You are having a great conversation with a prospect. You have related on many different levels. You’ve laughed, you’ve cried, you’ve discussed personal issues. You even find out that you may be related or once lived in the same neighborhood. Everything is going great. You really feel like you can help this person to succeed and that they would be an excellent addition to your team. You hang up the phone feeling good about that call. You feel as though you have accomplished something. So what’s wrong?
You Forgot To Close the Deal!
You let that person go without: adding them to your team, getting a committment from them as to when they want to join you, or even scheduling a definite callback!
What are you doing?!
This is probably one of the most common failings of many marketers and it is actually a very simple one to fix…
The key to closing a sale usually relies on the follow-up. This does NOT mean that you should be calling people back infinitely until they decide to come around. Odds are they never will. If someone is interested in what you can offer them, they will be interested on your first contact. The follow-up should really be about getting them enrolled and making them some money. Some people just need a little time to themselves before they make a decision and you should give it to them.
Here are the things that should happen when you actually get a live prospect on the phone that you feel will be an asset to your team:
1. Make the conversation flow seamlessly into the close. This is usually going to be something like, “Do you want to pay for this with a credit card or electronic draft?” or “What address do you want me to send your materials to?” Any phrase that moves them to action is good.
2. If and ONLY IF they stop the enrollment process, then you would find out what their objection is and overcome it. It will probably be something as simple as “I want to think about it” or “I’ll need to talk to my husband first.” Whatever it is, acknowledge it and show understanding. If you are not able to overcome the objection at this point, you will move to the next step…
3. Get as much information as you can from your prospect and schedule an enrollment date. Notice I did NOT say a “follow-up call.” Have them give you a definite date that they will have all their ducks in a row and you can go ahead and put their information into the system. If they are still resistant to this or maybe don’t even want to give you all their details, that’s fine. Just schedule a standard follow-up call within 72hrs with the expectation that they will be ready to go at that point.
Throughout this process, you NEVER let the prospect think you are dissapointed. If you act desperate or act as if you really NEED them to sign up, you have just given them full control and they will no longer look at you as a leader. If your prospects don’t see you as an expert and a leader, you have already lost. What do they need you for?
Always always remember to close. Every conversation should end with your prospect agreeing to do something for you. If it’s not enrolling on the spot, it should be agreeing to enroll or talk to you again on a specific date at a specific time. If you can’t even get that, they should at least agree to keep an eye out for referrals. Just Don’t Forget To Close The Deal!