FundingStrat

 

Recap:

On our Sales Process map, if each Stage is a mile marker on the highway to Funding, the roadways in between the markers are the Phases.

 

Here are all the Phases:

 

• Phase 1 – The Prospecting Phase

 

• Phase 2 – The Consulting Phase

 

• Phase 3 – The Application Sending Phase

 

• Phase 4 – The Application Reeling-in Phase

 

• Phase 5 – The Submitting Phase

 

• Phase 6 – The Closing Phase

 

• Phase 7 – The Contracting Phase

 

• Phase 8 – The Contract Reeling-in Phase

 

• Phase 9 – The Closing Stip Reeling-in Phase

 

• Phase 10 – The Funding Phase

 

Each one of these Phases has specific steps to complete to get to the next Stage, and there are Key Steps to take in each Stage to accelerate your sales cycles and closings.

This is what it looks like when we put it all together:

• Stage 0 – Start:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• We have prepared and are ready to engage our Lead, pick up the phone and make contact.

Next:  Phase 1 – The Prospecting Phase

 

• Stage 1 – The Prospected Stage:

            How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Lead has been pre-qualified and confirmed to be a Prospect worth pursuing.

Next:  Phase 2 – The Consulting Phase

 

• Stage 2 – The Consulted Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Prospect has been consulted about their goals/needs/obstacles, how our solutions can help them achieve their outcome, and has confirmed they want a quote.

Next: Phase 3 – The Application Sending Phase

 

• Stage 3 – The Application Out Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Application has been sent to the Prospect, and it has been confirmed it was received.

Next: Phase 4 – The Application Reeling-in Phase 

 

• Stage 4 – The Application In Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Application is in with all supporting paperwork.

Next: Phase 5 – The Submitting Phase

 

• Stage 5 – The Submission Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Funding Package/Application has been submitted to Underwriting.

Next: Phase 6 – The Closing Phase

 

• Stage 6 – The Pitched Approval Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Approval(s) have been pitched and sold to the Prospect.

Next: Phase 7 – The Contracting Phase

 

• Stage 7 – The Contract Out Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Prospect has demonstrated intent to fund, requested contracts and we have sent them out.

Next: Phase 8 – The Contract Reeling-in Phase

 

• Stage 8 – The Contract In Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The signed Contract is in.

Next: Phase 9 – The Closing Stip Reeling-in Phase

 

• Stage 9 – The Closing Stips In Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• All closing stips UW need to fund are in.

Next: Phase 10 – The Funding Phase

 

• Stage 10 – The Funded Stage – End:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The deal has funded, great work!

 

*Phase 7 – The Contracting Phase*

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Altify’s 2017 Business Performance Benchmark Study found these to be B2B CEOs’ most important strategic focus:

 

87.3% – Customer Retention

86.5% – Revenue Growth

73.1% – Profit Growth

65.2% – Operational Efficiency

64.6% – Increased Market Share

38.0% – Cost Reduction

 

Customer Retention edged out all the others for the #1 most important strategic focus.

 

Why?

Keep on Reading!

 

At 150 miles above the earth, one skill trumps all: not panicking!!  Or, better said: staying cool under pressure.

 

Up there, panic means almost certain death.  Succumbing to it is to make mistakes, override systems, disregard procedures and react impulsively.  Thinking clearly goes out the window, and the survival brain kicks in to run the show.

 

Panic has its root in fear.  Fear is a survival instinct that fires off stress hormones (epinephrine/cortisol) to make us more alert to potential and real danger.

 

That fight or flight response hard-wired into us has truly served us throughout the millennia, but if left unchecked, it can really get in the way of our Results.

Keep on Reading!

 

When to use it?

 

Before deploying the Utility Close or even presenting terms, first question asked when pitching Approval.

 

What does it sound like?

 

“With funding in place, what date are you looking to start your project (Key Business Outcome)?”

 

Specific Ex.

 

“With funding in place, what date are you looking to buy that inventory?”

 

How it works?

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I’m a bit leary of the word success, it makes me a bit queasy now when I see it written.  What it represents is great, but as a word, it has been overused and abused over the years.  This abuse has watered it down – it has been so broadly used that it really means nothing on most cases.

 

Success in what specifically?

 

Successful at what specifically?

 

We’ve all stumbled onto and been hooked into one of those articles that hang around the home page of a search engine that reads a headline like “10 tips for success.”

 

When we click on it and start digging in, one tip will read something like “make sure to eat a banana first thing in the morning” and another will go “always listen to your heart,” and yet another: “cornstarch your slacks.”

 

Great.

 

These are really relevant, actionable and will truly help me achieve the results I’m after.

 

Results are specific.

 

You’re either about making Results happen, or you’re everyone else.

 

Funding Pros must be Results-focused.

 

The legend, J. Gittomer spells out his tenets for success in sales.  For Funding Pros, these are the tenets to follow to achieve superior Results:

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