Salespeople usually have their eye on the sale; the sale is their goal so that’s the focus. How would a focus on sales follow-up be more effective for greater sales success?
Anyone who sells has a goal to make sales. Maybe this undermines salespeople to be systematically planned and purposeful in sales follow up with their prospect. Just as with a new friend it is follow up that will turn a prospect into a customer.
Maybe you think, “I feel like I am bothering people so tend to put it off.”
You are invited to a neighbor’s house for dinner, like being invited to a prospect’s office for a meeting.
The dinner goes well; the sales meeting goes well. At the end of the evening your neighbor smiles and says, “Let’s get together again.” The meeting goes well and the prospect says, “I’ve got to think about this.”
How do you respond to each of these relationship events?
“Generally, I follow it for two or three calls and then let it go,” might be your approach.
You have a new friend you enjoy talking with. If you are an introvert in sales, you enjoy and are energized by the deep conversations. If you are extrovert, you love talking, period.
You have a new prospect and during your first meeting, you discover they have a problem when they open up to you. It’s a problem you can easily solve with your product or service.
You and a new friend really hit it off on first meeting. You are the first to call to get together again; your new friend is out of town and their voice mail picks up.
It took trust for your prospect to tell you their situation. You’ve opened up a new relationship. They just expressed regret that the timing is off.
How do you respond for the next step for your friend? And your prospect?
So here’s the question:
Whether you are in business to business or business to consumer sales, it’s about relationships.
What’s your assessment of how sales follow-up can be similar to new friendship follow-up?
How would it help you if you decided, selling is a lot like building a friendship?
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