How To Close When The Prospect Tries To Cancel Via Text

You’ve been at the office all day. Smiling, dialing and setting an appointment with anyone who’ll set one with you. Finally, you get someone on the hook. The say they...

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You’ve been at the office all day. Smiling, dialing and setting an appointment with anyone who’ll set one with you. Finally, you get someone on the hook. The say they are coming to your office about 15 minutes before you close shop. It’s about 20 minutes until closing time now. You get a text. You look down at your phone. The appointment canceled. SONOFABISH

The only thing worse, is when the prospect texts you saying they’ve changed their mind and need to cancel the order. 

These days, thanks to text and email, breaking up is no longer hard to do. Text and email remove the emotion out of the process for many prospects. But what can you do? How do you deal with clients to cancel and break up with you via text? 

Cancelations via text are just typical objections in digital form

I’ve written articles about this before, but you must treat text messages the same way you treat face to face objections. You handle them and press forward. 

If you were selling face-to-face, you’d remove the emotion, increase the perceived value and handle the objections. Text cancelations are no different. A text cancelation is just the prospect’s way of avoiding a good decision. Most people are scared to death to make a good decision. Chances are, your prospect is no exception. 

First, let’s think of some common reasons prospects cancel appointments and back out of deals:

-Not Enough Time

-Price Too High

-Spouse/Partner No On Board

-Found A Better Deal

-No Longer Need The Product 

Take the time to make your list of reasons. List them all. I just named 5 common objections in less than 30 seconds. You should list about 20-30 reasons they might cancel and flake out on you. Once you get these reasons written down, write the solution next to them.

For Example

-Not Enough Time —> Bring Product To Them

-Price Too High —> Increase Perceived Value

-Spouse/Partner No On Board —> Offer To Speak With Them

-Found A Better Deal —> Offer To Match and Bonus

-No Longer Need The Product —> Re-sell or Ask For Referrals 

Once you finish this exercise you can move on to the next step. Remember, you should have 20-30 objections and 20-30 comebacks.Study these every day for 60 days and you’ll be a stone cold closing machine. If you want to get real freaky with it, add the most common comebacks to your “text replacement” in your phone. I do this and it saves me so much time. 

Ok, so now that you’re prepared for the objections and cancelations, it’s time to change their mind. Remember, face to face and text to text are no different. The same universal laws of communication exist. This means you have to remove ego and emotion in order to press forward. 

The AFS (average frustrated salesman) either ignores the text, tries to call (no) or takes it personally and lashes back out at the prospect. None of these work. You can’t call someone who canceled via text. They are obviously uncomfortable and don’t want to talk. You’ve got to use persuasive sales skills via text. 

Most salespeople don’t know this but one of the main keys to closing is simply asking a second time. No sh*t it really works. When the prospect’s “no” isn’t as strong as your “yes” they tend to fold and conform to purchasing. Simply asking a second time can make all the difference in the world. A simple reply with “I’m sorry you don’t have time to come by today. I’d like to come to you. Where can we meet?” can make the difference in no sales and mo’ sales. 

Still, the prospect feels safe via text and they usually have really poor text skills. Modern salespeople need to be just as good at selling via text as they do at selling on the phone or face-to-face. While others work on being good on the phone, the phone is dying. 93% of all phone calls go unanswered. Yet 90% of texts are read. You tell me which is more important to get good at…

If you have superior texting skills, you’ll be able to be equally as persuasive via text as you are in person. Sure, they can ignore you and not text back, but if you hit them with the right words and questions, you’ll lure them right back to you. 

The true key is mindset. Your mindset needs to be that text cancelations are no different than face-to-face objections. Your job as a sales pro is to handle and overcome these objections. As we evolve, more and more conversations are going to be had on text and not in person. Embrace it, get good at texting and man up.

If you’re looking for help with your texting skills and persuasive writing, our Entourage Mastermind is the place to get started. Join our network and you’ll learn skills that will last you into the next 20 years in sales. Plus, you’ll be surrounded by professionals who will support and help you succeed. 

AUTHOR
Ryan Stewman

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