Behind closed doors

It’s true, while you’re left anxiously waiting by the phone or refreshing your email, your potential customers are deep in internal discussions. In fact, 95% of the time in a sales process, the real action is happening behind closed doors - without you. This creates a huge challenge for salespeople: how do you influence a conversation you’re not even part of? Whether it’s trying to anticipate objections or wondering if your value proposition is being communicated accurately, this time spent in the dark can be a major source of anxiety and uncertainty.

I want to get in…!

So, why does it take so long for your prospects to move from initial interest to signed contracts? The reasons often boil down to the size and complexity of the company you’re dealing with. Larger companies have more departments, each with its own set of priorities, making it harder to get everyone on the same page. For example, a mid-level manager might be excited about your product, but they’ll need buy-in from IT, legal, procurement, and possibly even HR. Then there’s the labyrinth of approval processes - each department has its own criteria that need to be met before they give the green light. Now don’t expect your mid-level manager to be experienced in this. And this is good news: He or she will be happy for any help driving these dialogues they can get. However, all this internal wrangling leads to weeks, sometimes months, of discussions where you’re not present, but where the fate of your deal is being decided. So you better prep your manager well.

The unspoken conversations

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what goes on behind those closed doors. No matter how strong your relationship is with a prospect, there are certain conversations they’re just not going to share with you. For instance, they might be discussing budget constraints, potential internal resistance, or even alternative solutions. These are sensitive topics, and companies often prefer to keep them in-house. Another example is a discussion about internal politics - maybe someone in the company is pushing for a competitor’s solution because they have a personal stake in it. These are dialogues that can make or break your deal, but you’re unlikely to hear about them directly.

The challenge of knowing what’s true

One of the toughest parts of this process is figuring out what’s true and what isn’t. Let’s say a key user tells you that their company is fully on board with using cloud applications. Great news, right? But if you don’t dig deeper - asking questions about hosting preferences, cloud security assessments, and compliance issues - you might be setting yourself up for a nasty surprise down the line. Maybe the IT department has serious concerns about cloud security that haven’t been addressed yet, or perhaps there’s an internal policy that no one bothered to mention. Assuming everything is smooth sailing can lead to major roadblocks later, especially when you find out the hard way that what you thought was a done deal still has a lot of hurdles to clear.

Keeping your foot in the door 

There are ways to always keep a foot in the door so you can hear what’s going on without them noticing. The key to overcoming these challenges is to make sure you’re involving the right people from the start. Rather than relying solely on your main point of contact, work to bring all the relevant stakeholders into the loop. This means providing them with the necessary information in a structured, digestible format - whether it’s detailed project plans, technical specifications, or even simple FAQs. By ensuring that each knowledge owner has what they need, you increase the chances of getting reliable feedback on where the deal actually stands. And don’t forget about the inexperienced buyer champion; they’re often your best ally if you arm them with the right tools to navigate their internal discussions.

Key takeaways