Educating is Closing...Relationships are Revenue!
How to revive a client who disappeared into the black hole
We have all had that (for sure sale) prospect who just suddenly disappears from your radar. They were so interested. He told me he saw so much value. Just days ago he was all over this product.
In the beginning it's like a relationship with a high school girlfriend. Let me explain. You first think this sudden disconnect must be an isolated incident and you don;t worry much expecting it to fix itself. But then another day goes by and she hasn't called you back yet. You're getting worried now. You frantically start phoning and phoning and emailing and phoning, you get the picture. Until you begin to question your own sanity and start asking what did I do wrong?
See sales is all about mastering relationships.
I'll tell you what went wrong and why they “moved on but you didn't” ( see relationships! Sound familiar?)
What follows is simply a collection of my ideas why they disappeared on you.
1.They actually are as busy as they are saying they are... No questions asked this is the main excuse. Sound familiar “I have way too much on my plate right now to look at this”, “I am swamped right now, call me back next month/quarter. “ I fully intend to continue our talk, just not now. Those are equivalent to “ It's not you, it's me” “ We can still be friends” ( see relationships, I told you so)
2.Things change... Face it your not priority one. Things change overnight in most industries today. Markets, bad 1/4ly results, new decision makers ( This is my most frustrating, so much hard work put in and now you start all over again. If they will even listen to you.) When any of these reasons surface, you can almost expect momentum has stalled and it will not be a short term fix. Rebuild the relationship. The real selling starts when they say no.
3.You didn't create any urgency...one of the biggest mistakes I used to make in selling was not learning how to tell when they are intrigued by your offering vs. actually committed to using your solution to create immediate change. Instead of blabbing your mouth about all the wonderful things your product does, help them build a business case about how it will make them more efficient or more money or how you helped a similar client. TELL STORIES that help them relate. If they ever say these words “YOU'RE RIGHT” you have a sale every time.
4.There actually is a buying process they have to follow... Ever Since the market collapse companies are appointing positions to pay attention to spending. Policies are being put in place and the infamous “write-off” amounts are shrinking. When your prospect tells you they have to go to bid or I need a purchase order # or I have to justify this to the bosses. They likely aren't blowing smoke up your butt they are being honest. It is up to you to determine this by asking the right questions to smoke out the real decision making process. Sometimes they are just ashamed to admit there are other people, places and things involved.
5.They are genuine know it alls... They needed information for later or for others. You willingly called or came in and did your dog and pony show and gave them the information they were seeking. Why do they have to talk to you any further. Executives HATE talking to sales people. BAD sales people I should say. Those who master this endless library of skills called selling ensure that there is a commitment on the prospects side to move forward. Make something happen in between each contact.
Bottom line is some things you can control and others doesn't matter what you do you can't win. What you need is answers. Are they still interested or not? Yes or no? Do I keep calling and visiting or go after others?
I know you are nodding your head as you read this because we all hear this. Doesn't matter what you sell or where, or who. It is simply part of the buying process. So you are thinking “yay Steve, great advice, you have taught me nothing” Keep reading my friend because I have figured this out.
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO...
When you cannot explain why it is that they have fallen silent come back to these strategies and try one.
1. Just Keep Trying... it is not the prospect responsibility to find time for you or make any effort to contact you. They have business expectations to meet. It make take 10 attempts to get on their calendar again. Who cares, this is normal and acceptable and expected at times in my world.
2. Value per minute... every time you earn their ear for a few more minutes you better be ready to use it wisely. Do not say things like touch base, or just getting back to you to answer any questions you may have. Instead try this; “Based on our conversation last week I know how important it is to you to get your projects done on time, on budget and on scope. There's a white paper on our website that addresses this specific issue and i just need a couple minutes for you to realize if you need to speak with me ever again. My value is that transparent.
3. Use your sense of humor... If you go 4 or 5 times with no luck reconnecting then time to get creative. A colleague of mine is so good at this. He will email things like:
In the subject line of an email it would say THE # 1 thing on my Christmas list this year...
In the body of the email he would send this :
The # 1 thing on my Christmas list is a call to you Mike. You are a fortress my friend. Or is it something I said? Either way I have been a good boy this year and we can talk about anything. The fiasco behind the Pete Rose story, or how badly the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing or the price of tea in China. As long as we're talking I am happy.
It may sound outside of the box to you and cheesy or some may even think I am off my rocker, but I will tell you this guy would get so many responses from the “ black hole” apologizing for not getting back to him and offering appointments again that I became a huge fan of using humor. If you can make them laugh, then you can make them buy.
4. Don't keep doing the same thing... if you left voice mail last time, then email this time and send articles next time. If they ever deem you as a pain in the ass you're done. You must be a resource to them. Every time you make a real contact with them you better be educational, informative and a good listener.
5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket... meaning you should try to secure multiple people in every company. The more champions you have the better. You can use them as leverage to the black hole victims you actually want to speak with.
6. Were you just a tour guide?... Did you show them every thing you had and do more than 50% of the talking? Then that explains it. Focus on the business outcome and differences you can make to people/process.
7. Plan what happens next... there should be a mutual understanding of what is happening on each end of the buying/selling process. If they struggle with committing to an action of some kind then red lights should start flashing to warn you. I better dig a bit deeper exploring their needs or create that urgency.
8. Learn to let go and let em off the hook... Send an email stating that you thought they were interested, but perhaps you misjudged the situation since you haven't heard back from them in the last 6 weeks. Believe it or not, this strategy often gets a response & an explanation from a prospect who is feeling guilty about not reconnecting.
If you can commit to trying one or more of these ideas and strategies I am willing to wager you can re-engage a prospect who did the HOUDINI and disappeared. Now it doesn't work every time, but certainly often enough to keep me doing it.
