Listen instead on your Monday Morning Drive:

In our industry, we often view a proposal or a confirmed order as the only goal of our conversations with potential clients.

But what happens if you don’t get that far?

Do you write that prospect off entirely? Are you missing other valuable opportunities to nurture these relationships? And how do you deal with a prospect who only wants to speak to you through an RFP?

The Problem With the RFP Mindset

Many of us fall into the trap of being an “order-taking organization.” We wait for a prospect to bring us a Request for Proposal (RFP), and then we provide a quote. In this scenario, potential customers perceive that they’re only valuable to us if they have a job for us to quote.

But what if another provider approaches this customer and changes the conversation? They might find a way to be valuable to that customer without requiring an RFP.

When that happens, we no longer get RFPs from that buyer. They’ve found a better relationship elsewhere, one that doesn’t require an RFP to solicit advice, ideas, or solutions.

Two Scenarios for Non-Buyers

When we don’t receive a confirmed order from a prospect, or the prospect isn’t ready to provide one, one of two scenarios results:

1. The prospect puts themselves in a parking lot.
2. We put the prospect in an intentional parking lot.

The key difference is that in the second scenario, we don’t park the prospect and ignore them. We park them and nurture them.

Asking the Right Questions

Asking open-ended questions determines what kind of parking lot a buyer will live in.

Instead of asking, “Tell me about your next event,” ask, “What types of events does your group do?” The answers give us the information we need to nurture the relationship appropriately until the next opportunity to work with that prospect comes along.

The prospect in this example may reply,

“We mostly do fundraising events.”

“Fundraising?”

“Yes. We’re a non-profit and rely on major donors to fund operations.”

“Operations?”

“We’re a food bank, but rather than seek food donations from individuals, we buy bulk surplus, so we have the right combinations of food products to fill the family boxes with balanced meals. We solicit donations and volunteers.”

From here, I can respond, “This sounds like something my company can help you with. Tell me more about your ideal donor.”

This conversation doesn’t always end with a deal. Maybe the prospect is just tire-kicking or they want a better idea of the AVL companies out there.

But by asking open-ended questions, you better position yourself as valuable when the prospect does have a job you can do.

This is a parking lot situation.

The Parking Lot Mindset

A parking lot is a designated, organized place where customers who aren’t ready to buy can be marketed to based on their needs, circumstances, and the information we’ve gathered.

If a prospect is in a parking lot, that doesn’t mean they don’t hear from you. If a prospect doesn’t hear from sales, they need to hear from marketing.

When we move a prospect to the parking lot, the sales task reverts to a marketing task. In sales funnel terms, the “opportunity” moves back up to “prospect” or “lead.” But now, we know more about them.

Nurturing Parking Lot Prospects

The marketing term for what happens in the parking lot is a “drip.” A “drip” can be a newsletter, a lead magnet, anything sales or business development touches, or a customized email sequence.

The key is to use customized drips to lead the buyer to the next step. Here’s a typical five-email sequence:

1. Thanks! Here’s how to stay in touch.
2. Speak to a specific problem the prospect has and end with a CTA.
3. Share an example/case study + CTA.
4. Share a specific insight or FAQ + CTA.
5. Tell the prospect when to contact you next + CTA.

Emails 2–4 are custom pieces for each parking lot based on the prospect’s specific status. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Final Thoughts

Take control of the parking lot and show prospects the way out. Turn non-buyers into valuable future opportunities by asking the right questions, segmenting prospects intentionally, and nurturing them with targeted content.

It’s a shift in mindset from being an order-taker to a true partner. And it starts with changing the way we view and handle our conversations with potential clients.