This month I’ll focus on timing, specifically, the short window of opportunity that exists with most senior level executives. Your window of opportunity remains available only while you are in front of that person. As soon as you leave, your prospect is on to the next burning issue and you become out of sight and out of mind. Getting that prospect’s attention a second time becomes much more challenging and, in many cases, impossible. To succeed with this prospect, you must quickly get his attention and cover enough ground in the first meeting to get a commitment to work together. This actually shortens the sales cycle in what is typically viewed as a very long sell cycle.

So the million dollar question is how do you cover all of that ground in such a way that you can get a commitment, after one visit, even in an industry where things don’t move that quickly? The key is in asking good, tough, timely questions to establish your S.O.B. quality. What’s that? Find out by reading Baseline Selling – the chapter on getting to 2nd Base.