Episode 143, Four tips to keep your sales from ”Stalling.”

Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. 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.

 

Episode 143, Four tips to keep your sales from "Stalling."

 

I was coaching a seller and asked about an account she had been calling on and what kept them from moving forward. She replied, "I am having a hard time getting them to call me back. I feel like they are ghosting me."

 

I replied I call it ghosting, but they are stalling to move forward. I explained the difference between Stalling and Objecting to what you presented.

 

We first have to get clear that there is a difference between "stalls" and "objections."

 

Stalls and objections are what you may hear after you have asked for a commitment, but an objection is a specific reason not to buy. In a stall—"I need to think about it"—your prospect or client offers no particular reason for hesitating.

 

Don't let this keep you from moving your client forward.

 

Again, with stalls, the customer offers no particular reason for hesitating. What the stalling client is saying is this: "They are not quite ready." I need more evidence to decide to work with you and your company. 

 

Your client may be attempting to gain more information more confidence in what you're offering. So we may have a little more work to do.

 

"Do you know the only objection that you can't overcome?" It is the objection you never get to hear. 

 

The clients' objection might be their way of better explaining what makes you different and why doing business with you will improve their situation.

 

You improve your chances of winning the business by changing your mindset and rethinking objections and stalls as simply opportunities to present more information or, better yet, evidence of success.

 

If you're in sales or management, I have a feeling you have heard one of these "Stall tactics."

• "It's not in the budget right now."
• "I have to speak with the owner."
• "It's not our No. 1 priority"
• "We will get back to you ..."

Or worse, they don't call back at all.

 

So what can you do?

We have to learn to overcome Stalls.

A good portion of our business includes getting meetings with the decision-makers that can say yes. 

 

Passion with Purpose

There are many examples of sales success. It starts with Passion! Your enthusiasm is contagious; it affects everyone around you—including clients. It helps you through the setbacks, objections, rejections, stalls, and everything else that affects your attitude and approach.

Reinforce the solutions and benefits you offer to help them solve their biggest problem. That will strengthen your Passion and purpose.

 

Track your progress

Having an efficient process to manage your sales keeps you focused and on track. Every day you need to have a clear map of activities laid out. What activities do you need to do to move the business forward? Is it a phone call? Is it sending client-focused research? Could you share a case study of success? It's your process of progress that will get you there faster.

 

Have a High C

People can sense your confidence level, so you don't want to have a Low C. You want a High C. If you can't bounce back from setbacks and rejection with a positive attitude, it becomes more and more challenging to break through to a new business. 

 

Resiliency also improves when you focus on qualified accounts--and walk away from the ones where the return on investment is low.

 

I would recommend asking yourself or your prospects: "What's our next step?" Often the prospect can give a better way to move through the sales cycle. Don't be afraid of rejection--that's essential information to understand. 

 

Added Value with each attempt

It's all about every step you take. Oh, this reminds me of the famous song from the group Police. 

Every Breath you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

They will be watching you. 

 

Each time you make any follow-up call with a prospect, they are watching you. Make sure you have a new idea or information valuable to the client. Stay focused on how you, your product, and your company provide Value. 

 

Earn it

Passion, planning, high C, adding Value, and earning it are the keys to opening doors and building your business and will be the foundation in helping eliminate many sales stalls.

 

No one likes to deal with objections and stalls but is a part of the sales process. We want to help these clients. So we need to take control by asking thoughtful follow-up questions to help them. By uncovering our prospect's needs for more information, you put yourself in a better position to make the sale.

 

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Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com .