- JUST ADDED: Rather than preparing a proposal for your prospect have you offered your prospect a "Tips Sheet?" A Tips Sheet is a bullet point list of practical and friendly suggestions for your prospect. This list will offer specific recommendations to your prospect that will help them do something a little bit better (i.e. save money or time). Once completed, I would suggest to your prospect that they review these suggestions and make the most appropriate changes with your competitor (always remember that you should never ever put down your competition). In the eyes of your prospect you will be viewed as an expert or consultant. First, if your competitor fails to respond then you may end up winning the business. Secondly, if your competitor makes the necessary corrections then your prospect may begin to lose confidence in them and your prospect may ultimately end up doing business with you! There are probably a few other scenarios here, but you get the point. Have you tried this?
- How do you respond to a sales prospect that says, "Call me the 3rd week in January to set up a meeting." Some sales reps proceed to bow their heads, get excited and follow up as their told only to find out the following from their prospect, "I can't talk right now, try me back next week." So, how could you respond to your prospect to avoid this game? Try using the following line: "Sounds good, (Insert the first name of your prospect here and then PAUSE), would I be pushing the envelope here if we tentatively say (Insert a day, date and time here)? I will still follow up with you per the time frame you had mentioned.
- "Stay Away From Prospect Puppeteers" - What is a prospect puppeteer? This sales event occurs when your prospect says the following: "Why don't you try me back at the end of the year?" The truth is that a great majority of these salespeople jump at this opportunity, follow up accordingly and discover that they have been played by a true puppeteer. When they speak again with their prospect they encounter the same resistance. So, what can you do to change these predictable course of events? The best way to handle your prospect's objection is the following: "I really don't mind following up with you (Insert time frame here), but we are very interested in your business. PAUSE. (Insert your prospect's first name here), there are three reasons to consider switching to (Insert the name of your company here). The first reason would be poor service and you feel that you deserve better service. The second reason would be because you don't believe the charges (or pricing) are not fair. And finally, the the third reason would be because you have not reviewed your accounts in awhile and you're curious to learn more about what we have to offer (Insert the name of your prospect's company here). Do any of these apply to you?"
- What is a merger sales objection? A merger sales objection ocurrs when you contact your sales prospect and you find out that they do business with a company who will be taken over by another competitor of your company. So in this scenario, your prospect may say, "We're going to wait to see what happens with the merger before we do anything!" How do you handle and overcome this type of sales objection? You can respond with the following: "Isn't it better to meet with us now in case the new merger is not exactly what you had expected?" PAUSE.
- The next time that you hear your prospect say, "We've been with (Insert your competitor here) for (Insert the number of years here)" then you could respond with the following: "(Insert the first name of your prospect), I applaud your loyalty, but for peace of mind and the possibility that you haven't had a review in a long time, we strongly encourage business owners to review their (Insert the type of needs here such as financial needs, landscaping needs, technology needs, employee talent needs or legal needs) on a yearly basis." (PAUSE to see how your prospect responds). If your prospect responds in a negative way then you need to keep things positive and let your prospect know that you welcome their business at anytime OR let them know that you will keep the doors open for them at (Insert the name of your company here).
- Prospects will ride all over you if you don't show them whose really driving the train. That's right my fellow salespeople. For those of you who don't agree with this statement then you're most likely playing their little game and you're probably wasting a lot of valuable prospecting time. And as a result of your actions, you continuously agree to follow up with these prospects and these prospects agree to keep you on a course going absolutely no where. As you continue to follow up, your encounters become more annoying and your prospect becomes even more annoyed.
So what do you do? When a prospect says, "Follow up with me" or "Let me think it over and call me next week" don't be so quick to agree. Try following up with any one of these following responses below:
(For each response think about what need or pain they may have and how you can create a solution for them. Focus on these solutions and how you can help your prospect do something even more efficiently):
"What's holding you back?"
"Sure, let's schedule a time that we can discuss in person (or on the phone) how we can help you (Insert here what you can do to help them do something better), which days and times next week work for you?"
"What's stopping us from doing business?"
"What needs to happen for us to have you on board?"
"What will you most likely take away from what we have discussed thus far?"
"What are your immediate thoughts?"
- Why are some sales prospects wishy washy? Here are four reasons why your prospects cannot commit and these four reasons include the following: 1. You are not offering anything of value. 2. You are not speaking with the decision-maker (always speak with the business owner). 3. Your prospect might be selling their business and they do not want to disclose their future plans with you. 4. Your prospect may be using your proposal to get a better deal with their current vendor. When you do encounter a wishy washy prospect then you can ask your prospect: "What are you really thinking?" The answer that you hear will most likely address one of these four reasons mentioned above and once you understand what is holding them back then you will now have more information at hand to handle and overcome their sales objection.
- Has the price objection been a constant issue for you? First, I gotta ask you the following question: "Are you the one first bringing up the price or is your prospect the first to ask you about the price?" If your prospect is the one who brings up the price first then congratulations because you probably are more focused on selling value. When you sell value that means that you are selling solutions. And when a prospect comes to the realization that you can help them "do something better" or "more efficiently" then they will inquire about the price. On the other hand, if you bring up the price first then you are not setting the tone of being a consultant, but rather you are essentially pushing your product and/or service. Click here for more information on our one-to-one cold call coaching sessions with Pop Icon Mr. Cold Call™
- If you're targeting a TOP SALES PROSPECT and you're speaking with the decision-maker (i.e. business owner) and they keep telling you to call them back then do it! It's 110% worth your time and don't GIVE UP! At some point in time, after five or even six contacts with them they will give in and get worn out and take your telephone call. Just keep asking for the appointment and you will get it! Remember, the best of the best salespeople do not give up--they keep following up while the loser reps move on out of frustration. Which one are you?
