The Power of One Conversation
There are times when we get stuck. We are unsure and wondering what we are doing wrong. It is in these times we need a new perspective and see the situation through a different lens.
In his best selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey called this a paradigm shift or a change in your mental image of the way things are. Mr. Covey teaches that in order to make this change it requires knowledge, skill and desire.
A young lady in Florida who was frustrated in her new sales position recently contacted me. I offered her a complimentary thirty-minute consultation to see if I could help. It became clear early in the conversation that she was having problems booking enough appointments to fill her schedule.
There are many people who actually sell on the telephone and never see their prospects face-to-face. In her case, she only wanted to book an appointment to get in front of her prospect.
In this scenario, many people make the mistake of talking too much and trying to sell the product on the phone when the probability of gaining commitment go up exponentially when we are face-to-face with the prospect.
After about twenty-five minutes on the phone we concluded the call and she was very excited and had a new perspective on booking appointments.
One week later, I received the following message:
I want to thank you again for taking the time out to coach me through my first sales position.
Since I’ve last spoken to you, I have booked and average of 6 more leads a day than I usually do. I feel so much more confident meeting with potential clients and giving them my full commitment and sincerity when booking the appointment. As you said, I’ve been selling the appointment on the phone and not the product. The results are exponential.
Again, I want to thank you as my success is because of your help.
She increased her appointments over 60% per week. How did she do it? I told her three things:
- Remember, you must sell the appointment first. That is the only purpose of the phone in this sales process.
- Pique their interest by telling the prospect in less than 10 seconds how you save them time, money or both.
- Do not ask the prospect if they would like to meet with you. Assume the appointment by giving them two appointment times. For example: “I am available on Tuesday between nine and eleven or Thursday between one and three. Which day and time would work best for you?”
Maybe your sales process needs just a minor tweak to help you become wildly successful. Seek advice and counsel from someone. One conversation might make all the difference.
Have a great week!
Pierce
