At one point, Forester Research asked over 300 corporate buyers if vendor salespeople were frequently prepared for meeting with them. While the buyers’ responses to all seven areas covered were disturbing, two should be of particular interest to anyone in sales:
Q. Were the salespeople prepared for answering questions asked of them?
A. 70% were not prepared
Q. Did the salespeople have relevant examples or case studies to share?
A. 78% did not
Upshot: there’s no mystery as to why good prospects are hesitant about meeting with salespeople. They want their questions answered and accurate information before saying yes. It's no surprise that so many sales are lost.