One of the things salespeople find exhausting is follow up. Follow-up calls are plagued with hope, fear, anxiety and frustration.
Hope that they’ll finally close the sale, fear that they won’t close the sale and have to follow up again, anxiety over the possibility of antagonizing the prospect and frustration that the deal isn’t closed. It doesn’t have to be this way.
When someone has expressed interest in your offering, but keeps postponing a scheduled meeting, employ this language:
It appears that this isn’t the right time for you to be investigating [you’re offering]. I don’t want to make a nuisance of myself so I’m not going to follow up. When the time is right for you, give me a call and we’ll resume our discussion.
You can use similar language when, during the sales call, you realize that the person is having a difficult time deciding whether they want to make the purchase. Here’s the language I use:
I want you to make the decision that’s right for you. Why don’t you take some time to consider what we’ve discussed. I’m not going to follow up with you. I don’t want to make a nuisance of myself. If you decide this is what you want, you’ll give me a call. If it isn’t, you won’t call. Whichever you choose, it’ll be the right choice for both of us.
No follow up benefits
You gain several benefits when you use language similar to that described above to avoid following up. You avoid:
- The emotional rollercoaster that follow up engenders.
- Wasting time with people who aren’t willing to tell you “no, I don’t want this.”
- Antagonizing the prospect.
At the same time, you earn:
- Trust because you don’t look hungry for a sale.
- Admiration because of the confidence you exude.
- A reputation for genuinely caring about the welfare of others.
- Potential referrals even when the prospect decides not to buy from you.
That’s a lot of benefit from avoiding something that you don’t enjoy anyway.
Takeaway
Follow up is one of the sales myths that lead to burnout in salespeople. You can avoid being one of that number by adopting the no follow up language above. You’ll not only have more fun selling, you’ll enjoy greater sales success as well.
If you enjoyed this insight, please share it with friends and colleagues. They’ll appreciate that you’re thinking of them.
Resources
For a complete overview of Greater Profit/Fewer Sales concepts, check out Dale’s books, Pricing for Profit and Generate Greater Profit With Fewer Sales:
Even More Profitable training programs assure that your organization enjoys the benefits of being a Greater Profit/Fewer Sales organization.
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