
Look Past the “Buying Signals” and Ask More Questions
BY: ERIC FRY, MANAGING PARTNER, SANDLER TRAINING

M

aria was quite certain she’d laid the
groundwork for a really big order.

Her prospect, Bert, was asking lots of
questions during her presentation. He
was smiling a lot. He was nodding his
head. He was sending all kinds of classic
“buy signals.” Near the end of the meeting,
Maria asked Bert what he thought of
everything they’d discussed. Bert looked
her right in the eye, nodded, and said:
“You’ve done a great job, Maria. I’m
definitely inclined to place the order this
week.”
Maria smiled, shook Bert’s hand, and
made her way out of the building. She felt
she had reason to celebrate! She’d been

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working on this deal for months.
That afternoon, she entered the new
account on her quarterly income
projection, with a closing probability
of 100% – and a hefty commission for
Maria – and emailed the projection to her
manager.
By the end of the week, though, Bert
had stopped returning Maria’s calls.
Another week went by, and then another.
Eventually, Maria learned from Bert’s
assistant that her company had lost the
deal at the last minute to a competitor.
What happened? Had Bert lied? Not
exactly. It would be more accurate to say

that Maria had misunderstood. She had
been listening to Bert with “happy ears.”
He’d told her that he was inclined to place
the order this week. He hadn’t, however,
made any commitment to place the order
with her – or anyone else – at any time.
If she’d figured out what the prospect was
really saying, she might have been able to
secure an agreement from Bert to allow
her to revise her offer in the event that a
competitor swooped in. She didn’t do that,
though … because she was listening for
what she wanted to hear.

Clarifying Prospects’ Statements
Prospects will sometimes make statements
that, on the surface, sound positive, but on