Sales Question:

"How Do I Create a Sense of Urgency this Time of Year? Many of my prospects are saying "call me after the holidays" What are some ways to keep the pipeline full during the holidays?"

Answer:

OK well we are being asked to answer two different situations...

The later, "What are some ways to keep the pipeline full during the holidays?" depends on your average sales cycle (cradle to grave... from the time you first make contact to the time they sign the dotted line)... If you have an average sales cycle for let's say 6 months, your answer is you get your December pipeline from May/June/July in most cases for that type of situation.

The headline question of "What do you do to create a sense of urgency this time of year?" has a different answer because having a full pipeline and having prospects with a "sense of urgency" aren't always the same thing.

This time of year, it’s mostly the SALESPEOPLE who are feeling the pressure and the sense of urgency is on THEM. It's a BIG mistake to push that sense of urgency off on your prospects. When you do that, your focus is on what's best for you, and not on what's best for your prospects.

Now with that said, if you really want to create a legitimate sense of urgency, the best way I was taught or had it described to me was to "have the prospect set their own hair on fire"... meaning, get them to see their problem and the ramifications they are or will be dealing with if that problem isn't solved and or the longer that problem goes unsolved, the worse it gets for them.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

You do this by knowing what questions to ask, when to ask them and how to ask them. You can tell a prospect they have a problem until you're blue in the face but it isn't until you learn to ask the right sales questions that you'll get more of your prospects coming to their own conclusion that they have a situation and they are better off solving it now rather than later.

THIS ISN'T FOR EVERY PROSPECT

Understanding your prospects situation is vital to high commission checks and longevity in sales. The first step is to make sure you and your prospect have agreed that a problem exists and that they believe you can help them solve it. Once that is established, if they want to wait till the first of the year seek first to understand the reason for the delay before trying to overcome it.

The last thing you want to do is to offer an incentive (additional value or a reduction in price etc) and still have them not be able to take advantage of it till January... Why? Because if they truly can't do it now, you just shortchanged yourself in January for no reason.

If your prospect truly isn't in the position to give an approval now, set up your next steps call and move on to the next prospect.

For the prospects that are asking to wait till January but could move sooner, those are the ones you offer an incentive to in order to create a WIN / WIN for all parties. But it all starts with making sure you are speaking with a prospect that understands they have a problem, that you can help them solve it and they have the authority to say "yes" to your solution if they like it.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)
888-264-0562 ext. 1

Forget “sales scripts”. To succeed in today’s selling environment, top sales pros will need a complete playbook. This means having multiple “opening value statements” crafted, practiced and memorized for different types of sales calls.

One of the most common sales calls is the “first time” contact, where the call couldn’t be any colder.

Hate making “cold calls”? Fear Not! A well-prepared opening value statement can warm up a cold call in 15 seconds or less. Here’s how to get started…

Start by asking yourself the following question:


In other words, what "pre-qualifications" did they meet that let you know they could be a potential opportunity?

Part of your pre-call planning research should be to identify top “suspects”. In order to do that, you need to understand why your best clients are your best clients. What “criteria” qualifies them to have that title?

If your current cold call prospecting strategy is to simply pick up the local phone book (or some other similar non vertical resource) and starting from the letter A start smiling and dialing, sales will be low and frustrations will be high. So step one is identifying what makes a “suspect” a suspect.

Let’s say you sell “promotional products”… in theory every business in the world could be a potential client however maybe you’ve found success in a few niche verticals… say software companies. Or maybe you’ve found the greatest success with companies in the tech industry who participate in at least 3 trade shows per year. Get the picture?

Once you can put pen to paper that clearly describes what your best clients look like, you’ll have great material to start crafting your opening value statement.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

“Hi (Prospect) this is (Your Name) with (Your Company) and the reason for my call is we specialize in working with (vertical) who are looking to separate themselves from their competitors during trade shows. We’ve been able to help generate an average of 23% more leads per trade show for most of our clients and I wanted to ask you a few questions to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you as well…”

By understanding your top clients unique criteria, you can craft opening value statements that separates you from the rest of the pack while quickly heating up your cold calls. 

Stay tuned for future blog posts about other phone sales tips and techniques to help you create opening value statements that heat up cold calls fast.

Sincerely,

Michael Pedone
President/CEO
SalesBuzz.com
(888) 264-0562 Ext. 1

Speaking of Sales Ethics… How's this one...

Let's say you have in your pipeline a prospect who has gone unresponsive... time to fish or cut bait, right?

So you craft an email such as this:

SUBJECT LINE: Opportunity Closed

Hi PROSPECT,

Sorry you haven't been able to get back to us regarding (Solution to a previously discovered pain). Your "open opportunity" record was closed as to not take up any more of your time. If there is anything else we can do to help you avoid/eliminate/reduce (Mention Pain), please let me know.

PS… For your troubles, please accept my gift to you… On-demand access to our (Something of Value / Interest to Your Prospect) Webinar. This one webinar has been directly responsible for helping (Mention Benefits Your Target Audience / Vertical Wants and Would Get From Webinar) by following its step-by-step process.

Simply click the link below, register and use the coupon code to remove the access fee. It's that simple!

http://tinyurl.com/24o5j8t

Again, if I can be of any further help, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Joe Sales Pro
Company
(888) 888-8888

Notice what's missing in the email?

Is this a "technique" or a "tactic"? I'm not big on tactics. I much prefer solid sales techniques...

BTW... This "strategy" to get a response is as old as time. But should it be used in the sales world?

Here's WHY I'm OK with this Strategy / Technique...

1. Prospects (as are sales people) are super busy. It doesn't help either party to be bogged down by something that will never turn into anything. If the prospect truly isn't interested, you now have your final answer and both parties can move on.
2. If the prospect is interested, they will stop putting you off and at least respond to let you know what their situation is. You can then proceed from there. This is a win/win for both parties.