Finding It Harder to Contact your Prospects? – Don’t give UP
It definitely seems like it is getting harder and harder to contact your list of prospects in comparison to even just 5 years ago. Is it you or them?
Well it’s both really – what you say and when you say it, how you structure the next steps and so on is your responsibility as a business or sales professional. The interesting thing is that most people, now more than ever as prospects are increasingly avoiding your contacts because they can – its sorta like become excepted behaviour to not call you back for most people and we know that it now takes up to 3 times longer to get in contact with a prospect than 10 years ago and that includes social platforms. It does not mean that they are not interested – just a bit un -organised and their need to buy usually is still ALIVE.
What we should never do is think that the prospect would not benefit from your product or service until they say no and that no is conditional – something that just won’t change no matter what you say or do.
So here are 3 things that you must never stop doing in the process to get through this behaviour from your prospects-
- Be clear of your strategy to get the prospect moving through to getting excited to BUY your product or service. Have a reason to call them, some sort of good news about the product/ saving or solution and then if needed an offer to try or get started to buy. Develop a process to contact your prospects through establishing when to call, what contact method they prefer and repeat with back up from digital media blasts including SMS. Do this all the time – don’t divert from your process and strategy.
- Try to conduct more of your business in the face to face manner. People still like to deal with someone they know and trust – building a relationship is best done face to face. Digital media contact is also crucial to add to the best mix for results. Set up the strategy for the next step but face to face is still king!
- Keep following up and working your prospects through your sales process until they say NO and you cannot overcome their reasons.
Most sales professionals and business owners who have to sell usually give up after a few contacts to try and get hold of the prospect to make the sale. Every lead you get is money for you and your business, so making every lead a priority to focus on a solid contact protocol, sales process to move them closer to buying will make you more profit through sales than just thinking they are not interested – assume that most people are ready to buy you and your product or service at the lead level
Easy to do – Easier not to do – (Jim Rohn)
