We’ve all had a stalled sales conversation, where prospects think the politest way to deal with an unwanted salesperson is to ignore them. To stop this objection clogging up your sales pipeline, there are a number of tactics you can take. Below are the ones we’ve found that have worked for us.
Email them with a sales conversation starter
According to the Radicati Group’s 2015 Email Statistics Report, business professionals receive an average of 88 emails a day. To make sure yours stands out from the crowd, you need a subject line that restarts a conversation. For example:
“Re: your last email.” (Subject lines with Re: are opened 92% of the time)
“[Name], I’m sorry…” (Sincere emotional contact makes the prospect think they know you)
“This will only take 30 seconds.” (Business prospects are busy people. They appreciate knowing the email won’t take up too much of their time and creates a sense of urgency too.)
For more ways to improve your email open rate, click here.
Provide them with the resource they want
When you started your sales pitch, the minute you tried to sell to them they probably switched off. However, before that, when you questioned them they might have revealed something important. It could have been anything from they were comparing products in the market to the fact they do everything in-house.
Go back over your notes from the conversation and find this golden nugget. Then find a resource that could benefit them. For example, a report on how everyone is performing in the industry (including you against your competitors). Or a report on a latest trend that they might not know about. Even if it doesn’t directly promote your product, it builds up your relationship with them as someone they can trust for reliable information. Then, when it comes to them needing your product they will turn to you out of trust and loyalty.
Host an event
Face to face sales are still the most effective way to close deals because we all still crave the human element when parting with our money. Events allow people to meet and are more memorable than a phone call. Plus, prospects feel privileged to be invited to an event. Remember, the more you boost their ego during the sales process, the more likely the are to close a deal with you. Once they have attended the event, restart your email or phone conversations. With the event fresh in their mind, you are more likely to stand out from the crowd of salespeople calling them. And so, your conversation is back on track.
