Every master salesman has been there…
You’re in the middle of heated negotiations. You know THEY need your product, THEY know they need help, but THEY won’t budge on their budget, or expectations. You’re doing all you can to get them to the finish line and close them but it seems as if it’s just not going to happen today.
What do you do?
Most salespeople will throw a hail mary. Meaning, they will try some ultra douchey, ultra pushy move to either make the prospect jump off the fence on one side or another. Often times this tactic results in the prospect politely telling the sales rep to “fuck off” and they end up buying from another source.
After this type of alternative ending to your sale takes place it can crush you. It can crush morale, crush your winning streak and leave you wondering what you did wrong, for months. After all, you tried everything you could to close them. You had their best interests in mind but they took it on the offensive and blew you and all your hard work off. In the words of Lauren Hill “you might win some but you just lost one” it stings every time…
Instead of going all hardcore and overly pushy on the prospect, to get them to close, what could you alternatively do?
Over the last 7 years, the way I close sales has done a complete 180. When I started this site, I was one pushy, overly aggressive motherfucker. I loved making people uncomfortable and pushing them to the breaking/closing point. I was the take away king! If the prospect didn’t one call close with me I blew them off and chased a fresh lead down. Now days my method is completely different and way more effective.
In the era of social selling, one call closes are few and far between. It’s not that people don’t want to buy your products, it’s that they get distracted, they need facts and they simply forget to buy from you. According to company statistics, only 7% of prospects are ready to buy on the spot. That means that 93% of your prospects need more than one call to get closed.
The problem is, that if 93% of the prospects you talk to are gonna need a follow up or two, and you go all hardcore closer on them in the first call, the follow up is gonna be awkward and unwelcome. If you pissed them off on the first call or even made them feel uncomfortable, they will likely not answer your follow up and they will likely go buy elsewhere.
Knowing that only 7% of your prospects are gonna be one call closes, means you need to switch up your approach to be a multi-touch per prospect strategy. You need to plan on speaking to your prospects at least 2 times before the sale. The first call should simply be a discovery call paired with a hard sell to a second follow up. If they happen to close on the first call it’s a bonus, not an expected outcome.
Focusing on the follow up only makes sense.
Sure you can be assertive and ask the business. If they give you objections, handle them and set a follow up. I’ve even been know to hold a prospect off from buying until the second call. In my business this increases the stick rate. I make sure they know I’m not all about jumping into bed with them immediately. We got at least one follow up coming before we close the deal. I’m selling long term relationships, so I don’t have to be in any kind of hurry. Hurried decisions lead to sales attrition.
What I’m saying is that when all else fails to close the prospect, follow up with them. After you’ve tried everything but bullying them into the sale, try following up. If the call doesn’t end in a close, the sale is the next call. Every time. If you try and bully the prospect, there will be no follow up. Position yourself to get permission to follow up from the beginning of the sales call.
We all know that people buy from people they know, like and trust. Follow up creates familiarity and allows them to decide if they like you enough to buy from you. The more you follow up, if you’re good, the more they will like and trust you. People want to know they are needed as a customer and that the salesperson actually cares. Follow up shows just that.
The average prospect needs to be followed up with 17 times before they buy. Even red hot buyers need multiple touches before they 100% commit and submit payment. We live in a fast paced world full of distractions and most prospects have to be in just the right place and right time to get them to pull out their wallets. The more you follow up with them, the greater the chance you’ll hit them at that magic moment.
For more info on how to approach social selling, how to follow up and how to dominate in online sales, join our billion dollar network. Yes that’s right, our network does over a billion per year in sales, and you can join us and add to it today. More info at www.breakfreeacademy.com/entourage
