Growing Sales During COVID-19 – Part 2: Closing Outstanding Business

New sales will be slow. Organizations are still adjusting to cash flow challenges, shifting priorities, and reallocating budgets. However, waiting for business to return to normal is not a strategy.

In Part 1, we discussed maximizing existing client relationships to drive revenue. Now, in Part 2, we focus on how to close outstanding deals—those in the final stages before the pandemic but never made it over the finish line.

💡 Key insight:
The longer a deal stays open, the less likely it is to close—pandemic or not. The key is eliminating the unknowns, creating common ground, and providing a clear path forward.

👉 Follow these four steps to reignite stalled deals and bring them to a close.

Step 1: Revisit the Pre-Pandemic Environment

Today's businesses face a radically different landscape than when they first engaged with you. To move forward, you must first look back and understand why they initially considered your solution.

What to Do:

✅ Revisit the original reasons they explored your offering.
✅ Understand their pre-pandemic business conditions.
✅ Pinpoint the challenges they were trying to solve.

🔹 Example Questions to Ask:
✔️ What initially led you to consider this product/service?
✔️ How was your business performing before the pandemic?
✔️ What were the key drivers of your revenue growth at that time?
✔️ Were there any internal or external factors influencing your decision?

💡 Goal: Establish the original buying motivation and uncover the core business drivers that mattered before the crisis.

📢 Sales Tip: This conversation can get derailed quickly with discussions about how everything has changed. Keep the conversation focused—acknowledge the changes but steer them toward providing specific answers.

Step 2: Reaffirm the Value of Your Offering

During uncertain times, buyers question everything—including decisions they were previously confident about. Even if they were ready to sign before the pandemic, they need to revalidate the value.

What to Do:

✅ Get them to articulate why they wanted your product/service in the first place.
✅ Have them restate the expected ROI or benefit.
✅ Rebuild their confidence in the purchase decision.

🔹 Example Questions to Ask:
✔️ What were your expectations when we first discussed this?
✔️ What specific results were you hoping to achieve?
✔️ What problem were you most excited to solve?
✔️ What concerns did you have before? Do those concerns still exist?

💡 Goal: Have the buyer state in their own words why your product or service mattered to them before everything changed.

📢 Sales Tip: It’s easy to assume they still remember the value—but people forget. By making them verbalize it, you reinforce the importance of moving forward.

Step 3: Define the Known Factors & Future Outlook

Uncertainty kills deals. The more unknowns, the harder it is for a buyer to justify moving forward. Your job is to help them separate facts from fears.

What to Do:

✅ Identify what has changed in their business.
✅ Clarify what remains constant.
✅ Determine their plans for adapting to the new landscape.

🔹 Example Questions to Ask:
✔️ You mentioned that outdated reporting was the biggest driver for considering a switch—will reporting still be a priority moving forward?
✔️ Do you see your core revenue drivers changing?
✔️ What are the biggest risks you see in your industry right now?
✔️ How long do you anticipate before your business returns to pre-pandemic levels?

💡 Goal: Shift the conversation from what’s uncertain to what’s still necessary and valuable.

📢 Sales Tip: If you handled Steps 1 and 2 well, they’ll start to see which parts of their business remain unchanged—making it easier to justify their investment.

Step 4: Position Your Solution in the New Environment

Once you’ve established what’s changed and what remains the same, it’s time to bridge the gap between their current situation and your solution.

What to Do:

✅ Adjust your messaging to fit their new reality.
✅ Offer creative solutions to reduce immediate risk.
✅ Present flexible options (e.g., extended billing, phased implementation, "use now, pay later" models).

🔹 Example Questions to Ask:
✔️ Given what we’ve discussed, do you see any reason we wouldn’t be a good fit in the new environment?
✔️ How can we make it easier for you to move forward right now?
✔️ What is the most significant risk of finalizing this deal today?

💡 Goal: Help them visualize how your solution fits into their current strategy and remove any roadblocks.

📢 Sales Tip: The fear of spending money will always be present, but if they still have the same needs, your job is to make the decision as risk-free as possible.

Final Thoughts: Closing in Uncertain Times Requires Reassurance, Not Pressure

🚀 Successful salespeople don’t just push for a deal—they guide prospects toward confident decisions.

If you want to close outstanding business:
✅ Revisit the original business case—why did they consider you in the first place?
✅ Reaffirm your value—let them restate why they wanted your solution.
✅ Define the knowns—separate real concerns from emotional hesitation.
✅ Position your solution accordingly—adjust your approach to fit their current situation.

👉 Bottom line: Buyers are cautious, but they still have problems to solve. Your job is to rebuild trust, eliminate unknowns, and create a clear path forward.

🚀 Stay tuned for Part 3: Future Opportunity Growth!