When 'yes' from your prospect really means 'no'

From the prospect after we'd had two calls, a proposal walk-through, and a verbal yes:

"I believe we have preliminary approval on our end. I'll let you know when I hear more, hopefully next week."

Then…

…

…

…

…8 weeks and 3 email check-ins later…

"I hope everything is well with you. I have been waiting for approval at the district level, but unfortunately it does not look like we will be able to move forward with this project."

Before you think this is a story about something that happened 15 years ago when I was a fresh young thang in business, I got that no-go message just last week. 

Everyone had been excited about the project. 

I'd had calls with my point of contact as well as key stakeholders. 

They'd given me a verbal yes during our second call. 

But in the end it was a no. 

Has this ever happened to you? That project's looking all greenlight-y and for funsies you start moving its projected revenue into the secured section of your sales forecast?

(If you've been in a business for awhile, I already know the answer. If you're new, it will.)

Even though they LITERALLY SAID YES WE WANT TO DO THE PROJECT, I had not gotten the Big YES. 

For the project/client to count for reals, you need to secure the Big YES which involves 3 parts: 

1. The Verbal Yes — They say to you out loud (or in an email) “yes, I want to work with you” or some version of this.

2. The Emotional Yes — They are emotionally bought into the idea of working with you and committed to taking next steps.

3. The Logistical Yes — They complete the contract signing or enrollment process and make their (initial) payment.

For short-hand you can think of the Big YES as an acronym:
 

Y = yup
E = emotional
S = signed and/or sent money

(For my fellow emoji lovers it's this: )

You do not have the Big YES without #3.

You can get #1 but not #2 and therefore not get #3. (This is what happened to me in the story above.)

Or you can get #3 but be missing #2 which can lead to issues down the line when you’re working with your client. 

Now, there are a lot of factors that play into each of the three parts of the Big YES. 

Some of these factors are outside of your control like budget cuts or internal priority shifts. 

Factors that ARE in your control include your positioning, how you attract and filter for high-potential prospects, and how you package and present your offers.

The Big YES is essentially conversion, but the concept of conversion can be rather broad and nebulous.

When you look at conversion through the 1-2-3 lens of the Big YES, you can more precisely pinpoint where to make improvements and focus your efforts accordingly. 

So what do you think? When you think back on the last few projects you proposed that didn't get the green light, is it useful to understand the three parts of the Big YES and consider where it might have gone wrong?

We have lots of free and low cost resources to get you started. Explore what's available here. 

And when you're ready, schedule a no-cost, no-obligation chat with Lisa.