providing a customer with 'free' information

Occasionally I will cold call a prospect who, has an potential to return an above average sale for the company.

The customer expresses great interest over the phone and may ask about price over the phone, I disclose the price and the customer agrees that this is acceptable, having the potential to be an above average sale I make an appointment and meet with the prospect.

The prospect again expresses interest and asks a lot of questions, we disclose the price to cover his needs, this sale would average a sale about 3 times what my average sale is.

I'm excited and so is the customer, the customer says they need to think about it, or need to speak to someone else, but they enjoyed the presentation and is very impressed and wants to do something soon. The customer asks for our 'best price' as this is a fairly large deal. We disclose a better price.

I schedule a time to call the customer for a decision, the customer agrees.

When I call back the customer says they need more time, I schedule a time to call back.

After a few follow ups the customer starts to get annoyed. I feel a bit rude but i'm going by their level of interested from our first meeting, surely a 'above average' sale isn't far off, and it never comes.

When shopping for ourselves we often research the market, in doing so we often need to speak to sales people, who we may act enthusiastically to receive the most information and receive a better deal.

Is there a better approach to a customer?

It's so tempting to do nothing but the best for a prospect who is 'hot' and presents a good opportunity for a sale.

Trouble is sometimes I don't know if the customer was a prospect to begin with, and I forecast and feel enthusiastic about 'bigger' sales that aren't really there

I'd guess there was something going on in the prospect's environment that was out of alignment, and that you weren't aware of, that was preventing him from moving forward.

If my guess is correct and there are unresolved background issues then calling back to 'ask for a decision' could be viewed as pressuring the prospect to make a decision he's not prepared to make.

In that situation I think the focus of future calls could be better spent helping the prospect identify, clarify and verbalize the background issues that need to be addressed or criteria that needs to be met before a purchase like this can happen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luka.

Occasionally I will cold call a prospect who, has an potential to return an above average sale for the company.

The customer expresses great interest over the phone and may ask about price over the phone, I disclose the price and the customer agrees that this is acceptable, having the potential to be an above average sale I make an appointment and meet with the prospect.

The prospect again expresses interest and asks a lot of questions, we disclose the price to cover his needs, this sale would average a sale about 3 times what my average sale is.

I'm excited and so is the customer, the customer says they need to think about it, or need to speak to someone else, but they enjoyed the presentation and is very impressed and wants to do something soon.

Luka, I would like to suggest that you identify the prospect's process for making a buying decision early in the appointment. For instance, "How will you go about making the decision whether to move forward on this purchase or not" or "Who, including yourself, will be involved in the decision to authorize this purchase if everything looks good to you". It's much easier to get accurate information up front than after the prospect has given you that famous "I have to think about it" objection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luka.

The customer asks for our 'best price' as this is a fairly large deal. We disclose a better price.

I would never offer a lower price without a bunch of additional discussion with the prospect (you may do that but left that step out of your post to save space).

You need to find out why the prospect isn't buying at your proposed price before you react. When a prospect asks for a better price, you are in the driver's seat, not them. If they truly want a better price, they'll willingly answer questions, and you should be asking lots of them so you have a clear understanding of the prospect's situation before you lower your price.

It's possible the prospect is just using you to get a lower price from a competitor or their current vendor.

Skip Anderson

All too often a “think it over” is simply a slow “no” with a free torture treatment. This puts the salesperson in “chase” mode, requiring frequent follow up that typically results in a “no” anyway.

If you’re going to get a “no,” it’s best to get it early and move on.

To Skip's point, you can avoid 75% of these scenarios if you have a good closing plan with your prospects and you understand their buying process. However, if you neglected to do that and you hear this stall, here’s one way to proceed.

You need to blast through the BS and determine the prospect’s real meaning when he says he needs to “think it over.”

“Mr. Prospect, often when someone tells me they need to ‘think it over,’ I find that they’re just trying to be polite instead of giving me the bad news that they don’t think we’re a good business fit. Is that the case here? I’d rather hear ‘no’ now than spend a lot of time being a pest and chasing you around.”

The idea is to give the prospect an “easy exit” as opposed to pushing harder for a decision. You’ll find that by making it safe for prospects to tell you “no,” they’ll open up and be more truthful and potentially present the opportunity to get them to YES.

Quid Pro Quo - also, never give something without getting something in return. In my world, I would never provide better pricing unless the prospect told me (a) that a decision was going to be made quickly and (b) that they want to do business with me and that the only thing standing between us getting the sale is better pricing (no other concerns or objections). And if (a) and (b) are true - then often you can get the prospect to coach you on where you need to be.

Lastly, no where in your post do you talk about how you understood your prospect's needs, how you linked to those needs and how you got the prospect to agree with that linkage.

Eric's on the button with precision and clear understanding from the beginning of what a prospect is saying, is asking - that you find out yourself by asking up front!

Also, free info and consultation is something you want to avoid - it does have a cost and you pay the price.

MitchM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Count5

All too often a “think it over” is simply a slow “no” with a free torture treatment. This puts the salesperson in “chase” mode, requiring frequent follow up that typically results in a “no” anyway.

If you’re going to get a “no,” it’s best to get it early and move on.

To Skip's point, you can avoid 75% of these scenarios if you have a good closing plan with your prospects and you understand their buying process. However, if you neglected to do that and you hear this stall, here’s one way to proceed.

You need to blast through the BS and determine the prospect’s real meaning when he says he needs to “think it over.”

“Mr. Prospect, often when someone tells me they need to ‘think it over,’ I find that they’re just trying to be polite instead of giving me the bad news that they don’t think we’re a good business fit. Is that the case here? I’d rather hear ‘no’ now than spend a lot of time being a pest and chasing you around.”

The idea is to give the prospect an “easy exit” as opposed to pushing harder for a decision. You’ll find that by making it safe for prospects to tell you “no,” they’ll open up and be more truthful and potentially present the opportunity to get them to YES.

Quid Pro Quo - also, never give something without getting something in return. In my world, I would never provide better pricing unless the prospect told me (a) that a decision was going to be made quickly and (b) that they want to do business with me and that the only thing standing between us getting the sale is better pricing (no other concerns or objections). And if (a) and (b) are true - then often you can get the prospect to coach you on where you need to be.

Lastly, no where in your post do you talk about how you understood your prospect's needs, how you linked to those needs and how you got the prospect to agree with that linkage.

Excellent, Eric...

Skip

providing a customer with 'free' information

Off Topic Forum