We've
all set up our sales stages: Lead, Prospect, Assessment, Proposal,
etc. But are they effective for closing the deal? With this plan, we
aren't always sure who's really interested in moving forward. Who
is a time waster and who is a real opportunity?
It's
a scary thought, but stop chasing prospects. Schedule
each meeting with your prospects at the end of the current meeting.
WHY?
If your prospect doesn't want to schedule time with you, it could
mean they probably don't want to move the business relationship to
the next level.
It's
a lot easier for a prospect to say NO to someone they've had one
meeting with, received a couple of emails from and an occasional
voice mail, but when
you're engaged with your prospects they come to learn your true
value, face to face.
At
each meeting, my prospects get to know me. They
see what it would be like to work together, they find out more about
my personality and my genuine interest in their business. At the same
time, I find out the same about them. You can't do that with email
and voice mail.
When
they schedule their next meeting with me, I know they're interested
in continuing our business relationship…YES!
IT
WORKS BOTH WAYS. After
a meeting or two you might discover that this prospect is not one you
want to do business with, and that's OK, because the money isn't
always worth the headaches. I've
walked away from business when I knew they weren't going to be a good
fit for our company, and I was glad I found out sooner rather than
later.