What proportion of deals are lost to "no decision" rather than competitors?
Sales teams are under a lot of pressure to close deals and increase their conversion rates. To do this, teams have to come up with strategies that will convince customers to invest in their products and services rather than in competitors’.
However, this statistic shows that while competition within the marketplace can still impact the close rate of B2B companies, the majority of deals lost come from “no decision” customers rather than from competitors.
This is a significant challenge that many sales professionals and businesses face: potential customers delay or altogether avoid making a purchasing decision, resulting in missed opportunities for revenue generation.
Sales teams spend a lot of time and energy trying to convert prospects into actual buyers. They reach out, create personalized pitches and take into consideration customer preferences when engaging with them.
And when a prospect leaves because of “no decision,” it can feel as if those efforts were all for nothing.
So what can businesses do to ensure that this doesn’t happen?
The key is to be transparent and personalized.
Be creative with how you approach potential customers and keep in mind that if you don’t have a comprehensive sales process or if the prospect just doesn’t understand what you are offering, they probably won’t make the purchase.
Being transparent about prices and your product will help build trust and improve comprehension.
Companies must also focus on creating meaningful connections by showing that they understand the needs and values of each individual customer. Personalization will solidify trust within your prospect, ensure an interactive sales experience for them, and help streamline the sales process considerably.
Well, firstly, some prospects are just difficult to work with. Some customers take a really long time to respond and are constantly changing their goals and preferences.
But even still, there are many systems and platforms that your sales team can put in place to help reduce the chances of losing prospects within the pipeline to indecision.
One system in particular that is specially equipped to assist sales reps with nurturing prospects and converting them into customers is sales enablement software.
Sales enablement software is designed to enhance B2B sales processes, increase the effectiveness of sales teams, and close more deals, faster. These tools can include CRM software, content management systems, and digital sales rooms.
Focusing on digital sales rooms, in particular, digital sales rooms are especially effective at increasing close rates for B2B companies. Especially for prospects that are unsure if the solution being offered is right for them, digital sales rooms help foster a comprehensive sales process by helping prospects fully understand what they would get out of the product or service early on in the sales funnel.
This transparency throughout the entire sales process is incredibly effective at identifying unqualified leads very early on so that the pipeline does not fill up with unqualified, “no decision” prospects.
For prospects that reach the point of indecision, not because they are unqualified, but because they are disengaged, digital sales rooms are also effective at generating interactive sales experiences for customers so that they remain engaged throughout the whole process.
By creating interactive sales experiences, prospects will be more likely to trust the company and purchase the solution being offered.
Sometimes losing customers to “no decision” is inevitable. But to avoid this problem occurring too often, you should come up with compelling strategies that take customer preferences into account and help keep the process clear and transparent.
Also, invest in sales enablement software like digital sales rooms to ensure that you have an interactive sales experience for customers. By doing so, you will have better chances of closing deals and getting positive results from your efforts.