80% of business owners say that a long sales cycle is the biggest sales challenge for them. They struggle with convincing prospects to buy from them right now.
So how do you convince your big clients, the powerful decision makers, to make a decision to buy from you RIGHT NOW?
What do you say when your prospects say “I’ll think about it”?
The fact is that your prospective clients are extremely busy with their lives and businesses. Unless there is something urgent in front of them, their minds filter out all the unnecessary information and only keep the stuff they need to think about now.
In today’s Big Sales Talk, I tell you about two strategies you should use to convince prospects to buy right now.
FIRST: WHY NOW?
BECAUSE THE MARKET SAYS SO.
We are constantly looking for inspiration and interesting information. That’s why amidst all the things we have to do, people still watch videos on “100 Life Hacks That Make Life Easier.”
So, if you want to convince prospects to buy from you right now, you need to use interesting stats to tell them why.
They do not want to hear why they should buy from you, because people hate to be sold to.
However, they are more receptive when certain research or market statistics say they need your product or service.
So, look for market statistics to convince them: “Why Now?”
How do you find market statistics?
Very simple.
Google the term:
“[your industry] trends 2016”
Have fun with the results you get. Read through a few articles and pick statistics that most suit your service or your value proposition.
For example, if you are a social media manager, Google “social media trends 2016”
Here is one of the links I got:
On this link, the author made the following statement:
“For all those reasons, companies ramped up social media advertising in 2015, with spending increasing 33.5% to nearly $24 billion—a figure that’s all the more impressive, because just a few years ago that number was $0.”
This kind of information is more likely to get your big clients’ attention and why they should work with you.
They should not work with you just because you are very good at your job. They should work with you now because everyone else – including their competitors – has been increasing their social media ads spending by 33.5% and they will miss out if they don’t work with you.
REMEMBER – YOUR BIG CLIENTS WILL WANT TO DO WHAT THEIR COMPETITORS ARE DOING.
In order to convince prospects to buy now, you have to talk about what they are interested in hearing.
They are not always interested in what you have to offer. But, they are always interested in what their direct competitors are doing.
Again, if you are a social media manager, show your prospects that their direct competitors have been increasing their social media ads spending.
Now, let’s put it together. I always believe in show, don’t tell.
“Hi Mr. Smith, companies have increased their advertising spending on social media by 33.5% in 2015. And, your direct competitor, Company XYZ, just launched a brand new advertising campaign. I have a few ideas just for you. Would you like to talk about it?”
This is how you become the thought leader and push for actions without being too salesy.
SECOND, WHAT TO DO NOW?
People hate making complex sales decisions. They hate saying ‘no’ to people. Therefore, they would rather put off speaking with you to avoid conflict.
When you are trying to convince prospects to buy now, does this sound familiar?
To overcome this challenge, breakdown your sales process into small stages and lead your prospects through the stages.
For example, if you just finished the sales presentation with your prospects, instead of closing the sale, ask your prospects whether you could send the proposal to him or her and all related parties. They simply need to look through it.
Once you have sent them the proposal, ask whether you could have 15 minutes’ conversation with them to make sure they clearly understand the proposal.
This allows you to maintain the momentum of your sales relationship with your prospects and encourage them to act.
Want to know more secrets about how B2B sales managers sell to big clients? Then check out my webinar ‘3 Winning Strategies to Selling to Big Clients’ .
Talk to you next time.
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