Securing the Sale
It’s a very fine line between following up appropriately and being too aggressive in order to secure the sale. It’s best to err on the side of caution in this instance. Here are some guidelines for doing so:
1. Consider your prospect’s position. Is your prospect new on the job, and also trying to sell your idea to his boss without upsetting the newly employed status? Should this be the case, offer to sit in the meeting or provide additional materials as might be beneficial. Seeing you as helpful rather than pushy will provide extra impetus to move forward.
2. Getting a definitive answer. Some salespeople call their prospects almost every day for updates. Imagine yourself on the other end, how would you feel? Yes, they kill the sale. Back off a little. Unless indicated otherwise, when a decision is at hand, only call twice that particular week, and once the next. Then wait two weeks to check back in. At this point ask for a guestimate of when they will be ready.
3. At the end of all the calls, if no sales materialized, write a thank you note stating you will be available whenever they are ready to move forward. Everyone appreciates the note and your willingness to wait. Very often it even spurs the person to positive action.
Your benefit is they are still in the queue but you are not wasting all your time waiting for them. Pacing the followups allows for time to prospect elsewhere. The same applies to job seekers trying to nail down a promised interview.
The importance of all of this is, you will appear as congenial. And while you may not get this sale, it’s quite possible the same person will recommend you to a friend at another company who is ready to purchase. Continually develop goodwill and relationships demonstrating excellent customer service, and you will soon be headed toward the Smooth Sale!
Read Addtional Strategies and Techniques:
Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks
HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews, Career Press
