The Old Speed You Up To Slow You Down Trick

 This week I ran into a classic trap with a professional buyer that cost me time, money, credibility, and potentially the deal. Just one moment of letting my guard down sucked me in like quicksand. It was the classic speed up tactic and this week we’ll discuss how to spot this technique and what you should do to avoid it. 

I’ve been in sales for more than twenty years and over that period of time have coached and trained thousands of sales professionals. On hundreds of occasions I have warned them not to get sucked in by a buyer who begins speeding the sales process up. But this week, I’m embarrassed to say , it happened to me and unfortunately by the time I realized I’d been had, it was too late.

It all started rather innocently when a prospective customer called me out the blue a few weeks ago. We had a productive first meeting and there were numerous positive buying signals. We followed that meeting up with a formal proposal, presentation and Q&A session. After that meeting we followed up with one more call where we thought every signal indicated that we were going to get the deal. We were certain that this would be a slam dunk.

Then two days later we received a call from buyer in this company’s purchasing department asking if we could execute an NDA. Getting handed off to purchasing should have been my first clue that there was more to this deal than met the eye but I conveniently ignored the sign and went to work getting the NDA reviewed by our attorney. Less than 24 hours later the buyer called back to ask where the signed NDA was. We explained that it was going to take a few days because our attorney needed to review it first. At that point he sounded flabbergasted and said that he needed it as quickly as possible because they wanted to move fast on this.

I hung up, called our attorney and pleaded for a quick turnaround. He then put aside other important documents to get the NDA back to us. Once the NDA was in the buyers hands he called back. It seemed that he needed a draft copy of our agreement by the next day because they wanted to get everything signed. I responded that that we were engaged with other clients and it would take several days to get an agreement over. But he kept insisting that time was short and they were ready to get the deal done. What followed was a flurry of activity in which we basically pulled several members of our staff off other projects to fulfill the buyers request. We pulled strings, jumped through hoops, and finally and proudly sent the buyer the agreement on time. We still missed the clue.

I followed up with a phone call to ensure he had the agreement and to answer any questions. He said they were reviewing it but he needed more data. An itemization and comparison of our prices and services, along with a few other requests that didn’t mesh with where we thought we were in the sales process. But eagerly we turned and burned and got everything to him.

And then there was silence. I day went by with no contact. We called and got voice mail. Then two days. Then three. The deadline the buyer initially gave us for when they wanted everything signed and in place passed.

Finally I got the buyer on the phone I asked him when we would have the signed agreement back, his response was something like this, “Oh yea, we are working on that. We have several companies we are looking over and just have more data to go through. We’ll have an answer for you in a few days.”

I responded, “I had no idea that we were in a competitive situation?”

He said, “Oh I thought I told you that.”

Bam! Right there and then I knew I had been used. Looking back all of the clues were there but I was so anxious to close the deal and so certain that we would, that I refused to see them. And this buyer had leveraged my desire to close to get me to reveal my hand without having to show any cards on his part. As I thought about it, I knew that it was very likely that there was an incumbent vendor in the account all along that we did not uncover with our qualifying questions; and we got used to support their negotiation efforts with that vendor. The result was wasted time, effort, money and emotion.

But it didn’t have to be this way. The “Speed You Up to Slow You Down” technique is a favorite of buyers. It works because even veteran sales pros like me who know better will fall for it when they desire to close the deal overwhelms common sense. The key to combating this technique is not to get sucked into it in the first place and there are a few tips that will keep you from the embarrassment I experienced this week:

1.      It the deal looks to good to be true it is. While sometimes sales gravy rains from heaven and you get lucky breaks, having a big deal that requires little to no work drop in your lap out of nowhere is a reason to be suspicious. Instead of jumping right in like an eager beaver be sure to ask the same hard qualifying questions you would ask any prospect and do not engage unless through questioning you feel the opportunity is real.

2.     Never give without getting back. Buyers will take from you until you scream no mas. In my experience the more you give without getting back the less respect they have for you and, as in our case, the less likely you will get the deal done. So no matter what, make it a practice to ask for and get something back with each request.

3.      Manage your emotions. There is nothing salespeople love more than to close a deal. We live for it. For some of us it is an amazing high. To win you must get your emotions under control. Desperation as well as over anxiousness shows and buyers will use it against you. So learn to be like a duck. Calm above the water even though you are kicking like crazy beneath the surface.

4.      Control the timeline. As salespeople we often forget that buyers need us more than we need them. They can’t do their job without us – especially without our proposals that they use to compare against the competition. That actually gives you much more control that you may believe. So don’t be afraid to set the timeline, offer alternative dates, and even say no. And remember, speeding things up is almost always to the buyers advantage while slowing things down is almost always to the salespersons advantage. 

This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy, for more tips to help you close bigger deals and earn higher commissions get your free subscription to Sales Gravy eMagazine at SalesGravy.com. And please be sure to check out all of our incredible podcasts right here at QuickandDirtyTips.com.