Hopes and dreams (not to mention time, energy, and money) vanish in an instant. Of course, that would never have happened. Why?
Because you would not have purchased the land without first performing your due diligence (such as examining the survey and structural analysis reports) and determining the parcel to be suitable for the intended use. If the particular piece of land was unsuitable for your dream house, you would have searched elsewhere for a more suitable parcel on which to build.
And, you wouldn’t have engaged an architect until you had secured an appropriate spot. After all,it wouldn’t make sense to invest time and money developing plans for your dream house if you have nowhere to build it. Right?
Until you’ve completed your due diligence—stringently qualify the opportunity—and you know you’re on solid ground, you shouldn’t be working on “blueprints”—proposals and presentations.
First and foremost, you must thoroughly understand your prospects’ situations—the challenges they are facing, the problems they are attempting to solve, and the goals they desire to achieve. Additionally, you must be able to view those situations from the prospects’ points of view—rather than through the lens of any preconceived ideas you may have. And that means doing a lot of “asking” before you do any “telling.” Until you fully understand the outcomes prospects are after (and the events that precipitated the desire for those outcomes), you’re not yet on solid ground.
To determine if you can earn best-fit status, you’ll need to know the expectations and priority prospects assign to all of the various aspects of the sale—initial investment, total cost, delivery, implementation, service, and so on.
Copyright Sandler Training
