This winter in the northeastern USA, we have been getting hammered with snowstorm after snowstorm.  This is what it looked like as the sun was rising yesterday morning.

It was perfect.  A winter wonderland.  The glow.  White before it browns.  And lots of it.

This my friends, is what it feels like the morning after you close a big deal.  Everything is perfect.  A sales wonderland.  The glow.  Black before it turns red.  And lots of it.

For the salesperson, there is no better moment than the one that occurs immediately after the deal has been completed.  It's the closure that captures and rewards all of the work, effort, energy and resourcefulness that went into getting the deal closed.  And for large, complex sales, that could include conversations that began taking place up to two years earlier.

The customer experiences much the same sense of peace, joy and excitement.  It has gone on for just as long, may be just as important, and the customer finally got what they wanted.  Better still, it's too early for anything to have gone wrong yet.

You can relate to the customer side.  Think of the day that you finally got the car you always wanted.  I'm not talking about your 8th Lexus or your 5th Beemer.  I'm talking about THE car.  Do you remember that?  And what about the day you got the house you finally wanted?  I'm not talking about the first house.  I'm talking about the BIG one, or the summer house.  Do you remember that?  And it was before you discovered the flaws, bugs, or quirks that would drive you nuts.

The moment after it's all closed is the perfect moment for both salesperson and customer, and it can only go downhill from there.  So why do salespeople fail to leverage that moment?

Testimonials, referrals and introductions would be examples of how one can leverage the brand new, happy-as-can-be customer.  But for some reason, salespeople prefer to wait until the customer is happy.  It must be a different kind of happy that they wait for...  Are they waiting to meet the customer's expectations?  Isn't meeting expectations a step or ten lower on the excitement scale than the morning after?  Isn't there a lot that can go wrong between now and then? 

Why leave things as important as testimonials, referrals and introductions to chance?  And why leave it to others - you know - manufacturing, design, engineering, shipping, customer service, billing, IT, the consultants, delivery service, technicians and anyone else that might need to get involved to complete the customer experience.  If you get a referral at that point, it's a testimony to your company.  If you get a referral the morning after, it's a testimony to you.

Do yourself a favor, leverage the moment, and fill your pipeline with opportunities generated from your customers, who are feeling the love, and willing to rave about you.

Education:

Register for Leading the Ideal Sales Force Part 2, on March 12 at 11 AM ET.  (Here is a link to the recording of Leading the Ideal Sales Force Part 1 in case you were unable to attend. 

WEBINAR SERIES - Baseline Selling Open Enrollment