Here’s a check to avoid lost sales.
1. You have no sales strategy plan.
Think about your preparation for your last sales call. Did you plan the questions you would ask your prospect? Maybe you did. Were they strategic in that they helped uncover customer problems, needs or wants that could be solved by buying your products or services? Congratulations if you did.
A strategic salesperson asks questions that uncover multiple problems. Why? What if the first problem isn’t serious enough for your prospect to act? The customer won’t buy. You have a greater chance to sell when you uncover multiple problems that are important to your prospect.
2. You make bad assumptions.
How many clarification questions did you ask during your last sales call? You’re in trouble if the answer is none. Did your customer tell you that he wants something quickly? When do you think he needs it? Tomorrow or next week? Did you ask to be sure?
Some salespeople assume they know what their prospects and customers mean. That’s why they never ask clarification questions. They make more work for themselves with their wrong assumptions. Then they have to work harder than they need to, or have to undo what they did wrong. Just ask what prospects and customers mean so they tell you precisely what they really want you to do.
3. You have no reason to be there.
What was your last sales call objective? Were you there to touch base? Let me save you some time. There is no reason a customer or prospect needs to see you if that’s your sales call objective. Touching base does nothing for your customer.
Your only reason to meet is to discuss how you can help a prospect or customer reduce a cost, avoid a cost or make them money. Does touching base do that? Nope. So instead of thinking that touching base is a real sales call objective, take the time before your next sales call and create a real sales call objective. That’s one that moves your sales process forward. You leave the sales call with more than what you had when you started the sales call. That could be information, a commitment or a plan for next steps. You’re closer to getting the sale with real sales call objectives. Now do you see why touching base won’t work?
Now that you know why you’re not selling today, what are you going to do about it? After all, tomorrow is a new day to sell and there’s every reason why you can sell more then.