We’re in the 3rd Quarter? Is it me, or is the summer flying by? Preparations for the year are all but over. We are in the thick of things; the plans we have made are being executed and you may already be starting to think about next year and what business you need to open. That’s right. It should be on the mind of every company, and I’m sure it is. The projects you’re working on won’t last forever. Good companies are preparing to be made. Additional equipment has been ordered. Services are being put into place in anticipation of growth. Time to dust off the target account list and get to work in order to close out the year strong, while thinking of next year as well.
I picked the title of the blog because I wanted to make it as obvious as possible what it would be about. The challenge for opening new accounts has always been that prospects want to wait. Some want to wait until the fall, others until they have “time” and others for a litany of other reasons. In our training, we call them excuses. Prospects will make excuses why they don’t want to meet with you because it is the easiest thing to say. It’s non-confrontational, it allows them to avoid hurting your feelings and saves them time because they don’t have to give a long explanation as to why they don’t want to meet, and then have you tell them why they should.
With some companies you’d like to work with, there is literally nothing you can do about it. They won’t meet and they aren’t willing to talk yet. They have stringent policies and guidelines and despite our best efforts, little can be done to motivate them to a decision sooner. Some would argue that if you have too many of these types of accounts, you’re not in control of outcomes or revenue. But, that’s a story for another day. On the other hand, there are prospective companies and decision makers out there that are willing to listen. Armed with the right things to say and ask, maybe you can get to the finish line earlier than you ever thought possible. Want to have more “yes’s” and “no’s” now, rather than later? Change your language. Change your approach. Let’s offer a few things to say and do to compel them to meet with you now. Done consistently, you will have more making decisions sooner. Let’s begin.
Technique #1: Tell them what they are thinking before they say it, in order to build credibility. If you’re making a call or standing in front of someone that says anything like, “we’re all set”, “we already have someone” or “call me in the fall”, instead of simply agreeing to follow up or leaving, why not try something new? ‘Telling them what they are thinking before they say it’ could sound like this: “Are you telling me to follow-up later because you genuinely have a company you like using or is it because we are strangers meeting for the first time?” Or, “Are you telling me to call you later because you’ve already decided you aren’t going to change companies but didn't want to tell me that?”. By telling them you ‘get it’ you gain in your credibility and the ‘cat is out of the bag’. If they reply with anything other than, “we’re extremely satisfied with who we are using” you have an opportunity to ask questions and have a nice conversation.
Technique #2: Suggest. Give them a “disclaimer”, then offer a suggestion with a no-lose consequence. As example, “Look. We might be a horrible fit for you (disclaimer). Meet with me for 15 minutes. If you don’t hear anything in that time that gets you excited, I’m out of there (suggestion). No problem.” The disclaimer builds credibility because you aren’t trying to ‘sell’ them, while the second part gives them an out if they need it, which makes them more comfortable. It also tells them that you’re comfortable walking away if it isn’t a ‘yes’. This takes the pressure off the prospect.
Technique #3: 3rd Party Selling. Talk about others and how you’ve helped instead of pointing the finger at them, telling them you can help them before you even understand their issues or concerns. As example, 3rd Party Selling sounds like this: “Some have told us that they were having issues last season with reliability. If you had the same concern, we may want to meet sooner” or “Can I share with you why many companies we helped last year didn't want to wait until the end of the year to discuss ______?” (if they say, ‘yes’, give them some compelling reasons or ask questions that make them think). Or even, “When we get calls from companies like yours, who want to meet with us earlier it is typically because (insert a couple concerns). If you have any of those issues, we may want to meet earlier”. For the ‘concerns’, make sure you pick specific concerns you may be aware of with the type of company you are calling on. As example, a snow removal company calling on a retail location may mention a concern that snow was pushed onto too many parking spots, making it difficult for patrons to easily park and enter the location.
Technique #4: Email. When it comes to soliciting new accounts through email, our list continues to grow with items that do and don’t work. Some of the emails that clients have sent to me that they themselves have received from bad salespeople are, well, horrible. Check out this actual email one client sent to me that he received. The names and products were removed to protect the horrible (lol).
My name is _______ and I am the sales manager at ________. We are ISO 9001 Certified and currently have the largest (product) and acrylic (products) in North America measuring at 50 ft x 4 ½ ft x 9 ft. We also have (product) and (product) capabilities.
Do you have a few minutes of your time you could spare in the next couple of weeks that I could pop in to introduce myself? I am certain we can offer some great cost savings for your company. I have added a PDF with some information about our company and our current capabilities!
(Sigh). So many reasons why this email won’t work to compel someone to listen. Too many “no-no’s” to go over in this article, but clearly emails like this won’t get companies to want to meet with you before the fall.
Now, what if we put things in a different light, to actually compel them to want to meet. As example, let’s pretend you’re that same snow removal contractor meeting with a property manager overseeing an office complex. One suggestion: After the intro: ”…we are a local snow removal contractor. We help office building property managers who are concerned with eliminating tenant complaints, worried about how long it takes their contractor to react to the snowfall or who are simply looking for a more professional company to work with. Assuming you share some of these concerns, would it make some sense for us to have a brief conversation over the next couple weeks?”
Of course, all you’re looking for at this point is a reply. The body of this email may not work for everyone, nothing does. But, it certainly works better than most emails that are sent out. It shouldn't sound “self-serving”, shouldn't brag or be about you. In our opinion, and the results are our evidence, it should be about them and their concerns or issues. Even the word, ‘help’, lets them know that we just might be different.
Armed with some techniques and a few different approaches we can suggest meeting earlier than they would typically. The key is to find out what their issues or concerns have been in the past or are currently. No issues, or unwilling to discuss them, we can’t get very far. This summer and fall, dig deeper to find out what their concerns are. And remember, it’s not about you. We feel so strongly about the approaches and the results that our clients have had that we would like to invite anyone reading this article to attend our August 17th session on prospecting through email, free of charge and no strings attached. Contact me directly at [email protected] to attend our Southfield, Michigan location for this session. We’d like to help.