It doesn't matter what you sell, or whether it's a product or a service, we all deal with people who just will not commit to buy, much less keeping an appointment. Some people would say that these people are not ready to buy or they are on the fence. One of my co-workers would just call them "flakes". And as she says, "No one likes a flake."
When I lead a sales training session I mention that my definition of sales is a bit different than most people's. To me, sales isn't a transaction, but an attempt to convince someone to do something that may or may not want to do, but do it as soon as possible.
Let's use the example of a family that needs a new car. The old one is on its last legs, high mileage and needs to be serviced quite frequently. The purchase of a new vehicle keeps getting put off for several reasons, but more than likely this family just doesn't want to spend the money on a car.
Or we could use the example of a young family that needs life insurance. A mortgage, young children and bills can wipe a family's finances out if one of the breadwinners were to die unexpectedly. But just trying to meet with these people, much less take action, can be like pulling teeth.
Of course, there are a multitude of reasons why they can't, or won't, meet with you. They may be concerned that you are going to "sell" them something, especially something out of their budget. They have heard that salespeople are on commission, which means that you're going to do your best to squeeze every cent out of their wallet. They know how "high pressure" we all are.
What can be done to get people to take action in these cases? Here are a few actionable insights that you can use immediately.
1. Earn their trust. This isn't as difficult as it sounds, but it is very important that you do this from the minute you interact with people. A person will decide within a few seconds whether or not they trust or like you. Be sincere from the onset and you'll see better results.
2. Offer your calendar. If you have that person whom you just can't seem to schedule, let them schedule from your calendar. There are scheduling apps out there that sync with your online calendar. For instance, I used Calendly which works just fine with my Google calendar. Prospects can see which times are available and book a phone appointment. Click here to see it in action.
3. Create a sense of urgency. Although it's extremely cheesy, pushing the old "this deal won't last long" or "limited time only" line does seem to work by making people take action sooner than later.
My mother used #3 to perfection. "You better learn how to do this on your own because I'm not going to be here to do it for you," created the sense of urgency to learn to cook and clean. In other words, she made me "take action".
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
Comments
Post a Comment