I am often asked the question:

“How do I know If and How I should follow up with a prospect that showed some moderate interest, but I have not heard back from them recently?”

It depends on each individual situation. In some cases it will be best to let it go immediately and in others it will be best to have a clear follow up process. Each situation needs to be evaluated. I have witnessed sales professionals/business owners chase after opportunities way too long, and I have also helped them implement a highly professional follow up method to eventually do business with very large clients. It is essential that your follow up process does not put the prospect on the defensive or cause any pressure at all.

In general, when someone is not responding to a voice mail or phone call after they showed mild to moderate interest, it means something may have changed. Or it means they realized they showed some interest, but have a hard time saying,”No” and they don’t want to have to tell you that they don’t want what you have to offer. Hence, they just choose to ignore the sales person, knowing eventually they will go away. This sometimes is easier than saying,”No thanks, we have no interest in your product or service.”

So, what can you do? First, in your meeting or conference call where they showed mild to moderate interest, it is essential that the next meeting and next step is clearly covered.(Before you leave!) Ensure it makes sense for your business and for *their business goals* most importantly. Don’t leave the meeting without next action steps in place. That will help prevent all of this. Yet, if it is too late, and that step was missed or steps were canceled or there was a major delay,

Here are some other ideas:

Make it easy for them to say “No.” Let them know, it is ok, if you don’t want and need this, it is not for everyone. You can even tell them,”It is OK to say ‘no’ and that you don’t want this.” Guess what happens when you do this? They respect you, and feel no pressure to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ You are not trying to push anything on them either way, you are just trying to find out if there is a mutual fit or not to do business. You clearly explain that it may not be for them, and that is ok. Make it easy for them to say,”No thanks,” and you will quickly filter out those prospects who are a good mutual fit, and those who are not. You will then find yourself spending more time with those who may be a good fit, versus chasing those who are not a good fit.

So, to tie this back into the question, think about how you can implement this philosophy into your selling, your voice mails and emails when you get to this stage(If you failed to set next steps or the actions plans changed)

Example:”Mr. X, I know we spoke 3 weeks ago about your specific ‘marketing goals’ and how our ‘ABC Service’ can help you achieve them this quarter. I have not heard back yet on the information we needed to finalize the program. I just want to let you know, it is ok, if you are no longer interested or if you don’t need this service any more, but if you could kindly let me know, either way, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.”(The script should take 25 seconds which is a short enough voice mail and very appropriate) You could also tie this messaging into an email.

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Is there too much of you available to be desirable? If you’re ready to jump for every lead that comes your way, the answer is “yes”. Professional sales coaching will help you to understand you can increase demand for you by controlling supply without being discourteous to your prospects.

Have you ever noticed the more plentiful something is the less you want it? Well, the same is true when you make yourself available to everyone for any and all reasons. Professional sales coaching will enable you to see there are several things wrong with being overly accessible: it creates time inefficiencies and low productivity, it reduces your perceived valued in the eyes of the prospect, and it lowers your self-confidence because you’re setting yourself up to hear “no”.

So how do you increase demand and reduce your supply, and do it effectively without acting like a snob? This professional sales coaching secret is based on disqualification. Currently when you meet with a prospect or contact a lead you think of yourself as being accepted or rejected.

Your objective should be to reject any and all leads that aren’t qualified leads. You view this as being far more difficult than it is. Spend some time identifying the 1-5 key questions that you need answers to.

When you know the answers to these questions you will know if there is a reason for you to set aside time to spend with a potential prospect. That means whatever approach you’re using to attract prospects now needs to include a qualification step(s). When the prospect has successfully met the qualification criteria then and only then is there a reason for you to have a face-to-face appointment to discuss how your services might help them to get what they want.

Do you realize just how much time you’ll free up for actual selling if you stop meeting with the wrong people? You won’t be wasting ridiculous amounts of time running to meet people you shouldn’t be meeting with in the first place. And when you’re only meeting with real prospects, do you realize how much more productive you’ll be in terms of closed transactions?

When your focus is on disqualifying the prospect the power is in your court. In contrast, when you live in fear of being rejected by the prospect professional sales coaching demonstrates that you have forfeited your power. The funny thing is we all have an internal weakness meter, and when we sense it we move the other direction.

Review your appointment calendar over the past month. If you find that a paltry 20%-30% of the prospects you met with converted into clients that’s a clear indicator that you need to take the professional sales coaching philosophy of disqualification leading to a supply and demand advantage for you to heart. You have the power to put the ball in your court by knowing the critical qualifying questions and incorporating them into your marketing funnel.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Cheryl_Clausen/56791

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