 Several of my clients have recently told me, “I have prospects stuck in my sales process who are not moving forward.” Seasoned sales pros admit only 30% of their warm prospects will ever become clients, making your ability to move them through your sales process vital to your continued success. So how do you move stuck prospects forward? 1) “It is what it is, it’s not what it’s not. It becomes what I make of it.” Neutralize the negative; if they aren’t going to move on, you should! Sometimes this is indeed appropriate. 2) Call and remind them about the last time you spoke, their concerns, and precisely how their problem impacts them. It’s okay to say, “if we don’t set up our next appointment, we’ll close your file within the next couple of weeks.” This strategy sometimes works as the nudge they need to move forward. 3) It’s always good to analyze why the prospect is not moving forward. So often, when I review these situations with my clients, we find they ignored a red flag in their initial conversation. Here are some red flags you should be looking out for: a. The prospect won’t share factual information key to you understanding their situation. b. They are interviewing other providers. When this happens, get your ask in gear and say to them, “I’m curious; what are you hoping to hear from me that you haven’t heard from others?” or “How will you know you have found the right solution provider?” c. They speak negatively about a previous vendor and take no responsibility for their part in the dynamic. d. They have struggled for an excessive amount of time. The proverbial “let me think it over.” When a prospect is reluctant to move forward, get your ask in gear with, “What’s at stake if nothing changes?” Listen deeply! e. They tell you their spouse is too busy to get involved in the sales process, but who is the decision-maker? How would you respond to the above red flags? Email me at [email protected] and share; I love to learn from sales pros! Where else in your sales process do you ignore red flags? Please note them now so you can bring awareness to them. IGNORE NOTHING and get your ask in gear. Ask questions in a curious tone so you aren’t blindsided later in the sales process when the red flag waves in your face. When you IGNORE NOTHING, you call the prospect into a certain level of integrity. |
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Several of my clients have recently told me, “I have prospects stuck in my sales process who are not moving forward.” Seasoned sales pros admit only 30% of their warm prospects will ever become clients, making your ability to move them through your sales process vital to your continued success. So how do you move stuck prospects forward? 1) “It is what it is, it’s not what it’s not. It becomes what I make of it.” Neutralize the negative; if they aren’t going to move on, you should! Sometimes this is indeed appropriate. 2) Call and remind them about the last time you spoke, their concerns, and precisely how their problem impacts them. It’s okay to say, “if we don’t set up our next appointment, we’ll close your file within the next couple of weeks.” This strategy sometimes works as the nudge they need to move forward. 3) It’s always good to analyze why the prospect is not moving forward. So often, when I review these situations with my clients, we find they ignored a red flag in their initial conversation. Here are some red flags you should be looking out for: a. The prospect won’t share factual information key to you understanding their situation. b. They are interviewing other providers. When this happens, get your ask in gear and say to them, “I’m curious; what are you hoping to hear from me that you haven’t heard from others?” or “How will you know you have found the right solution provider?” c. They speak negatively about a previous vendor and take no responsibility for their part in the dynamic. d. They have struggled for an excessive amount of time. The proverbial “let me think it over.” When a prospect is reluctant to move forward, get your ask in gear with, “What’s at stake if nothing changes?” Listen deeply! e. They tell you their spouse is too busy to get involved in the sales process, but who is the decision-maker? How would you respond to the above red flags? Email me at [email protected] and share; I love to learn from sales pros! Where else in your sales process do you ignore red flags? Please note them now so you can bring awareness to them. IGNORE NOTHING and get your ask in gear. Ask questions in a curious tone so you aren’t blindsided later in the sales process when the red flag waves in your face. When you IGNORE NOTHING, you call the prospect into a certain level of integrity. |