BY:
Steven L. Boyle, CSP
Certified Sales Professional
http://salesjail.blogspot.com/
In the beginning it's like a relationship with a high school girlfriend. Let me explain. You first think this sudden disconnect must be an isolated incident and you don;t worry much expecting it to fix itself. But then another day goes by and she hasn't called you back yet. You're getting worried now. You frantically start phoning and phoning and emailing and phoning, you get the picture. Until you begin to question your own sanity and start asking what did I do wrong?
See sales is all about mastering relationships.
I'll tell you what went wrong and why they “moved on but you didn't” ( see relationships! Sound familiar?)
What follows is simply a collection of my ideas why they disappeared on you.
1.They actually are as busy as they are saying they are... No questions asked this is the main excuse. Sound familiar “I have way too much on my plate right now to look at this”, “I am swamped right now, call me back next month/quarter. “ I fully intend to continue our talk, just not now. Those are equivalent to “ It's not you, it's me” “ We can still be friends” ( see relationships, I told you so)
2.Things change... Face it your not priority one. Things change overnight in most industries today. Markets, bad 1/4ly results, new decision makers ( This is my most frustrating, so much hard work put in and now you start all over again. If they will even listen to you.) When any of these reasons surface, you can almost expect momentum has stalled and it will not be a short term fix. Rebuild the relationship. The real selling starts when they say no.
3.You didn't create any urgency...one of the biggest mistakes I used to make in selling was not learning how to tell when they are intrigued by your offering vs. actually committed to using your solution to create immediate change. Instead of blabbing your mouth about all the wonderful things your product does, help them build a business case about how it will make them more efficient or more money or how you helped a similar client. TELL STORIES that help them relate. If they ever say these words “YOU'RE RIGHT” you have a sale every time.
4.There actually is a buying process they have to follow... Ever Since the market collapse companies are appointing positions to pay attention to spending. Policies are being put in place and the infamous “write-off” amounts are shrinking. When your prospect tells you they have to go to bid or I need a purchase order # or I have to justify this to the bosses. They likely aren't blowing smoke up your butt they are being honest. It is up to you to determine this by asking the right questions to smoke out the real decision making process. Sometimes they are just ashamed to admit there are other people, places and things involved.
5.They are genuine know it alls... They needed information for later or for others. You willingly called or came in and did your dog and pony show and gave them the information they were seeking. Why do they have to talk to you any further. Executives HATE talking to sales people. BAD sales people I should say. Those who master this endless library of skills called selling ensure that there is a commitment on the prospects side to move forward. Make something happen in between each contact.
Bottom line is some things you can control and others doesn't matter what you do you can't win. What you need is answers. Are they still interested or not? Yes or no? Do I keep calling and visiting or go after others?
I know you are nodding your head as you read this because we all hear this. Doesn't matter what you sell or where, or who. It is simply part of the buying process. So you are thinking “yay Steve, great advice, you have taught me nothing” Keep reading my friend because I have figured this out.
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO...
When you cannot explain why it is that they have fallen silent come back to these strategies and try one.
1. Just Keep Trying... it is not the prospect responsibility to find time for you or make any effort to contact you. They have business expectations to meet. It make take 10 attempts to get on their calendar again. Who cares, this is normal and acceptable and expected at times in my world.
2. Value per minute... every time you earn their ear for a few more minutes you better be ready to use it wisely. Do not say things like touch base, or just getting back to you to answer any questions you may have. Instead try this; “Based on our conversation last week I know how important it is to you to get your projects done on time, on budget and on scope. There's a white paper on our website that addresses this specific issue and i just need a couple minutes for you to realize if you need to speak with me ever again. My value is that transparent.
3. Use your sense of humor... If you go 4 or 5 times with no luck reconnecting then time to get creative. A colleague of mine is so good at this. He will email things like:
In the subject line of an email it would say THE # 1 thing on my Christmas list this year...
In the body of the email he would send this :
The # 1 thing on my Christmas list is a call to you Mike. You are a fortress my friend. Or is it something I said? Either way I have been a good boy this year and we can talk about anything. The fiasco behind the Pete Rose story, or how badly the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing or the price of tea in China. As long as we're talking I am happy.
It may sound outside of the box to you and cheesy or some may even think I am off my rocker, but I will tell you this guy would get so many responses from the “ black hole” apologizing for not getting back to him and offering appointments again that I became a huge fan of using humor. If you can make them laugh, then you can make them buy.
4. Don't keep doing the same thing... if you left voice mail last time, then email this time and send articles next time. If they ever deem you as a pain in the ass you're done. You must be a resource to them. Every time you make a real contact with them you better be educational, informative and a good listener.
5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket... meaning you should try to secure multiple people in every company. The more champions you have the better. You can use them as leverage to the black hole victims you actually want to speak with.
6. Were you just a tour guide?... Did you show them every thing you had and do more than 50% of the talking? Then that explains it. Focus on the business outcome and differences you can make to people/process.
7. Plan what happens next... there should be a mutual understanding of what is happening on each end of the buying/selling process. If they struggle with committing to an action of some kind then red lights should start flashing to warn you. I better dig a bit deeper exploring their needs or create that urgency.
8. Learn to let go and let em off the hook... Send an email stating that you thought they were interested, but perhaps you misjudged the situation since you haven't heard back from them in the last 6 weeks. Believe it or not, this strategy often gets a response & an explanation from a prospect who is feeling guilty about not reconnecting.
If you can commit to trying one or more of these ideas and strategies I am willing to wager you can re-engage a prospect who did the HOUDINI and disappeared. Now it doesn't work every time, but certainly often enough to keep me doing it.
BY:
Steven L. Boyle, CSP
Certified Sales Professional
http://salesjail.blogspot.com/
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