We sell creative design services and have 50/50 serious buyer/shopper that we've been doing proposals for. A lot of people are "waiting for team input", "checking with CEO" , "in a holding pattern" , "gathering info from competitors" , or decided they want our service but are not ready until the product is finished or brand strategy is defined... which could be 2-3 months out. Half have just gone silent. We're regularly following up, trying to find the objections/blockers. Some don't respond at all, half do and say they need a couple weeks. I think the big thing I notice is most of them don't have an actual problem & deadline defined. They just know they need it and want it. Typical sales process is 2 months and involves 1-2 calls. Though lately, that's extending to 2-4 months.
There are a lot of good answers here. But, the issue is with qualifying. What you have is a complex sale and in a complex sale, where you deal with many buying influences who have different opinions as to what the optimal solution is as well as the urgency of the problem needing fixing.
There is one quick tip I will give you. And, that is, in your initial discussions ask them bluntly a question like this (use your own phrasing and style): "I know this process might take a while because there are a lot of people involved on your side. Can I count on you to keep me informed as to what's going on?"
Nine out of ten will say yes. Then, when you call, you can leave a message that says "Hey Joe, you agreed to keep me informed as to what's going in. Please return the call to let me know." Their guilt will probably prevail.
Is it foolproof? No, but it will increase your odds of getting a call back.
I also ask a question like this: "I find that when people call me they fall into one or two camps. The first are people who are just shopping and looking for information but aren't really looking to do something. The other is people who really want to solve a problem and want to do something relatively soon. I'm happy to spend some time with you either way, but can you tell me which camp are you in?"
One last thing, you might need a sales methodology for complex sales such as Miller Heiman's Strategic Selling. It's geared towards your type of selling situation. If you want info on this, let me know.
Bob
Answered 6 years ago
Access 20,000+ Startup Experts, 650+ masterclass videos, 1,000+ in-depth guides, and all the software tools you need to launch and grow quickly.
Already a member? Sign in