Just Five Minutes...A Bunch Of Hooey

Guest post by: Will Turner
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Three Steps To Customer Loyalty - By Will Turner

Have you ever asked a prospect for “just five minutes” of their time? Salespeople do it all the time. They’ll call a prospect and say something like, “I’d like to get together with you for five minutes to share with you…” Sometimes they’re bold, and they’ll ask for 10 or 20 minutes. Don’t.

Can you really establish a relationship and find out anything meaningful in five minutes? If the answer is “No,” then why would you ask for just five minutes? If you stay longer than your stated time period, you just shot your credibility. And that’s certainly not a good way to start a relationship.

Some salespeople will argue that they use this approach because they just want to meet with the decision-maker and get their foot in the door. Once that is done, they hope to have another opportunity in the future.

What they don’t realize, however, is that they have totally devalued themselves and their product or service with the promise of a five minute appointment. That means the likelihood of getting another meaningful opportunity is diminished. And even if they get another opportunity, they’re starting in a hole. Further, they’ve demonstrated a low-relationship/high commodity mentality. That’s only a good option if you want to compete on price alone.

On the other hand, if you want to forge a strong relationship and create a peer-to-peer relationship with your clients, you won’t use the “got five minutes” spiel. In fact, if you believe in yourself and your product, you’ll value your time, as well as the time of your prospect. That means if you need 45 minutes for a first appointment, you don’t ask for something less. In fact, it’s always best to just ask for the appointment and not specify how long you need. Chances are you don’t know, because each appointment is different.

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Three Steps To Customer Loyalty - By Will Turner

About the Author: Will Turner

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As President of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group, Will feels he has the best job in the galaxy. He loves working with salespeople and entrepreneurs to "unblock" themselves and "unlock" their potential. Will is the first to admit that he was a reluctant salesperson for many years. He thought most salespeople had to be pushy, and he just wasn't comfortable in that role. He later discovered that you don't have to act like a typical salesperson to be a great salesperson so he created a company to teach others what he had learned. Will transitioned a twenty year career in sales and sales management into his current position as President of Dancing Elephants. In addition to facilitating and presenting, Will is the author of Impact!, the company's monthly e-newsletter on sales performance. He is also the co-creator of the Sales Magnetism program and the co-author of Six Secrets of Sales Magnets.
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