There's a fine line between persistence and annoyance when it comes to sales.
It is important to stay in touch with your prospect, but you don't want to push them out the door either. So how do you know when to keep pushing and when to create space in the connection?
When your prospect is on the fence, it's critical to utilize emotional intelligence skills to keep their interest. Being attuned to their emotions while maintaining assertiveness can take you one step further in closing the sale.
Here Are A Few Tips on How To Handle Indecisive Prospects:
1. Confidently Position Yourself
Successful salespeople know that aggressive tactics are a turnoff. When you're prospecting for new customers, it's important to strike a balance between being assertive and respectful. If you come across as too strong in your demeanor, you may appear needy and desperate; but if you're too passive, you'll never close the deal.
The ultimate key is finding a middle ground where you confidently promote your product or service without crossing the line of using salesy language. Remember, your goal is to gain the prospect's attention and build a rapport without making them feel like they're being pressured into buying something they don't want. By taking a consultative approach and focusing on the prospect's needs, you can cultivate trust and position yourself as a trusted advisor salesperson.
2. Ask Strategic Questions
Asking strategic questions is one of the most important skills you can use when prospecting. By asking open-ended questions, you can find out the prospect’s needs and wants, then match your product or service to their needs. The types of questions should be specific, open-ended, and relevant to what you are selling. You are strategically guiding them through a transformation process of solving their problem.
Some examples of good prospecting questions include:
"What is preventing you from achieving (their goal)?"
"How long have you been experiencing (their problem)?"
"What have you already tried to address this (their problem)?"
3. Emphasize The Benefits
As any salesperson knows, it is essential to emphasize the benefits of a product or service when making a financial transaction. Prospects are more likely to be interested in a product that meets their needs or solves an immediate problem. Without explaining how your product or service is going to change their current situation, the goal is to get them to see what their life or business looks like with your service. If you try to convince them, the sale may become more about price versus the value.
4. Acknowledge Their Concerns
It's human nature to be concerned about the unknown, yet this may also be their curiosity speaking. When you're engaged with a new prospect, it's only natural for them to have some concerns or ask thought-provoking questions. The key is to acknowledge their concerns and address them head-on to show you understand them. By doing so, you'll not only help to put their mind at ease, but you'll also demonstrate that you're listening, feel confident about what you offer, and build trust.
Additionally, you may even uncover some important information that can help you to better serve your prospect and position your product or service to meet their needs. So don't shy away from the prospect's concerns; instead, embrace them as an opportunity to create value and build rapport.
5. Have Patience With Prospects
When you're trying to sell something, it's important to be patient. Some prospects will take longer than others to make a decision depending if they are the executive decision-maker or where their mindset is about solving this problem. There can be a wide number of variables that can influence the timeline of how long it takes a prospect to buy.
For example, if they're not the executive decision-maker, they may have to consult with board members before they can commit. Or, they may need time to do their own research and compare your service to others on the market. Regardless of the reason, it's important to be patient and give them the time they need. If you push too hard, you could end up losing the sale altogether. So, be patient and strategically guide the prospect to saying “yes.”
6. Follow Up Regularly
Keeping communication channels open with your prospects is important, but you don't want to come across as bothersome. After all, you're trying to build a relationship. The best way to maintain a good balance is to follow up regularly, but without being overly persistent.
Prospecting calls or emails once a week should be enough to stay on their radar without becoming a nuisance. And if you're worried about seeming too salesy, try following up with helpful resources or articles in your email that might be of interest to them. It shows that you're thinking about them and their current issue, even when you're not trying to sell them something. By keeping a good balance, you can build strong remarkable relationships with your prospects that eventually turn into loyal customers.
If you find yourself hearing “no” more than you would like to on sales calls, then let’s chat and get your prospects to the “yes”. Click here to schedule a consult.
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