Sales Prospecting Perspectives

3 Tips For Inside Sales Reps To Keep Prospects Engaged

  

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With every New Year there are new obstacles, new lessons, and new solutions.   It’s the time when we reflect back on the previous year and think about our successes and of course, short comings.  If I were to attempt to discuss all areas I would like to personally improve, it would probably take more space than this blog would allow.  So today I wanted to discuss a bothersome professional obstacle that I would like to hold myself accountable to improving in 2012.  After doing some research and talking with some colleagues, It is apparent that I am not alone with this challenge, so I think it is worthy of a discussion.

Obstacle:  I have had a great conversation with a prospect who has a great need for my service and true interest in investigating further.  We both agree on proceeding to the next step and then my prospect goes completely dark.

Solutions:  

• Get the next call/next step booked within a week!  Especially around the holidays, this can be difficult with time out of the office and travel.  It is very important to not let more than a week elapse in the sales process with your prospect or the interest naturally tapers and you end up on the dreaded “back-burner.”
• In a recent blog in SalesMACHINE by Tom Searcy called, “Top 3 Ways to Get Your Phone Calls Returned”,  Tom expresses the importance of giving your prospect a timeframe and relaying the “consequences” as opposed to “threats.”  Remind your prospect as to why they were excited to talk with you in the first place and the consequences if they don’t take the next step in a particular timeframe.  For example, if my prospect doesn’t show for our next call to further discuss deliverables, I cannot guarantee we hit the necessary pipeline number in order for them to achieve their revenue goals by X date. 
• Keep your prospect excited!  This ties- in with the first 2 solutions above.  It is important to not let too much time elapse in the sales process and maintain a high level of energy throughout the sales process. 

Lesson learned:  The biggest professional lesson I learned in 2011 was not to take an “interested” prospect for granted.  The first conversation may be a homerun, but if the next steps aren’t taken in the appropriate timeframe, the most interested prospect can go silent.  Keep the communication frequent, meaningful to your prospect’s goals, and exciting. 

I hope everyone learned a new lesson or two from 2011 that makes your 2012 an even more prosperous year!