“I’m checking in” is what you say to a hotel clerk, not to a prospect. Why do you think the line you use when checking into a hotel is one you can use with a prospect? Is your prospect standing behind a counter waiting for you just like a hotel clerk?
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You’re in sales, so that means creating value for the prospect. If you say “I’m just checking in,” you’re admitting to the prospect that you don’t have anything else you can bring to them. It’s saying all of the value is already on the table. You’re telling the prospect that you’re desperate. To the smart prospect, it says the time is right to negotiate for a major discount.
When you follow up with a prospect, whether it be the first time or the 100th time, you have to bring more value by doing one of the following things:
· Ask for more insight about something they shared in a previous meeting
· Engage with a question to help uncover a deeper need
· Share a new insight of interest to them
· Clarify or answer a question from a previous meeting
· Build on something happening in the prospect’s business or life
· Ask or share about something going on with one of their competitors
· Educate them on a key piece of industry information
Don’t think for a moment there’s nothing more you can share, because they’re always is. The list above is just a sampling of what you can do to create more value. Remember you’re the expert and you’re the one who can help them, not the other way around. It’s your job to create an environment where they have confidence in you. That way, you set yourself up for the one thing you need to do with every call: engage the prospect with a next step.
Too often, the “engagement” part is left out and the prospect is left with one objective: make you disappear fast. When you call to say you’re just checking in, you’ll make it easy for the prospect to blow you off. When you truly engage your prospect, you create the next step for them to agree to. That is how you create value.
All you need to remember is one thing: it’s not the prospects job to engage you, it’s your job to engage them. Doing so, you will both move to the next step. Checking in is what you do at a hotel, not what you do with a prospect.
Download my Ebook, 50 Prospecting Truths, where you’ll find tips and secrets to help you be more effective at prospecting.
Ready to have your next sales meeting deliver the results you need? I would be happy to be part of your next sales meeting, it’s what I do to help sales teams prospect more effectively. With the new year quickly approaching, it’s important to get things off on the right foot and start planning now. Contact me – let’s talk! You can also check out my speaking video below:
Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Result
