Terrell Owens once said , “ If you align expectations with reality, you will never be disappointed. “ On the other side of that statement is Confucius, who wrote, “ The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work, must first sharpen his tools. “ For a sales professional, we walk a thin line between helping our clients satisfy their expectations, and achieving our own. I would venture to say that a great business relationship takes place when both are met. It has to be a win/win.
Noah Webster defines “ expectation” As the act of expecting or looking forward to a future event with at least some reason to believe the event will happen. If you have properly interviewed a client, listened to their needs and pain points, answered their questions, and appropriately shown them how your product and /or service meets their needs and heals those pain points ; you can reasonably expect to close the deal. I realize it is never that simple. There is a vast difference , though, between hoping I can land a project and expecting to land a project. I can hope all I want, but unless I perform due diligence in preparation, research, showing up, presenting, following up and following through ; hope won’t bring the sale. Only hard work does this, and much diligence.
What about the prospect’s expectations ? How do we properly manage those ? I believe this topic is so vital for a sales professional, because this is our sticking point sometimes. This is where we get caught in the proverbial elevator doors. I find that when I ask enough questions, and properly communicate with the prospect the critical path of our products and process ; then things go much smoother. There are times though, when we become so giddy and excited over the celebration of the sale, that we forget to inform the client what they should expect. Thus they end up with surprises and sometimes even disappointment. Did I take the time to ask them what they expected from my product ? Did they want a self cleaning floor that never requires any maintenance or furniture that polishes itself ? Then that’s an unrealistic expectation that needed to be addressed in the front end of the relationship, not after my product was installed ! I have learned the hard way ( don't we all ! ) that to communicate openly in the beginning sales phase, though risking the chance of possibly losing the sale, is always better in the end. It is to our advantage to head off the problems during the engagement, then end up with a runaway bride or a checked out groom ! Are your expectations grounded in reality ? Have you sharpened your sales tools, and taken ownership of the things under your power, to perfect your work ? Have you explained things up front to your prospect / client ? Then expect good things to happen !
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