How many times have you sent information to your sales prospect only to hear them say, "I've been busy and haven't had a chance to open your package?" Here are a few other lines I've heard when following up with prospects, do any of these sound familiar?
"I have a stack of unopened envelopes on my desk."
"Try me again in next week, I'm swamped."
"(Sigh) I just can't think about this right now."
"(Sound disgusted) I can't talk right now."
"I'll call you I don't have the time."
There are several ways to minimize the frequency of such responses. What are they? The first way is what you say in your upfront agreement with your sales prospect. Once you have agreed to send them information, I would then summarize a timeline of how they will receive and review the information.
For example, you could say something like, "(FIRST NAME OF PROSPECT), So let me understand this, I'm going to prepare a sample kit for you today, I will send it out tomorrow, you will most likely review it (SAY A DAY HERE), how about I call you again on (SAY A DAY AND TIME HERE) to discuss? Does that work for you?" The other idea that you may want to consider is sending an email right after you speak with them that details what you had discussed. In the subject line write, "Re: Thank you for your time, I will speak with you (SAY DAY AND TIME HERE)" and remember to use their name in the body of the email and to thank them again for their time. I know this sounds a bit trivial, however, it's one of those things where it's common sense (to use their name in the email or to thank them for their time), but not common usage.
Another idea that you could use during your upfront agreement is what I call a "Phone Handshake." Ok, I'm not nuts, I just like to be a little bit different over the telephone, it may sound unusual, but it works. Once you have clearly stated an agreement (see example above) you then smile and say, "(FIRST NAME OF PROSPECT), Can I get a phone handshake on that? They will most likely laugh and respond with something like, "Sure, that's fine." When you get off the phone you send an email similar to the one mentioned in the previous paragraph, but in the subject line you write, "Re: Phone Handshake and Thank you." In the body of the email I would add something like, "Per our conversation, you have agreed to a phone handshake to (MENTION YOUR UPFRONT AGREEMENT HERE)."
The third idea that you could use in conjunction with either idea mentioned above involves what you write on the package you send to your prospect. It's actually three separate ideas, but today you get three for the price of one, ok? Here are a few ideas that you could use when you prepare your prospect's package:
-Place a motivational quote on the outside of your sales package. If you go to www.mrcoldcall.com and scroll down to the middle of the page there are several free labels with quotes on them that you can download (all you need to do is replace your print paper with special label paper). This strategy makes for a great conversational piece when you call them back and say, "(FIRST NAME OF PROSPECT), Did you get my package, better yet, did you like my quote?"
-Try writing a little note on the front of the package and then signing your name.
-This idea varies according to your prospect's industry. If they are in real estate write this under their name, "King Of Real Estate" or "Queen of Real Estate." If they are an entrepreneur write this under their name, "Entrepreneur Of The Year!"
I strongly encourage that you incorporate one or more of these ideas when you are sending information to your sales prospects. These ideas will help you to quickly connect with your prospects so that you STANDOUT amongst others who may be competing for your prospect's time.
Copyright 2006 MR. COLD CALL SEMINARS - All rights reserved.
Mr. Cold Call is the author of "How To Have Fun Cold Calling" and "114 Common Sales Objections, 153 Clever And Savvy Responses." According to Mr. Cold Call, "Your cold call success is dependent on 11 winning personality traits (known as your Telephone Persona Of Success! )." Collectively, these traits allow you to uniquely market yourself over the telephone so that you can inspire your prospect's curiosity and reduce their resistance. Are you interested in finding out more about Mr. Cold Call? Then sign-up for his weekly cold calling tips at http://www.mrcoldcall.com
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