Every sales development representative has been through a similar situation- cold or dead prospect. We can imagine you being starry-eyed on the pursuit of a hot prospect, expecting to bag it immediately. Yet, like we always say in the world of Sales: the bigger the prospect the more elusive it is. However, one often ends up with list of prospects that continue to elude you despite significant time investment. All that lead generation management amounted to nothing, it seems….but wait! Help is on your way! With the below set of ingenious tips, you can be the Melissandre and resuscitate those unresponsive prospects to life:
Keep It Simple
Communicating the value proposition in a succinct yet impactful way is a challenge that every professional faces, now and then. In all eagerness to impress, it is common to spew out as much as possible, but with disastrous results. In this digital era where consumer attention spans holds at merely 8 seconds, getting bogged down in features and details is a sure-fire way to get hung up on mid-sentence. Therefore, it is essential to keep things direct and simple to get the message across.
Do your prep work
It certainly pays to conduct some prep work before re-engaging, especially when you know that prospect is on the iffier side. Shape your focal point on a specific problem that you have detected. Tailor the pitch to highlight your product or service as a solution to that problem. Also, if your offering has changed, or you have a new, relevant use since you last connected, bring it up. Let them know that you have researched diligently, in coming up with solutions.
Keep it engaging and smooth
Nothing- we mean NOTHING turns a prospect off sooner than Blah details and open chances of asking for money. Discussing the financial details on the drop of a hat is bore-some, regressive and makes you come off as con artist, ready to mooch up the dough. So, be subtle about the information you give out- smoothness and wit work here. Keep things heated up by luring them into taking up the services- the more you engage the further the conversation grows. So, be subtle about the information you give out- smoothness and wit work here.
Think Ahead
No one likes a fair-weathered friend as reliability is the talk of the day. Prospects look for partners- those who would provide long-term solutions. Think ahead to your prospect’s future needs and highlight them in your discussion. Provide a bigger picture for them to see. Not only does this come off as assuring but also proves your resourcefulness in the prospects eyes. It is a good show to convey stability and reliance while providing veritable solutions.
We all know the adage “there’s a time for everything”- follow that to the boot. Try sending emails at different times to see which gets the best response rates. Often Sundays are the best moment to send across your pitches as people are more accepting of propositions during their leisure times- exclusions like vacations and business trips are big NO-NOs, though. The timings can be the perfect judge for a hit or a miss- that 2:00 PM call wouldn’t make a wise move, you know.
Follow ups are like coal- may seem useless, but you can carve a diamond out of it. Prospects rate professionals on the basis of follow ups before coming into a conclusive decision. Yet, majority of Sales professionals turn a blind eye to this goldmine of profitability. Your rate and quality of follow ups reflects upon your zeal to convert, so slackening the pace won’t help you. You need to keep up constant vigilance to improve upon the amount of follow ups while maintain consistency in delivering quality.