- Let your prospects know exactly how much you can save them and put a specific value to it. For example, if you crunch the numbers and are able to save your prospect $100 a month you could say something like, "We can save you $100 a month or over the course of one year that's $1200 and over the course of 5 years that's $6000! If you really wanted to to paint a picture of their savings in their heads then you could say something like, "Over a one year period that's like us giving you almost an ounce of gold (right now gold is $1400 an ounce) or a six night family cruise for 3 to the Galapagos Islands.
- A sales objection is merely a form of resistance that your prospect uses to determine whether or not they will do business with you! If you're able to overcome their resistance then you will soon find out that sales objections are "opportunities" rather than "obstacles" to doing business. A sales objection is a way for your prospect to get more information from you and one of the best ways to get more information is to ask questions. Try asking the following questions when handling the following sales objection: "I really don't want the hassle in switching."
You could respond with any one of the following questions to engage your sales prospect with additional dialogue:
1. "What makes you so loyal to (Insert the name of your prospect's vendor here)?"
2. "(Insert the first name of your prospect here), I can understand why you would have no interest if you haven't first heard the benefits?
3. "What in particular do you like the most about (Insert the name of your prospect's vendor here)?"
4. "I've heard others respond in the exact same way, but then when we sit down and compare similar products and services we are able to significantly (Insert a benefit statement here)."
5. "What do you most like about (Insert the name of your prospect's vendor here)? What do you least like about (Insert the name of your prospect's vendor here)?"
6. "(Insert the first name of your prospect here), when you say that you don't want the hassle in switching, can you expand on that?"
7. "When was the last time you had a review of your relationship and how do you know for sure that you're getting the best deal?"
8. "In business, it never hurts to see your other options, do you have a current back-up plan in case your vendor drops the ball?"
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Did a prospect shut you down? Ask them if you can call them back in six months or one year: "(First name), it sounds like you're more than happy with (Insert their vendor here), however, people change their minds all the time, what works better for you, would you take my call six months from now? Or is one year from now work better for you?"
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If your prospect turns you down over the telephone try following up with an email. In your email, emphasize your persistence and detail exactly why they should meet with you. Try to do this in just two to five sentences and offer a few specific times to set up a visit to their office. "How does this (Insert a day, date and time here) or does (Insert a day, date and time here) work better?"
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Ask your prospect when the last time they had a review of their account relationship? Let them know that you just want to provide them with information on what you have to offer versus who they're using now. This way when they do make a decision (this could be now, next week, next year or several years from now) they information at hand to make the best possible decision for their company.
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Never follow up with your prospect on the day they return back in the office from vacation. By doing so, you have already set yourself up for a sales objection.
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A sales objection is not always a "NO." Such a response may simply mean that your prospect doesn't have enough information from you to make a firm decision!
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A great way to respond to sales objections is through a sales technique coined by Pop Icon Mr. Cold Call? as a "Walking Testimonial." The next time you encounter a sales objection from your prospect offer to have them call one of your current customers. If you currently do not have a customer that you can use as a "Walking Testimonial" then simply pick up the phone and just ask. Think of this customer as your "ace of spades" or your "fallback plan." I would suggest having a few of these "types of customers" that you can easily have your prospect contact so that you do not bombard these customers with too many calls. I encourage you to be very selective when using them. As soon as you encounter an objection just respond with the following: "(First name of prospect), I understand how you feel and where you're coming from, please do take your time in your decision process. Also, I wanted to let you know that I have a very good customer of (Insert your company name here) and when I first met them (before they became a customer) they responded the same way you did just now. You are more than welcome to call (Insert the name of your customer and their company) and ask them about their seamless transition to our company and based on what they say perhaps you may give us a chance? Either way, I very much appreciate your time and per your request, I'll follow-up with you in (Insert time period here)." This technique also works well via email if you're going back and forth with your prospect. Again, just use the same example from above, but in written form. Forward this website to a friend and receive a FREE GIFT from Pop Icon!
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Try using this line the next time your prospect says that their not interested: "(First name of prospect), may I ask you one more question before you go? (pause) I was just wondering, if you had an issue with (Name of their vendor) and you had to call in, would you be handled as customer account number 12345 or does (Name of their vendor) really know you by your first name? (pause) I'm asking you this because I have a strong business relationship with all my customers and I know each of them by name, do they really know your name?"
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Study your competition, visit their website and sign-up for their FREE Newsletter. Such information will give you more insight into your industry, how your product and/or service is being sold and may give you new ideas as to how you want to approach each telephone call. Collectively, this "new information" that you have learned will help you to fine tune your sales message. The more effective your sales message the less objections you will hear and the more you will sell!
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If you cannot tell exactly what the objection is (i.e. a price objection or a time objection) then you can ask your prospect, "(First name of prospect), what are you really thinking?" (smile and then pause)
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Behind The Scenes With Mr. Cold Call?
Mr. Cold Call? is a worldwide sensation and claims to have made over 80,000 cold calls to date. He has been quoted by numerous national publications such as Selling Power Magazine, Investor's Business Daily, Successful Fund Raising and Advantage Magazine. He has written over 65 articles on cold calling, developed a sales ratio calculator that automatically calculates your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sales ratios, offers a custom sales script service called "The Script Responder" and finally, is the author of four best-selling ebooks with FREE email support and these titles include:
For more information on Mr. Cold Call? and to sign-up for his free weekly cold calling tips visit www.mrcoldcall.com
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