Those Pending Sales

Jim Meisenheimer wrote about something that all of us involved in sales get to deal with, and he has a solution too:

I'll Get Back To You . . .

I'll Get Back To You . . . How often do you hear this?

How big is your "Pending File?"

You work with sales prospects and follow up on leads
provided by your company.

The process usually begins with a telephone call to set up
the first appointment.

You personally visit these prospects. You attempt to build
credibility and establish rapport. You feel good about the
first sales call.

You show interest by asking good questions and taking
notes.

You try to set up the second appointment and your sales
prospect won't commit right now.

He may say, "Call me in a couple of weeks and we'll talk
about scheduling the next meeting."

Or he might say, "I'll get back to you . . ."

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

This can happen during your first sales call, second sales
call, fourth sales call, or your seventh sales call.

Your prospect doesn't have the guts to say no, so he may
string you along - don't you just love when that happens?

Meanwhile your pending file gets bigger and bigger. But of
course you realize you can't pay the mortgage, buy groceries
or even pay for a vacation with your pending file.

Your pending file is actually a huge distraction for you
because it gives you an artificial and inflated sense of
your existing sales opportunities.

I believe it's important to get your sales prospects to say
"Yes" or "No" as soon as you can and in spite of your sales
prospects delaying tactics.

So at some point you should follow up and clean up your
"Pending file."

My business is of course different from your business, but
what we have in common is the dreaded "Pending File."

I can't stand seeing a bloated "Pending File."

So here's what I do every 3 - 4 months.

I send the sales prospects in my "Pending File" the
following e-mail:

Subject line: a quick follow-up

XXXXXXXXXXXXX Body content XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Please advise if I should be putting my notes from our
conversations and e-mails about (Sales Training -insert
your product and/or service here) into the - No Longer
Interested File.

or

Please call if I can answer any questions or when you're
ready to take the next step."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX End Body content XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

You will be amazed at the results and the responses you'll
get after you send this e-mail.

One thing's for sure - you'll get a response.

This one very short and powerful e-mail grabs their attention,
which is of course exactly what you want this e-mail to do.

I usually send out a bunch of these e-mails the same day.

I get a response from 80% of the sales prospects within
72 hours.

They call and say things like . . .

"Jim - sorry I haven't gotten back to you on this, but we
have decided not to do any sales training at our next
national sales meeting."

"Hey Jim - we're still definitely interested and in fact
we'll be making a decision next Wednesday. Don't give
up on us."

"Jim - my boss put this on the back burner for the next
60 days. Let's schedule a phone call right now so we can
reconnect in 60 days - sorry for the dillydallying."

"Jim - since our last conversation our priorities have
shifted dramatically. We are now being acquired and so
all sales training programs have been put on hold for at
least six months. I really do apologize for not following
up with you."

This allows you to shuffle the deck and reprioritize your
"Pending File." It also allows you to remove any prospects
who are no longer qualified as a viable sales prospects
for you.

It also allows you to send your sales prospect a personalized
hand written note following up on their response to your e-mail.

There are two words you should never buy into. These words
are "Hopeless" and "Helpless." You should never feel hopeless
and helpless.

There are always solutions. There is always a way to deal
with every situation you face - including your "Pending File."

This e-mail follow-up strategy works for me.

I'm sure it will work for you too.

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