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Telling fishing stories about "the one that got away" can be
amusing. Telling sales stories about the prospect that got away
are anything but amusing. Frustrating is a more appropriate
description.
Fortunately, there is a big
difference between fishing and selling. The chance of
re-snagging the trophy-class fish that slipped the hook at the
last moment is extremely small. The chance of "re-snagging" the
prospect who slipped away is much greater, if you're willing to
exert a little effort.
Step 1
Identify the ones that got away. Make a list of contacts who
never graduated to the level of prospect. Those are the people
you met who indicated some interest in your product or service
or a reason to talk further, but for some reason an appointment
was never scheduled. Make a list of prospects who missed or
needed to reschedule an appointment, but the rescheduling never
took place. In other words, identify the people who slipped the
hook. Consolidate your lists into one master call list.
Step 2
Develop the justification for the calls. You'll need an opening
for your phone calls. Unlike a cold call where you might use a
30-second commercial to uncover some potential pain, you only
need to remind the person of your previous contact. "Bill, last
month after a Chamber of Commerce meeting we had a brief chat
about how my company might be able to help you with your
inventory storage problem. For some reason, we never got
together to further that discussion. Would it make sense for us
to do that now?"
Step 3
Schedule the time to make the phone calls. Unless you schedule
time to make the phone calls, the time you invested compiling
your list and preparing your call was wasted time. So, schedule
time to follow through and make the calls. Not "someday" or when
you "get some time." Make an appointment with yourself - write
it in your calendar - then, keep the appointment. Block out an
hour or hour and a half on a day or two. (If your list is long,
block out time on more days.)
Step 4
Make the calls! As the Nike slogan suggests, just do it. No
excuses. No procrastination. Make the calls during the time
scheduled. After your conversations, the people on the list
should fall into one of three categories:
There should be very few people in
the third category - and only as a result of very special
circumstances. The people on the list have put you off (at
least) once; don't let them do it again.
It's OK to close files. In the long
run, it's better to close the file than waste time pursuing
people who aren't truly interested or committed.
Reserve "the one that got away"
stories for your fishing buddies, not your sales colleagues.
© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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