STOP
Waiting by the Phone
Three steps to keep a sale moving forward
By Paul Cherry, Performance Based Results
Bob was frustrated because he was encountering the same
problem over and over. He had a successful meeting with a
prospect that expressed interest in his products. The prospect
asked lots of questions about the product line and seemed
genuinely interested in doing business with him. At the end of the
meeting, the prospect told him to reach out in a few weeks when
things have settled down. Bob called the prospect several times
over the next month, but the prospect never responded. Bob, like
so many salespeople, is left waiting and hoping that eventually the
prospect will return his calls.
How do you avoid suffering the same fate as Bob?
1. Set up a specific time for the next meeting
before the end of the first meeting
Instead of agreeing to call a prospect “in a couple of weeks,” you
need to be firm about setting up the next meeting. You can say
something like, “I am so glad we got to talk. So we don’t have to
play phone tag, let’s pencil in a time and date that would work for
us to reconnect on this. Would you like me to come to your office
again, or do you want to talk over the phone?” Using this tactic
holds both parties accountable by setting a date and time for your
next meeting.
2. Establish the agenda for the next meeting,
before the end of the first meeting
Once you set up the next meeting, you should follow up by confirming
what that meeting will entail. You might want to ask a
question such as, “To ensure that our next meeting is productive,
what should we be prepared to address as our next step?” This
question allows you to probe a little further and uncover what the
prospect expects to happen during the next meeting.
3. Ask your prospect to do some homework before
the next meeting
You want the other person you are meeting to have some investment
in the process, otherwise it is too easy to blow you off. So,
ask your prospect to do some sort of “homework” before your
next meeting. You could ask him/her to gather some data, bring
another person in on the discussion or anything else that requires
them to invest time, money or resources into the relationship.
4. Be committed
Salespeople sometimes fall into the trap of being non-committal,
as their schedules get busy and it’s hard to keep appointments.
But, too often, it comes back to haunt them. Without commit-
62 | QUARTER 1 2015