Episode 100: Hope is not a Strategy!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your Sales meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience.

 

In Episode 100, we shift one word to help us take action.  Stop Hoping, Trying, and starting Doing!

 

I want to talk about the three words  I am sure you have personally used throughout your career or starting to hear from those you coach.  Those three words are, " I am Hoping" followed by, " I am trying." I was in a one and one coaching session last week, and we were reviewing his pending business.  My goal in our coaching sessions with my team is to focus on a few accounts to brainstorm or collaborate on converting them to customers. Or discover what may be keeping them from saying yes to the solution-oriented program we presented.

I asked him about a particular account he had presented marketing solutions to and asked him about his confidence in converting them.  He replied, "I am hoping that they say yes in a day or two." I replied that Hope is not a strategy!  He laughed and then went on to say; I am trying to get them to say yes.  I paused for a moment, then told how we need to shift from Hoping and Trying to Doing!   I mean by this, what action do we need to take to convert or close the account? 

 

Most of us want to control our destiny.  Here is an interesting fact. 
80% of sales require five follow-up calls after the meeting. 44% of sales reps give up after one follow-up. It takes the proper persistence to stay connected with the client after your first meeting. Our goal is to provide a solution to our customer's problems and needs.  But, think about this, only 13% of customers believe we even understand their needs.  Remember, It's all about them, not us. (Research by the Brevetgroup)

 

Again, we have to start doing this first to stand out from your competitors and shorten the gap of the five-call follow-up to close the sale?  

 

Tell a better story! Tell a better story about solving their issue at your first meeting. Storytelling is one of the most powerful techniques you have to communicate and motivate. Using stories to support your recommended program will further connect with a prospect and significantly increase your ability to close deals. Give examples of how has your product or service helped other companies?  Share a case study of success from a current client. If you are presenting to an analytical decision-maker, share more data to support your recommendations.  Implementing your recommendations with ABC Company converted 100 form fills on their website in ten days and resulted in twenty new clients!  Follow up with this statement, "Is this the type of growth you would like to experience?" Or you could say, "this has been a great conversation, and it sounds like a perfect fit. Let's get started."

 

I believe that the best sales presentation isn't a presentation. It is a great conversation that converts a prospect to a customer. We have to figure out how to create a genuine connection with our prospect or client, engage through storytelling, and ultimately solve their problem. Or provide a solution they are not currently getting from their current vendor. People love and remember a good story!

 

So what do you do if you don't get a yes at your first meeting? You get Commitment for the Follow-up Call.  One of the most important ways to set yourself up for success is to schedule a  follow-up sales call to get a commitment from the prospect to speak again, so you don't get ghosted.  You created the next action step of doing something!

 

What else can you be doing?
Call Mid-Week. The best time to make follow-up calls is mid-week. This is the most effective time to book appointments and plan to call prospects on Wednesday or Thursday. Mondays and Fridays are typically the worst days to call, as people are busy getting started and finishing the workweek.

 

What other action can you do?

Call at the Beginning or the End of the Day. What time of the day you call is essential. You want to call at the right time when they're available and receptive to speaking with you. The beginning or end of the day is best. People tend to have more time when they are getting their day started or winding down.  Do not call at lunchtime, and mid-day are the worst times to calls. But, I would recommend taking your current clients to lunch and further nurturing your relationship.

 

What else can you be doing?

Make Multiple calls.  As I shared earlier, it takes at least five calls to get your prospect to take action.  Most people give up after one attempt!  But not the Three Word Podcasters. See, our prospects are not waiting by phone. They get distracted; they have other priorities that become more important than talking with us. Plus, they are talking to other vendors. Our job is to show them that we are worth their time.  Something else we need to do is make sure we listened to their needs and provided a better solution to helping them solve their biggest challenge. Share our solution with confidence and enthusiasm.

 

And more importantly,  follow up, Don't Give Up! 

So no more Hoping or Trying!  It's all about Doing!

 

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