Peady’s Selling Engagement
Ever heard this phrase before? It’s a classic stall used by prospects which too many inexperienced sales people fall for. Once you agree to send your email you’ll then participate in one of the most frustrating parts of selling – “the follow up or chase”.
Throughout the years the “email stall” has progressed. It went from “Put a brochure in the mail, and I’ll look at it”…..which evolved into “Can you fax something to me, and I’ll look it over?”…..now it’s “Email me the information so I can read it”
The truth: Your prospective customer doesn’t want to give you any time or they feel there is no need for what you’re selling. How many times have you sent off the email and when you’ve been fortunate enough to catch the client again, you’ve heard “I haven’t looked at it yet” or “We’re not interested”?
The best way to avoid this stall is to earn the right to ask a few key qualifying (or even disqualifying) questions so you can save a lot of time later on (and a lot of disappointment too).
You need to be prepared for this brush off with a good script or response that fits your personality, product or service. Yes I said script – don’t want to use a script then just wing it and you’ll end up sending an email then trying to chase it up.
Take the time to adapt and customise a response so you are prepared the next time your prospect uses this stall – here’s a few ideas:
- “I’ll be happy to do that, but once you read the email, you’ll probably have more questions than answers…so let’s do this first: I’ll ask you just a couple of quick questions to see if this is a fit for you, and if it is, I’ll send you the information – sound fair?
- “I’d be more than happy to do that – where would you like me to email that?” (email them the info while you are talking)
“OK it’s on the way. What I’d like to do is take a minute to get an idea of what’s important to you, and then I can direct you to that part of the information when you read it. Let me ask you…….
By avoiding the email stall you’ll enjoy stronger prospecting outcomes.
About the author
Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.
He can be contacted at [email protected]