The race is on. We’re only weeks away from the end of the year, and this means more than ever time is of the utmost importance. Your customers don’t want to waste time they don’t have, and you don’t want to waste time on people who aren’t going to buy.
Qualify fast all the time. Qualify even faster this time of year. This means you must be ruthless in removing from your schedule prospects who are merely suspects. Don’t hold back on a question you want to ask, and that includes two questions I like to ask once you’ve established the customer has a need with which you can help them:
- What is the outcome you’re looking to achieve?
- How important is time to you in making a decision?
With both questions, you’re looking for the customer to give you an indication they have urgency in their need to make a decision. These two questions are what I call 4th quarter questions, because they help you learn quickly if time is on your side. Sure, they work every other quarter too; it’s just that I feel in the 4th is when they will help you the most.
Here is a 40-second video worth watching:
A second approach I like in the 4thquarter is to remove options to minimize the number of decisions the customer needs to make. This means you take control and make the decision for the customer.
To do this it begins at the prospecting phase by being careful to not mention anything that implies you have a “wide variety of options” or anything else that implies a lot of choices. The last thing you want the customer to be thinking is they need more time due to the number of options they are considering.
When you use this approach, don’t think you’re doing a disservice to your customers. No, you’re actually providing them with more value, because you’re helping them to make a decision faster.
The faster they make a decision, the sooner they begin to benefit from what you have to offer. This applies even more in December because a decision to wait can turn into a lengthy delay due to the holidays.
Sales never stop! We don’t shut down the sales process due the calendar, but rather we flex our process to fit the calendar.
And don’t forget that a coach can help you excel in your sales career! Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today!
Copyright 2018, 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 Results
One Response
Many thanks Mark for a great post, always appreciated. — Barry.