You crank out more phone calls than you can count. You do everything possible just to get an appointment. What do you do when someone finally shows you some buying signs?
Too many sales people take the approach of, “I’m still waiting to hear back… they promised to call me when they are ready to move forward.”
Are you kidding me?!!!
I’m going to share two examples from my own personal sales experiences. These are things that I’m constantly working to improve upon. I hope these points help you win more deals!
Get Those Questions Answered
When a prospect sends you a long list of questions they are either…
- A HOT prospect on the brink of making a decision
- Testing your company’s “response ability”
- A “see more” who has nothing better to do
Two of these three scenarios are great news for you! That’s why it is critical that you respond quickly, thoroughly, and accurately.
We once had a prospect who, out of the blue… following months of follow up, sent us a complicated question. We didn’t know it at the time, but she sent the same question to three or four of our competitors who had also been pursuing her firm.
We jumped on the opportunity and focused on a quick turnaround to provide an answer. She later revealed that my team provided the most thorough and accurate response. It won us the deal!
Go Get that Paperwork!
I remember another scenario where I had been working an account for about a year-and-a-half. There were many times when I nearly gave up on the account because I thought it would never come through. At every opportunity, I sent value added information to keep working my way up the prospect’s priority list.
One day, I got an “unsolicited” email reference letter from a current client who was gushing about our company’s product and operations team. As I had done many times before, I used it as a value added opportunity and forwarded the email to my slow moving prospect.
The next day, I called the prospect. The receptionist informed me that he wouldn’t be available that day… So I called again the next day. This time he took my call!
I asked, “What did you think about the email I sent you?”
“I’d say that’s (pause) a pretty nice feather in your cap Doyle.”
I laughed and said, “It sounded like you were about to tell me that it was enough to finally have you come on board…”
“Well… why don’t you bring over the paperwork. Let’s take a look at our calendar.”
“Are you kidding me?” (laughing)
“I was going to ask if you were sitting down.” (smiling)
Here comes the important part of the story…
“I’ll come out there today, what time can you fit me in to your schedule?”
“I’ve got a lot going on today… I’ve got to do A, B, and C, and my schedule will depend on a document I’ve been waiting for.”
“Are you expecting the document to arrive this morning?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will call you right after lunch and we can figure out if you have enough time to fit me in toward the end of the day. If it today doesn’t work, we can look at tomorrow.”
“OK, that sounds good.”
I called him right after lunch and there was no answer. I followed up with an email that read, “I just left you a voice mail with the ‘after lunch’ call I promised you. Give me a call when you return.”
One hour later, I called him again. Once again, there was no answer. I chose not to leave another voice mail… but I sent him a second email with two simple questions, “How is the day working out… can you fit me in today at 4 PM?”
About 30 minutes later he replied, “Come on over… I’ll be ready for you!”
Some people will read this example and think I was being too pushy. Remember, I’d been working on this account for over a year-and-a-half. If he wasn’t ready, I knew he would shut me down. Believe me, he’d done it plenty of times before.
There was trust and a mutual respect for one another. I’d learned to gauge his mood, his voice inflection, and his answers to questions. His responses told me that he would be willing to sign paperwork if he could just fit me in. The opportunity was there.
When the buyer is ready, they are just as excited as you are. Carpe Deal’m… Seize the Deal!
0 comments:
Post a Comment