Archives for January 2016

Sales follow-up calls are destined to fail for those who do not plan for their success.  Success doesn’t just happen.  It’s carefully planned and the steps in the plan are executed with excellence.  Successful follow-up calls are no different.  A follow-up call must be a planned step in a larger strategy to sell the prospect.  You follow-up with the prospect to obtain or share a specific piece of information or to get them to take the next step.  Your follow-up call has a purpose.  It is Step C or G or P, so to speak, in an A-Z strategy to build a long-term relationship with a prospect.  A follow-up call is never a call to find out how they are doing!  Why don’t you know that already?  Didn’t you do your work in the previous discussion with the prospect? Asking how they are doing since your last phone call is an admission your solution is disengaged from their business.  Deliver a solution for their business each and every follow-up call.

Find out what the buyer values and then communicate how your product or service will deliver that value.  Imagine you are selling cars in a land where it rains all the time.  Every one of the cars you are selling has a sunroof because your marketing team determined it’s cool to have a sunroof.  There isn’t a single buyer in this land that wants a sunroof.  A buyer walks in the door, looking for a car that will handle well in the rain.  However, you immediately show how the sunroof opens and closes.  “It’s cool!”  You’ve lost the buyer.  He is out the door heading to the next auto dealership down the block, looking for a car that is safe to drive in the rain.  Put aside what you and your marketing team have determined the buyer should value about your product and service.  Go into meetings with prospects with a blank page and write down what they value!