Sales Techniques when your prospects do not call you back.
Recently, I pitched my sales training course to this influential social media manager. She is so well connected that I think she is ready to play a bigger game by targeting clients with a larger revenue base.
I pitched my idea to help her to sell to big clients. She loved it, and agreed to further discussions.
I was so excited with her response…I replied to her to set up our next meeting.
Then, no reply… just dead silence…
One day passed, then two days, and more… I still didn’t hear from her.
Even though I have been in sales for over 15 years, and have experienced the “my client not calling me back” syndrome, I still can’t help but feel slightly anxious.
Here are top 5 sales techniques when my prospects do not call me back.
Sale Technique 1: Prevention Is The Key
There are several sales techniques that you can do to increase your chances of getting a call back.
- Ask for a referral: avoid cold calling or emailing a prospect. The best way to connect with a prospect is via referrals or social media contacts. If you can have someone who is willing to refer you to prospective clients, or to help you to connect with them via networking events, you are a lot more likely to get responses from your prospects.
- Know your clients: Big clients will not have the time to read your email messages. So, you need to make sure that each contact you have with them starts off with addressing their main concerns. Do your research by googling their recent news. Know who the key decision makers are.
- Establish your tone: As soon as your prospects feel your desperation, they will likely stop you from talking. So, begin by establishing yourself as the helper, and that you are only there to explore a potential working relationship.
Sale Technique 2: Systemize Your Process – Set The Follow Up Time and Walk Away.
Once you send out your message, set a follow up date and walk away. Depending on the urgency of your proposal, you can set it from 3 to 7 days. I usually avoid waiting more than 7 days. There should be a valid reason why you would wait for 7 days.
After you set up the follow up call, go ahead and move on to your other potential clients. Despite what people say, sales is still a numbers game. It does not mean that you need to blindly contact every person in the planet. Rather, make sure you that you have a pool of well-qualified prospects.
So, instead of sitting in front the computer and waiting for a reply from this one client, walk away and move on to working on your other prospective clients.
There are many reasons why your prospects do not call you back immediately. So, don’t act desperate. Systemize your follow up time. Only think about this particular prospect when it is time.
Sales Technique 3: Follow Up With Benefit
When people do not hear from their prospects, they often send a “Just want to follow up email” like below:
“Hi Janine,
I just want to follow up on our phone conversation and see if you would still like to set up a meeting to talk about working with each other.
Sincerely,
Catherine”
Do you think you will get a reply with the email? Maybe. But, most likely, no.
Selling is like being chased by a shark. If you are not moving forward, you are simply dead.
So, if your follow-up message does not move the relationship forward or provide value, your prospective clients are not likely to call you back.
Instead of sending a “simply following up” email, try one of the sales techniques. Send an email that reinforces the value you provide, or demonstrates what you can do for them. For my social media manager I was pitching to, I decided to invite her to my next webinar as a follow up:
“Hi Janine,
I hope all is well with you.
I have a webinar coming up and would like to invite you. During the webinar, I will be discussing 3 easy and powerful strategies for selling to big clients. I think they will be very helpful when you are planning your sales strategy.
Let me know if you would like to attend, or, should I send you the slides of the webinar?
Warmly,
Melinda
So, when you do not hear from the prospective clients, it is ok to send a follow up email. Make sure that you continue to deliver benefits and build trust every time you are in contact with your prospects.
Selling is like building a relationship; you need to move slow and deliberately until the final commitment.
Sales Technique 4: Mention Your Prospect’s Competitors or Your Success Story
Nothing interests your prospects more than their competitors. So, if you are not getting any attention from your prospect, talking about their competitors could be one of the most effective sales techniques:
“Hi Mr. Jones,
(The Competitor) just recently launched a brand new marketing campaign, and received over 100,000 shares on their Facebook page. There are 3 key strategies behind their success.
Let me know if you would like to know about these strategies and how to implement them for your next campaign.
Sincerely,
Melinda”
Alternatively, you could also mention your success story as one of the sales techniques.
“Dear Mr. Jones,
My client, XYZ, was recently featured on the top fashion blogs in their target market.
Let me know if you would like to know how I helped them to get the PR exposure.
Sincerely,
Melinda”
Sales Technique 5: Do You Hate Me?
If after 3 – 5 contacts I still do not hear from my prospect, it is clear that this prospect is not interested in my offering. Before removing the person from my active prospect list, I would send a final personal email as follows:
“Dear XXX,
How is everything going? I have not heard from you for a while.
Have you been busy? Or, is it about the training that we have done so far?
I have been excited to start connecting you with the targets clients that you have in mind. But, if you have been too busy, I can definitely understand. Just keep me posted.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Melinda “
With this kind of email, prospects often feel obligated to reply and explain what happened. This way, you will also get feedback on why you have not been able to attract attention from this particular prospect. You will then be able to implement their feedback to make improvements for the future.
Are you ready to tackle a prospect who is not calling you back? Let me know how it goes.
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