The Takeaway

Who in sales has not wasted a ton of time trying to get a prospect to move?  They won't return phone calls at a certain point or never have time to make that next appointment or they keep producing new excuses for delaying a purchase, and so on.  Here is the problem.  We don't know what the prospect's true intent is.  Are they going to do business with you or not?

So in some cases, TAKING AWAY your solution to their problem to see how the prospect responds may be a great option.  For example, "Mr. Prospect, I have a concern.  We have been unable to get together to move this process forward.  Perhaps the timing is not right and we should revisit things next quarter.  What are your thoughts?"

It can be tough to do this because of the fear that the prospect may actually agree with you.  If they do, you are saving yourself a ton of time.  Your prospect saves face and they may come back to you when things change.  Finally, you can turn your mental energy and focus to finding a prospect that is ready to do business.

On the other hand, they may express their desire to move forward but for some specific concerns that you need to address.  They may also just apologize for the delay and immediately move forward.