When it comes to closing complex deals, the decision-making journey from introduction to decision to buy often takes longer than you expect. Unpacking the process with your prospects can produce more realistic timelines. Here’s why.
In his book 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot, Professor Richard Wiseman mentions a study of time management where university students were asked to indicate when they expected to finish an important term essay.
“The students believed they would hand in their work, on average, ten days before the deadline,” Wiseman says. “They were, however, being far too optimistic and in reality tended to finish the essays just one day before the deadline.”
The Planning fallacy
The effect, known as the planning fallacy, is a tendency for people and organisations to underestimate how long they will need to complete a task.
People working in groups are especially likely to have unrealistic expectations.
“Even when they are trying to be realistic, people tend to imagine that everything will go to plan and do not consider the inevitable unexpected delays and unforeseen problems,” Wiseman adds.
Mental Unpacking
If that doesn’t work, you could always try a technique used in a study at the University of Illinois. Participants estimated how long they would take to carry out a relatively complicated activity, such as getting ready for a date.
One group was asked to make their estimates, while another group was encouraged to unpack the activity into its constituent parts (showering, changing clothes, panicking) before deciding.
“Those who carried out the mental unpacking produced estimates that proved far more accurate than other participants,” says Wiseman. “So, to find out how long it really will take you to do something, isolate all of the steps involved before making your time estimate.”
