This blog is not intended to be a religous pitch, as I understand that each of us needs to come to terms with our own beliefs regarding sprirituality and religion. It is intended to share my personal experience as I do in all my blogs regarding my beliefs and how they relate to motivating a salespeople.
It’s hard to exclude spirituality from my day. I can try and box it up for a Sunday or special occasion but what I have found to be true is we live in a spiritual world and there is no avoiding it. With that said I have come to embrace my spiritual beliefs in all of my life including business and sales.
I am not sure what your spriritual beliefs are but mine are centered around Christ. I have found that the skills and talents I have as a sales person can be maximized when I invite God into my business day. I ask him to lead my work so it will be a good work. He is faithful to guide me to the right call, say the right thing or hear the right message when I am faithful to allow him to be part of my day. I truly believe God does provide for us, so it only makes sense to get in sync with how he is providing to experience more of Him and His power.
When I serve my clients I fullfill a scripture in the Bible that says, “do nothing out of selfish ambition but consider others more than yourself”. Consider your prospects, clients, employer and fellow employees. I ask Him to guide me to greater understanding of their needs. I ask Him to help me prepare the best offering. I ask Him to provide me boldness and wisdom to serve others.
As things go well I celebrate my wins but also am reminded to thank God, my provider for His provision. After 25 years of faith I have come to realize no matter how hard I work, the power to close more business does not reside in me alone.
When it comes to follow-up, are you coming across as pushy or are you viewed as a partner? Here are some basic guidelines to make your follow-up a way to nurture the customer with class by adding value and delivering results.
Agree on a next step timeline and purpose at each appointment. Never leave an appointment by saying, “I will check in with you”. Be of service to your customer and help them set action on their calendar. Tie your action step to their objectives, not yours. If your prospect or customer is meeting with you, they want to make a buying decision. Help them stay on task by keeping the project moving. In the end they will have what they want and need in a more timely manner.
When sales progress has slowed down, try to understand why. It could be priorities have shifted, lost site of value, lost budget dollars, new buyer involved, or not enough pain with their current situation. If you know what the slow down is you can work with it. You can’t just push your way up the priority list. You must earn your way back by; 1)demonstrating understanding to their situation, and 2)gently reminding them of the value in the buying decision of your product or service. Resist the urge to assume delays are disinterest.
Deliver relevant information. Especially during long term follow-ups, find relevant information that will continue to educate your prospect or customer on the benefits of your product or service. This could be case studies, articles or easy to view or read product informercials. Excercise patient-urgency. Remain urgent with your activities to keep sales cycle moving but be patient with their response.
In summary, set your next step at each meeting, tie the next step to their objectives, be understanding of slow downs, use relevant information to keep interest and exercise patient-urgency. This will demonstrate your class and professionalism and deliver the results you and your customer hope for.