“Most sales people think of the walk away strategy as a strategy of last resort. In essence, they use it as a strategy to finally walk away when it’s obvious that they don’t have a prayer of winning the deal. The UnSelling professional looks at this strategy very differently. We adopt the philosophy that effective selling is entirely about the client’s success, regardless of whether we are the chosen solution provider. And that to really know how to help the client succeed we must have enough information about the client’s issues, challenges, and goals to be able to provide a thorough, well-thought-out recommendation and solution. Without this information we’re likely to be guilty of the selling equivalent of malpractice (if you think back to my analogy of the doctor who is asked to prescribe medicine to the patient who is unwilling to confess their pain).
Here’s an example of the what Rick Page has termed the “Walk Away” strategy: A prospect calls you and asks you to provide them a proposal as they consider replacing their existing system that they have used for the past 5 years. They contend that they want to keep this a level playing field between competitors and for that reason they will only allow 7 days for your proposal to be submitted and they won’t allow you to talk to any key stakeholders or allow you to gather any information over and above the 15 page RFP requirements document. Sound familiar? I’d venture a guess that every experienced sales person has faced this scenario at least once per year, every single year!
My advice the next time this occurs: have another small, polite confrontation and use the walk away strategy to do so. To do this well, you’ll want to first define what the prospect will have to allow you to do (i.e., access to 3-4 key stakeholders, access to key information about the current system/challenges, and likely more time to assess their situation in order to develop a credible recommendation for the solution) in order for you to provide them the value that they deserve. When you do so, and explain why these steps are for their benefit, you’ve now shifted the decision as to whether you stay in the competition or walk away to the prospect. If they say, “sounds reasonable” you now have both the time and information you require and therefore a reasonable chance to differentiate your solution in this competitive situation. On the other hand, if they choose not to honor your reasonable request for time, access, and information, you are safe in concluding that they weren’t really looking for your best answer, just a proposal and price quotation that helps them justify their intent to choose someone other than you in the first place.
To be effective in this approach, you have to make it clear that you would love to help this client, regardless of who they decide to choose but you’re only able to provide that help if the client truly wants your firm’s best thinking on the technology/approach to helping them solve their problem. And you have to be seriously committed to this attitude. In other words, when the client says “no” to your reasonable request, the surest way to a subservient buyer-seller relationship is for you to then backpedal by saying, “I understand, tell me again when the proposal is due?” even though you are absent of any facts that allow you to either add value or differentiate your solution as a result.
One final application of this concept – the walk away strategy can also be used when the client is heading down the wrong road and is likely to be unsuccessful in their endeavor – which also means you’re likely to be unsuccessful if you are the vendor of choice. So often, optimistic sales people will defer the confrontation and “hope” it will all turn out right, and of course it rarely does. If the client is about to drive the train off the tracks, tell them the truth and show them how to get it back on track. After the discomfort of the initial confrontation, you and the buyer will be well served and your credibility will be that much better in the eyes of the client.”
Excerpt taken from “UnSelling: Sell Less to Win More”