In professional selling, the sale is never truly closed until the contract is signed (or until the check clears). Chances are, you know from hard-earned experience just how many things can go wrong at every point in the sales process. One way to help minimize surprises for both you and your prospect is to create verbal agreements at appropriate steps throughout the sales cycle.

In this context, verbal agreements are discussions that provide clarity to both buyer and seller about the nature and direction of the sales process. Keep in mind that your first job as a sales professional is not to sell a product or service — your first job is to manage the sales cycle. Only those who effectively manage the sales cycle are in a position to effectively present the product or service to the prospect. An un-managed sales cycle not only results in a far higher rate of ‘no’ than a well-managed one — it also leads to more lost time and a greater risk of serious problems with the buyer even if they select your product.

Your competitors are probably not managing the sales cycle at all, which means that just by taking the effort to do so, you are already differentiating yourself. And verbal agreements are a key part of managing the sales cycle.

Pretend that you are an employee with the buyer’s company, assigned as a coach to work with the buyer and ensure that the buying employee makes the best decision on behalf of their company — not only on whose product or service to purchase, but also on what the company needs to do both before and after the sale in order to get the best out of their investment.

You’d advise that employee to have a clearly defined process; look at multiple vendors but not an endless list; avoid getting caught up in too many details; define the project goals and recognize that success is as much about internal effort as it is about an external vendor; and be clear and consistent when communicating with vendors.

In other words, you’d run a sales cycle that makes sense for both parties. And by using verbal agreements at key steps, you can do just that.

Examples of Common Verbal Agreements

Examples of common verbal agreements in sales cycles can include the following:

1. Making sure that you both agree clearly about the number of vendors (including you) being considered.

2. Insisting on a reasonable ‘ask’ from the prospect in return for your time and effort (for example, the opportunity to do a pre-sales needs analysis meeting with key executives in return for preparing a detailed proposal).

3. Clarifying the decision timeline and asking for confirmation about who makes the final decision.

4. Emphasizing that both companies have to come to agreement — and that this is standard practice for your company (i.e. if the customer wants discounts, special features, customizations, etc. then they have to present terms that work for the vendor — i.e. sell to you as you sell to them).

5. Reiterating that at the end of the process, money will change hands in return for the product or service being selected, and confirming that the customer is to be ready to write a check or otherwise make that investment.

6. Asking for evidence or documentation to back up claims the prospect makes about these questions about decision time-frame, selection criteria, confirmed budget, etc.

Verbal agreements also show that you take the buyer seriously and that you are loyal enough to your company to be proactive in protecting its interests, while also working to avoid any potential confusion that could arise in later parts of the sales process.

Taking Next Steps

If you are hesitant because you think it will be off-putting to make some of these statements, try it out and see your prospects respond in most cases with respect and responsiveness. And remember, prospects who don’t respond well to a professionally presented and fair-minded verbal agreement are not dealing with you in good faith. In other words, they’re lying. Aren’t you better off knowing that now, rather than later in the sales cycle?

Verbal agreements are good business practices for both sides in the sales process, and by taking the time to develop and present them to your prospects, you’re doing both sides a favor and demonstrating your own self-discipline and professionalism as well — both of which are factors that can also differentiate you and your company, and help close the deal.