Ever Had a Prospect Disappear?
Nothing is worse… You've done all the right things with your prospect…You've identified their need and built a relationship…You've determined the prospect is interested in buying or selling…You've met a few times and the sales process is moving forward…You've supplied everything needed to assist them in making a final decision…And you've followed up to see if you can get that final decision.
But instead, all you're hearing is dead silence. Not a word... "what-the ????," you say … "Everything was going great, I thought we had a good relationship… Then, all of a sudden… nothing… What went wrong?
Almost everyone I coach struggles with this exact desperate situation --- wondering what went wrong, why your prospect has broken off communication, and, most importantly, what you can do about it. Unfortunately the only person who can solve this mystery is -- guess who? Your prospect!
You may have done all the "right" things throughout the sales process, but, somewhere along the way, he or she has never felt truly comfortable enough to tell you the truth about where they really stand with the decision to buy or not buy with you as their agent. Why not?... Because in most cases, prospects don't want to hurt your feelings by telling you something to disappoint you. The problem is, something in your approach (your tone of voice, your attempt to create forward momentum, your use of traditional sales language) told them the most important thing on your mind was making the sale. It became more about you than them.
However, what your prospecting approach must do is let prospects feel comfortable telling you the truth, all the way through the sales cycle, about exactly where you stand with them, without their having to worry you'll feel disappointed.
This is the gap, or disconnect, which makes it easier for prospects to break off communication, because keeping you at bay lets them feel safer and more in control. Take "following up" as an example.
When you call or e-mail to follow up, what message are you really sending? Consider this: The mere fact that you're pursuing and trying to move closer to your sale triggers sales pressure and makes prospects protect themselves by retreating behind their wall of silence. Is there anything you can do in these situations? Yes, definitely.
Don't worry, all is not lost -- but it's important that you look at how something you did or didn't do may have created the situation.
My guess is that, at this point, you'd like to hear is the "truth" about where you stand with your prospect, no matter what that truth is, right? So, how do you get to it? Not by moving forward, but by moving backward to try and repair the hidden break in the relationship. "I don't understand," you say. "How would I do that?" It's simple:
Give your prospect a call(avoid leaving a voicemail, and send an e-mail only if you have no other options) in which you convey the following message:
"Hi John, it’s Eddie Brown with Fonville Morisey, how are you? John, I'm calling to apologize...I haven't heard from you for a few weeks and I’m guessing it must be something I may have done or said, maybe I dropped the ball somewhere along that way...so I'm simply calling to see if you wouldn't mind sharing some feedback so I can improve for next time?"
In other words, you apologize. That's right … you apologize because it's crucial for you to take the high road and be willing to be told something on your end did cause the communication breakdown.
However, most of the time, prospects will find your apology so disarming… they'll stop worrying about you trying to "sell" them and will finally feel comfortable telling you their truth. Try it, and let me know how it goes.
Eddie Brown © 2010
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