How to conduct a "pre"-mortem

Want to know one of the smartest things you can do to win more sales? Try to figure out what might go wrong before a meeting. Rather than waiting until the game’s over to find out why you’ve lost, think about what could go wrong way ahead of time—when you can still make a difference.

When I think about the business I’ve lost over the past years, three main themes come to mind:

• • I overlooked some critical piece of information.
  • I wasn’t working with the right decision makers.
  • My prospect decided it was easier to stay with the status quo than make a change.

Knowing that these are my main areas of concern gives me the ability to think about them before I meet with my prospects. If I feel that I’m missing some vital info, I’ll stop and ask about it before I rush blindly forward with my pitch. If I’m concerned about my relationship with the entire decision team, I’ll focus on solving that before I make a big mistake. And I’ll continually check with my prospects to gauge their feelings regarding the case that I’ve made for my solution.