It can be very frustrating when prospects don’t call back!
Here are a few of the strategies we use which work.
We email the decision maker a content rich, compelling (short) email on a Sunday night. Our email becomes one of the first, if not the first, read on Monday morning. We provide date and time options in the email and let the decision maker know we’ll be calling their assistant on Monday at 9:00am to confirm which option works best for the initial meeting. When we call on Monday morning the assistant is already waiting to confirm an appointment.
We log in to LinkedIn to view the decision maker’s profile to gain intelligence from their colleagues. For example, if we want to speak to the CIO but are not having luck getting through, we can quickly see which VP or Directors are the direct reports and contact them for intel on priorities and challenges. We then circle back to the CIO with personalized reasons, based on what we learned from their team, on why a meeting would be the best decision the CIO makes all week.
Strategize and carefully craft a new voicemail or email that gets a prospect to realize that even if he/she doesn’t have an immediate need it’s still extremely important to make the time to meet. Too often sellers don’t think about the sales message content enough. They assume what they are leaving in a voicemail or writing in an email is compelling, when it’s not. Our clients’ prospects often tell our Door Openers that they said “no” to the calls they received from 10 other companies but said “yes” to them. Why? Because our Door Openers said something that was important and valuable to them! The seller with the best words wins!
This works especially well with hard-to-reach and senior level decision makers. Connecting with prospect decision makers is just the first step in getting the door open. Once you have a prospect on the phone you will need to deliver a content-rich message that is so relevant and compelling your prospect will invite you to meet!
Does the message you are using now accomplish this for you? Of course, you must also be prepared to answer the objections that will inevitably come your way. How much time have you spent pre-thinking answers that will get you past the objections you face? Don’t forget to couple your objection response with a request for a next step.
How often do you do this? What are you planning to do to develop new business right now?