| |
Can You Send Me Some Literature?
It’s Monday morning and you’re sitting in the office planning your week
of sales calls. The phone rings and suddenly you’re in a friendly
conversation with a new prospect, Bob. Bob seems like a nice enough
guy… knowledgeable about your industry, interested in your products and
eager to ask all sorts of questions.
Up to now this is starting to look and feel like a real opportunity for
you. But when you ask Bob about his decision criteria you hear those
words that all sales people dread…”Oh, I’m just gathering information
for someone else in my organization.” The atmosphere of the call has
been positive, so you decide to ask Bob who the ultimate decision maker
is. The conversation stalls for what seems like an eternity and then
Bob says, “Sorry but I can’t do that.”
Sound familiar?
The BIG question is what do you do now? Is this a real sales
opportunity or are you just wasting time? Do you attempt to go around
Bob and get to the decision maker, or should you play along with the
“info gatherer?”
Many sales reps fall into the friendly trap of these info gatherers.
They are pleasant to work with (makes it easier for them to get what
they want from you), they offer little resistance to your ideas and
it’s another deal for you to stuff in your pipeline report.
But what percentage of these opportunities do you win? What are your
odds of success when forced to deal only with the info gatherer?
If you aren’t tracking this you should be…and the percentage is low.
Now look at the percentage of opportunities you win when you are able
to work with the real decision maker. That number is
larger...significantly larger! There shouldn’t be any surprise in this
conclusion.
You can’t bet your success on the effectiveness of your corporate
literature. I know it’s slick, colorful, filled with graphs and
pictures of happy people using your products. Hey, wait a minute…that’s
what everybody’s literature looks like. Hmm…enough said.
But wait Tim…what about working closely with the info gatherer so that
they become your internal advocate? I see sales people every
month who struggle to engage, persuade, convince and close with real
decision makers. What are the chances that your info gatherer will do a
better job than you? Best case scenario is that the decision maker is
getting “You Lite” and that’s not a good thing.
I’ll give you two smart strategies you can start using now to maximize
your success with the info gatherers you meet. Can’t guarantee
that they will work for you, but I can guarantee that they work.
#1. Get in front of the decision maker. (Brilliantly obvious…isn’t it?)
Make a list of compelling reasons why the decision maker should give
you 20 minutes. These reasons need to be focused on their benefits in
meeting with you—not the reasons why you want the meeting with them.
Think about how other decision makers have profited from this
conversation. What are some potential mistakes this conversation can
help them avoid or possible solution benefits that they haven’t
considered?
I know this is hard work, but the good news is that you only need to do
it once. Get other members of your team to participate, invite a sales
manager, brainstorm ideas and scrub them until they are clear and
compelling. If you have trouble coming up with this list of reasons,
then chances of getting access to the decision maker are slim to none.
Next, you need to create a professional letter (NOT an email) outlining
your compelling reasons for an appointment and let the decision maker
know that you will be calling to set up a time. It doesn’t hurt to
mention what a great job the info gatherer has done in gathering
preliminary data, either. Be sure your letter is crisp, concise,
compelling and credible. Address the letter to the decision maker
and have it delivered via certified mail. This dramatically improves
the chances of your letter being read (who doesn’t read certified
mail?) and shows some creativity and initiative on your part.
“But 20 minutes isn’t enough time for this appointment!” you cry. If
you plan, engage and persuade properly, then chances are you will get
more than 20 minutes or at least get invited back. It’s important to
understand that you can’t wing this conversation. If you think you can
walk in and “wow” them without any proper preparation, then please just
stay in the car.
#2. Walk away!
That’s right…I said walk. There is a very polite way to disengage from
info gatherers and I would recommend that you learn it soon. There is
more than enough business to go around and you will achieve greater
success pursuing 15 opportunities with real decision makers than
chasing 30 deals with tire kickers. The freedom and power you will feel
when you walk away is incredible (and scary at first!). Eliminate the
mental overhead of chasing half-baked deals and focus your energy on
where you can add real value. It isn’t about how hard you work—it’s
about how smart you work. Always has been, always will be. Make life
better for yourself and watch how much energy and focus you free up for
creating more success. Trust me, this works.
Speaking of Sales is about finding, winning and keeping
customers for life. If that’s part of your job, then you won’t want to
miss the next issue.
Until then,
Tim
|
|
|
|