John sells securities and insurance. He's a productive advisor, but he needs to shorten his sales cycle, and he also wants to become more discerning about which prospects to pursue, and which he should release.
John described his sales style this way: "I am very persistent - even tenacious - and I don't let go of a prospect until they tell me they are not going to buy from me. I have a tough time getting people to move forward. It seems some cases just go on and on." John says he spends too much time chasing prospects and too much time closing and re-closing cases.
What Is Your Solution for John?
As always, I ask you to imagine that you are advising John. What would you suggest he do to solve his problems?
How We Helped John
Our first step was to help John distinguish his symptoms from the underlying problems. We know John spent too much time closing cases - but why? As is sometimes the case, John was unclear about his basic objectives, and he didn't manage his sales process well. John could not clearly describe what he wanted to accomplish in the first 3 steps of Sales Process (see sidebar).
When we helped John refocus his sales process, he began to be specific about what he wanted to discover when contacting new prospects: Was his contact a serious buyer?
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He started using a Fact Finder on a regular basis - and discovered what's really important to his prospects.
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He made sure each appointment ended with the prospect making a specific commitment to take the next step - or John stopped the sales process to discover why the prospect wouldn't move forward. Was the prospect saying No-For-Now, or No Forever? If it was No-For-Now the objection was dealt with and the sales process continued. If it was No Forever: Thank you for your time and move on.
John went back to basics - began having more fun - and experienced a 22% increase in income.
Let me help you get back to basics - and help your income grow. Call me for a complimentary coaching session.
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