Sales: 7 Ways to Get to the Truth: When the Sale "Disappears"

7 Ways to Get to the Truth: When the Sale "Disappears"

Written by Ari Galper

You're close, really close, to making a sale. Your potential client is in repparttar

market for your product or service and you've had a couple of good meetings.

Based on his most recent e-mail, "Everything looks good -- I'll get back to you so we can move this forward"--everything points to a probable sale. You feel so relaxed, happy, and hopeful. Then a couple of days go by with no phone call or e-mail. You tell yourself, "He's probably busy. I know he'll get in touch tomorrow." But tomorrow comes and goes with no word.

You start to panic. Your self-talk turns negative: "I can't believe this...This is really starting to hurt...He let me believe it was a sure thing...I trusted him...now he's disappeared on me, and I was counting on this sale..." The relaxed, happy feeling is gone. You've fallen victim to "hopeium " again.

Have you been in this situation before?

Of course you have--we all have, and it's painful. So, can you keep from getting dropped? Yes--With repparttar 127103 new mindset, you can abandon repparttar 127104 salesperson role and come from a place of integrity that stems directly from your personal brand that doesn't compromise your authentic self. This opens communication with your potential clients so you can learn repparttar 127105 truth about their situation--and that's what you always want.

These suggestions will help:

* Don't assume repparttar 127106 sale. Potential clients are used to repparttar 127107 traditional buyer-seller relationship, so they may decide not to tell you things that might make them vulnerable to you. Until you're sure you know repparttar 127108 complete truth, you can never assume repparttar 127109 sale.

* Keep making it easy for potential clients to tell you their truth. Toward repparttar 127110 end of your conversation, ask, "Do you have any more questions?" If potential clients say no, follow up with repparttar 127111 100-percent-final truth-gathering question: "Now, are you 100 percent sure that there's nothing else that I can do on my end to make you feel more comfortable with this situation?" You'll be amazed how often people then say, "Well, actually, there is one more issue..." And it's at that point that you really start to hear their truth.

* Call back to get repparttar 127112 truth, not close repparttar 127113 sale. Most potential clients who suddenly "disappear" will be expecting you chase them down by calling them and saying, "Hi, I was just wondering where things are at?" Instead, eliminate all sales pressure by telling them that you're okay with their decision not to move forward, based on their not having called you back. In other words, take a step backward. Most of repparttar 127114 time, it'll open repparttar 127115 door to a new level of open, trusting communication.

3 steps to getting a sales meeting

Written by Alan Fairweather

The best way to get a new customer is to clearly identify who you want to do business with and then get in front of them. They can then see what you look like, possibly see what your product looks like and also examine any data or statistics you might have. It gives you repparttar

ideal opportunity to start building a positive working relationship with your potential customer. Advertising, direct mail, web sites and telesales all have their place but nothing beats repparttar 127102

face to face interview. The first challenge is, of course, getting to speak to your prospect and arrange a meeting. When you phone your prospect's organisation it's highly possible you won't get through initially even if you have their direct number. There's always an assistant, a colleague or voice mail to deal with.

# 1 Deal with repparttar 127103 other person 1.Always be pleasant and polite. Use repparttar 127104 person's name as soon as you know it but not over familiar. 2.Use your prospects name and your name; say - "Will you please tell John Smith that Alan Fairweather is on repparttar 127105 phone for him." 3. If you're asked what it's about, say - "It's about repparttar 127106 contents of a letter Mr Smith has received. (More later) Will you tell him that Alan Fairweather is on repparttar 127107 phone for him please!" 4.If you're told that your prospect is in a meeting, find out what time they'll be out of repparttar 127108 meeting and ask if it that would be a good time to call. 5.Thank repparttar 127109 person for their help and say - "I'll call back at 3.30 and look forward to speaking to John then. Thanks for your help Mary." None of this is easy but persevere and don't be nuisance. Always be friendly, firm and courteous with Mary. It sometimes helps to send a brief letter to your prospect explaining that you'll call to arrange a short meeting. (Don't use repparttar 127110 word appointment). Briefly state your product or service benefit or even a couple of questions at repparttar 127111 start of repparttar 127112 letter. But don't make it a sales letter and don't enclose literature. (Your prospect gets enough of repparttar 127113 stuff). # 2 Deal with voice mail: 1.Give your name, business name and phone number. Speak slow and clear, warm, friendly and businesslike. 2.Say what you do - "Were repparttar 127114 people who minimise production time and cost on..... I'd appreciate repparttar 127115 courtesy of a return call on ........" 3.You might want to make an appointment to call - "I appreciate you're very busy Mr Smith, however I have some interesting information for you. I'll call back at 3pm and would be pleased if you'd speak to me." 4.Follow up with a fax or email and make it human. 5.Leave your phone number again, slow and clear. Again this is a challenge, however if you sound warm and friendly and that you could be worth talking to, then you'll get call backs. Always keep customer details handy because when prospects call back they say - "Hi Alan, its Fred I'm returning your call." If you made twenty calls that day you may not initially know who Fred is, so be prepared.

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