Don’t Give Up Before You Get An Answer: Closing
Salespeople give up too soon.
I’m guilty of it. We’re all guilty of it.
More than once, I’ve had a prospect tell me that right now wasn’t the best time for them. I’ve crossed them off my list and moved down the road, only to see a couple of months later that one of my colleagues or competitors was able to sell them on a similar idea. It’s frustrating. It’s disheartening. And … this is the hardest thing to admit … it’s probably my fault for giving up on them too soon.
We’ve got to remember that sales is a process, a process that often includes some times of limbo and some negative answers along the way. If we cut bait too soon, we’ll end up losing out on making the sales we’re after.
To help me to not miss out on these opportunities, I’ve learned in time to keep these four things in mind:
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Don’t Be Afraid to Follow-Up
Follow-up is a critical aspect of the sales process. Decision-making doesn’t often happen instantaneously. Clients need time to think, to confer with other team members, and to just go through their own process. During that limbo time, other pressing things come up for the customer. It’s totally appropriate and even necessary for salespeople to periodically check back in on the status of the decision. Emails, phone calls, and drop-ins are all tools that salespeople need to use to stay at the front of a client’s mind.
During the sales process, you certainly should have asked about their decision-making process. You should have gotten some specific dates about when they would be meeting with their team and when you could reasonably hear back. On that date, or the day after, you’ve got to make the big ask again. Call and say, “Yesterday was the day you were going to meet with your management team. How did it go? Are we ready to move forward with this idea?” There may be a new status update or there may be an answer. You won’t know unless you ask.
When a deadline or limited availability are in play, I’ll say something like, “I don’t want to be a nudge, but this is time sensitive (or, there is only one left), and so I wanted to reach out and see where we stand.” Good clients don’t mind a persistent salesperson. So often, I’ve had client say to me, “Thank you for staying on top of me about this.”
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Listen for Buying Questions
You can get a great indication of where a prospect is based on the questions they are asking you. Here are some examples of questions they might ask that indicate an answer is coming soon:
What’s the process for executing the plan once we have an answer?
What’s the start date or deadline?
How does payment work?
What do we need to do next?
Another thing to listen for is a change in possession. When they begin talking about the solution as “ours” instead of “yours,” you can be assured that a buying decision is on the horizon.
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Recognize When a No Isn’t Really a No
Sometimes customers say no because they don’t have all the information they need to make a decision. Sometimes customers say no because they’re too busy to say yes. Sometimes customers say no because they aren’t yet convinced of the value of your solution or service. Sometimes customers say no because they don’t think to say, “Not at this time but I’d definitely be interested in a few months.” Sometimes customers say no because they are too scared to say yes.
Don’t take a no at face value. Ask a follow-up question. Ask why. Ask for some feedback about the process. Ask when would be a good time to discuss the idea again. If you take every no you get at face value, you’re going to miss out on some sales!
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Recognize When an Excuse Is a No
People don’t like to say no. There is something about the psychology of it that just kind of bothers some people. Recently, a colleague was telling me about one her clients that was making dumb excuses. After a meeting where he told her that she had exceeded his expectations, he suddenly changed his tune, saying that she hadn’t given him what he asked for. When she followed up with him, all he could say was that he was kind of weird and hard to deal with. When she talked to me about it, I asked her, “Do you think he’s saying no but just doesn’t know how to really say it?” She thought for a moment and replied, “I bet you’re right.” If you’re getting a no that’s spelled differently than n-o, you need to recognize it as such, and take the appropriate action, be it overcoming objections or moving on.
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Don’t give up until you get an answer. And even then, don’t give up. Here’s a great article from The Marketing Donut that suggests implementing a 5 No Strategy. Successful salespeople are resilient, even when they don’t get the answers they are after.
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Come back tomorrow for an article 3 things to do when you get a “No” and 4 things to do when you get a “Yes.”
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