to make that follow up call.
From my Art Sobczak archives:
Don't Place the Nuisance Call
Greetings!
Think about those prospects that you just KNOW should be
buying from you, but you've come up empty thinking of new
ways to approach.
Or perhaps you have customers that buy from you now, and
your job description says you need to call them every
month or so, but you feel awkward saying, "Well, I was
just checking in with you to see how it's going."
I've always said that these are some of the toughest calls
to place. Because, it requires creative thinking and lots
of sales pros don't want to think that hard.
Except the best sales pros. I bet you're in that group.
Lazy sales reps, or those or don't know any better, are
content calling to "just touch base," or to "see if
there's anything on your desk I can bid on."
These approaches are reactive, provide nothing of value,
can be viewed as nuisance calls, and leave you open to
being treated as a simple vendor who can be manipulated
into a price war.
Calls to regular customers, and to prospects you're
clinging onto should always contain something of
value...something that lets the customer feel
you are contributing something useful by calling.
Keep in mind that your regular customers are someone
else's prospects. If they feel they are being taken for
granted by a sales rep who simply calls and says, "Do you
have an order for me?", might eventually fall for the
wooing of a competitor who is creative enough to dangle
something attractive in front of them.
Also keep in mind your prospects are likely buying from
someone else, and won't budge unless they see some value
in what you have.
So, what to do?
Here are just a few ideas to spice up these calls to
position you as a value-added resource, and not just a
salesperson.
Begin with "YOU"
A good way to begin these calls is by saying something
like,
"I was thinking of you,"
"I heard some interesting information, and you immediately
came to mind," and,
"When this news came out, I thought about you..."
Industry News
Perhaps you have some news they might not
be aware of. Or, maybe they are aware of it, and you have
something to help them take advantage of it. For example,
"Ms. Prospect, you probably are familiar with the new
regulations regarding the reporting of waste disposal. We
developed a way to make that less of a headache for
companies in your situation, and I'd like to ask you a few
questions to see how much of a problem you anticipate this
being."
New Policies at Your Company
If you change restrictive policies that would enable you
to do business with people who didn't qualify in the past,
call them again. For example, if your minimum order
size has been dropped, or, you're now carrying a line
that they asked for before and you didn't have it, or
you've lessened credit requirements. And with regular
customers, calling with changes to their advantage is
always welcome.
New Regime at Your Company
This can be effective for those accounts you haven't been
able to break because of legitimate, real objections they
had. If, for example, new management has cleaned house
and improved quality, decreased errors, etc., call again,
since you're now selling a new company. Also, these can
be spun into reasons for calling existing accounts.
New Capability
If you have products or services that deliver results you
weren't able to before, that is always a good reason to
call. Just be sure you are positioning them in terms of
results to the listener. Not, "Hey, we have a new product
and we think it is great."
New You
Maybe you fell to pieces and self-destructed on a
previous call. Since then you've acquired more skills and
confidence. Maybe you've come up with new ideas, or a new
strategy. And here's the best way I know for you
personally to come up with great value- added reasons for
calling:
ACTION STEP
Have a brainstorming session with your colleagues.
Invite customer service, production, advertising, marketing,
operations...anyone who knows your products and
services. Make it a game or competition. The goal
is to fill in the blank:
"The reason I'm calling is ____."
The main rule is that what goes in the blank must be
perceived by the listener as something that they would
view as valuable and interesting to them.
Believe me, I've done this many times with clients in
training sessions and we come up with 20, 30 or more
great ideas to use.
So get creative, get working, and you'll find yourself
converting more of those prospects collecting dust in
your follow-up file, and you'll provide more value and
sell more to existing customers.
Go and Have Your Best Week Ever!
Art
Contact: Art Sobczak, President, Business By Phone Inc. 13254 Stevens St.,
Omaha, NE 68137, (402) 895-9399. Or, email:arts@businessbyphone.com
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