Behind the obscurity of the telephone, your deals prospect operates with a retired docket. Frequently, the prospect does not want to buy but does not like to say”no” moreover.
The prospect sets traps for the unwary salesman, occasionally inadvertently, occasionally on purpose. Everything from” Let me suppose it over”to”I do business with my family-in- law”to” Business is lousy and we do not have any plutocrat.”
Then are seven traps every phone- grounded salesman has faced and some responses that keep prospects talking. They may actually turn a”no”into a” perhaps”and a” perhaps”into a”yes.”
1.” Shoot me further information.”
You may consider this a positive expression of interest. More likely, it’s a way to get you off the phone. The stylish response to this trap is,”I’d be pleased. Let’s be sure that I shoot you information that’s really meaningful to you. May we spend a many twinkles exploring what you are most interested in so I will know exactly what to shoot?”
Also add,”I am going to put a bright marker on the envelope that says the effects we talked about are outside. I only ask in return that we’ve a discussion a week from now to bandy the material.”
2.” Just shoot the information and if I am interested, I will call you.”
That answer is a big unheroic caution flag. The person has lowered his or her value as a prospect saying, in effect,”I do not want to have a follow-up discussion.”
Still, shoot a one- runner letter and a two-sided leaflet in a 44 cent envelope rather of your complete fulfillment package, If the client isn’t willing to do that.
3.”We need a demonstration/ evaluation dupe.” (for software marketers.)
This is a high-tech interpretation of” Shoot me further information.” Simpleminded marketers suppose there must be real interest, since they want to try the program out. More likely, when the box arrives, it sits on notoriety’s office because there is no compelling reason to try it.
Your answer”If you were to estimate it, what aspects would attract your topmost attention?”If they do not know, do not shoot the demonstration fragment just yet. Shoot published literature rather.
4.”Sounds great! When are you coming to see me?”
In these days of the$ 400-plus deals call, that is a trap (and a veritably precious one, too).
Response”We can generally negotiate everything right then on the phone. Will that be OK?”
Still, ask what happens coming, If the prospect insists on a particular visit. Who’ll be there? Nail down the actors, their places, and birthrights. Turn a routine demonstration into an event. Do a careful ROI ( return on investment) analysis. Go only if necessary. After all, your job isn’t to make passages, but to vend on the phone.
5.”I’ve to bandy this with other people.”
” Tell me about the other people. Who does what in the decision process? Tell me about your calendars.” Get the whole story! Leg the prospect down.
6.”It’s not in our budget.”
The response to that comment is to learn whether this purchase is ordinary but off- cycle.”Does that mean there is no budget now, not ever, or is it a nice idea whose time hasn’t come?”When will a purchase like this come up for consideration? Is a supplemental appropriation possible?
7.”You are a fabulous salesman, but.”
This isn’t a compliment. It’s an charge! The prospect is saying that you’ve described product features rather than asked the right questions. You may have made a benefit statement without knowing how the product or service will be used. In other words, told not vended.
In these days of commercial” right-sizing”a lot of responsibility-but not authority-has shifted over.
Prospects may bring you along in good faith without realizing they can not make the decision. To avoid embarrassment, they stall and construct defenses.
Fete this new state of business life. Ask questions but do not press. Give the prospect a face- saving way out. When that person goes up the graduation and gets the authority, you’ll have made a good friend and client.
