Colleen Answers: How do I get prospects to take action?

How do I get prospects to take action?

This is a common question I hear during training sessions. And one that was of the top of your list as reported during our sales survey in January

We are all facing pressure from our companies our managers and even yourselves (or maybe even your bank!) to close deals now. Yet often you’re getting the put off from clients who are not returning calls, hiding behind email or want you to call them back next month or next quarter.

“We’re too busy now!” “Call me back next month” “I need more time” are the most frustrating stalling tactics you hear in sales. Worse, they force you and your prospect into a game of cat and mouse with you chasing your prospects in voice mail and email for what seems like an eternity. And, in my experience if you are chasing, you can’t be closing.

So what can you do to stop your prospects from stalling – and get them to take action now? Here is a top idea we teach Engage client’s that you can profit from too

Use the M³ Model for closing deals more effectively.

Step 1: Before any sales call or face to face meeting take 5 minutes to plan your goals. Set the following 2 goals before you make any sales call

1. M¹ What is your Minimum expectation for the call. Ideas could be:

• To secure a next meeting
• To receive the verbal approval?
• To be referred to a decision maker??

2. M² What is your Maximum expectation for the call? Ideas could be:

• To receive verbal approval
• To get the order
• To negotiate a final price

Step 2: Once you have met either your Minimum or Maximum, carve out your M^{3 by} confirming your  Move forward step. Move forward steps MUST include:

• date and time for the next step to be executed which has been communicated to the prospect
• next steps documented in the client file and in your calendar

To goal of M³ is to encourage the customer to be specific in the follow up actions. If the client stalls or is vague try:

“Thanks for letting me know that next month is better for you. What date would you want to place the order?” Or:

“I would be happy to call you back next month. Would Tuesday, July 11th at 10:00 a.m. work for you?”

Now, you might be thinking “but Colleen this approach assumes I can even get the prospect on the telephone! and I have only been able to leave voice mails for him for a month!”

Don’t worry, during our free call on February 25 at noon Eastern we will be sure to cover ideas on how to get your prospect to call you back, how to get them live on the phone and how to move them from prospect to client using best practices, and tested strategies that are guaranteed to hep you close sales faster

Dedicated to increasing your sales,

Colleen

P.S. Remember, this call is absolutely free – and it’s packed full of information that you can use right away to close more sales in less time. Register now!  www.EngageSelling.com/convert

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