“Let me talk internally and get back to you” is when most sellers lose control of their deals.
This is a pivotal moment where the typical seller loses control of the deal cycle by responding with:
“When should we reconnect to discuss internal feedback?”
The requested reconnect rarely happens as the buyer cannot progress the deal on their side sufficiently to warrant continuing the conversation. Subsequent attempts to re-ignite the discussion become requests to “check-in” on the progress (or lack thereof) that the buyer is making.
Don’t fall into this trap. Instead, to maintain control, find out who they need to talk to and the priorities for those stakeholders:
“I’m looking forward to hearing their feedback. I’d love to send snippets of our presentation for their review, so they have relevant context. To make sure I send the right info, can you share who you will meet with and how they would be impacted by the proposed solution?”
Once you understand the above, say:
“We’ve had quite a few conversations – it’s a tall task for you to summarize our takeaways to help your internal team understand the value proposition.
I’ll put together a couple of slides to help you bring your team up to speed on our previous conversations and why we should partner together. Let’s grab twenty minutes before your internal sync to get your input on the deliverable.”
Now, you maintain control of the deal cycle by defining a practical next step/reason to continue meeting while also ensuring that you enable your primary contact to sell internally effectively.
After you get their feedback on your refined deliverable, make sure to schedule a follow-up for no later than a day or two after their internal conversation to continue driving your deal towards the close.
