Think You Understand Your Sales Deal? Here’s What You Might Be Missing.

You know the Opportunity. You've talked with the buyer, understand what they say they need, know who you've been working with and have a reasonable idea of what is supposed to happen next.

But maybe something doesn't quite add up.

The deal isn't moving the way you expected. The buyer seems interested but won't commit. Or perhaps nothing is obviously wrong—you just aren't completely confident that you have the full picture.

That uncertainty is worth paying attention to, because one of the biggest risks in a sales Opportunity isn't what you know. It's what you think you know.

What do you know—and what are you assuming?

As you work an Opportunity, you naturally develop a story about it. You might believe the buyer likes your solution, price is becoming the problem, your contact can get the purchase approved, you're ahead of the competition, or the buyer wants to get this done this quarter.

Any of those things could be true. But what evidence do you have?

For example, a buyer saying your price is high doesn't necessarily mean price is preventing the purchase. A supportive contact may not have enough influence to move the decision. And a calendar full of meetings doesn't necessarily mean the buyer is getting closer to buying.

There's an important difference between what you know and what you've concluded.

What haven't you accounted for?

Some information gaps are obvious. You know what you need and can go find it.

Others are harder because you haven't recognized the gap yet. Consider:

You don't need perfect information to sell. But you do need enough of the right information to make good decisions.

Before deciding what to do next

When an Opportunity feels uncertain, doing something can feel better than doing nothing. Another email, meeting, proposal revision or call at least feels like forward motion.

But another sales tactic doesn't necessarily solve an information problem.

Before choosing the next action, it may be more useful to ask: What am I missing?

Sales Blueprint Architect is designed to help you get a clearer picture of an Opportunity by surfacing information gaps, assumptions and risks that may deserve your attention.

Better decisions start with understanding what's actually happening in the deal.