Through your perseverance, determination and great emailing, you finally land an appointment with a prospect during your sales blitz. You walk in with your sales collateral and “goodies” and after a few awkward moments of small talk (Oh, your granddaughter is adorable, um, that’s my youngest daughter or something less embarrassing but just as inauthentic), you launch into your sales pitch. You, of course, leave time (or at least you think you do) for questions at the end. During the appointment, your prospect takes several calls (you insist, of course) though she seems entirely engaged with your presentation, smiling and laughing and even adding her own comments. You finish and ask for those questions and she says, “You know, I really don’t have any. It sounds good and I have another meeting to get to. Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.”
Okay. Okay! At tomorrow’s sales meeting, you’ll have something to report.
But what? Because she said she had another meeting, it would have been disrespectful to continue to probe. On the other hand, this one simple thought will change everything: Take back control.
I’d say, “Thank you for letting me know that it sounds good and that you have another meeting. I’m delighted you’re interested in (fill in your blank here – but not about your product or service, about the benefit she’ll receive) in helping your team feel confident when they prospect, with tools that help them grow business. If we don’t connect (give an ample amount of time) within the next few weeks, I’ll follow-up with you then. Thanks again.”
By taking back control, I don’t feel weird, or have to come up with some devious scheme to have a reason to call back. I can get on the phone or start the email with,” Hi Name, As promised, I’m following up…”
I also could have asked for her commitment to my call back. I could have said, …I’ll follow up with you then. Will that be okay?” If you ask that, though, be prepared, just in case she tries to take back control by saying, “Oh, that’s okay. I appreciate it but I’ll call you back when we’re ready.” (If this happens, you can always go back to, “Perfect. Thank you and if we don’t connect before the end of the year, I’ll stay in touch.”
Yes, there are about a million other things that could be done to make that sales call better. Here are a few:
-Upgrade your sales presentation into a sales conversation
-Leave the goodies home and send them as a follow-up with a handwritten note
-Be prepared with how you’ll start the meeting (you control it!) by knowing what small talk you’ll use (if any) and how you’ll transition into your business conversation (hint: make it about their time and be real!)
Want more? I’d be honored to learn more about your company to see if I can help you create winning sales conversations. From email prospecting to F2F sales conversations, How to Say it to Sell it determines your sales success. Master your sales conversations and you sky rocket your success.
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