Tweet

A Confused Prospect Does Not Buy

Written by: Wendy Weiss

Article Overview: While I have a sense of what 'an internet broadcasting technology' might be, I don't know or understand its value to me. And that is the heart of the matter: What is the value? There was nothing in his message that enabled me to understand the value he had to offer. There was, therefore, no reason for me to call him back.

A Confused Prospect Does Not Buy

I received a voice mail from a sales representative:

'The purpose of my call today is to introduce myself and take a moment to briefly describe for you two core-based technologies; laser Internet on-line office and an Internet broadcasting technology. I don't know whether or not if any of these applications may be of interest to you, I would appreciate a brief moment of your time to review that.'

They weren't of interest. I didn't call back. Well, actually, to be more exact, I didn't know if they'd be of interest. I am a techno-moron. While I use technology for my business, I only use technology when I understand the value of what that technology enables me to do. I have frequent conversations with my IT consultant and I tell him what I'd like to be able to accomplish and he makes recommendations, in very plain English.

Getting back to the message above, I have no idea what 'core-based technologies' and 'laser internet on-line office,' mean. While I have a sense of what 'an internet broadcasting technology' might be, I don't know or understand its value to me. And that is the heart of the matter: What is the value? There was nothing in his message that enabled me to understand the value he had to offer. There was, therefore, no reason for me to call him back.

This same representative called me a few days later. Because I generally talk to s.ales people who call me, we did talk for approximately five minutes. I still didn't understand what his product was, what it did or what its value to me might possibly be. I told him so. He still couldn't make himself clear. Instead, he said he'd send an e-mail, which would miraculously explain everything. I never received it.

Instead, a few days later there was another voice mail. It was the exact same message that he'd left the first time. No acknowledgement that we'd talked (clearly he'd forgotten or simply didn't check me off in his data base) and no mention of the promised e-mail. I didn't return his call.

Today I received yet another voice mail from this representative. This one went: 'Just wanted to follow-up on our conversation and the information I sent to you.' Again, this message contained nothing about the value he had to offer. He gave me no compelling reason to respond and I did not.

So what are the lessons here?

Lesson 1. Keep good records. This way you will know whether or not you have spoken with a prospect, what you talked about and what is your next step.

Lesson 2. If you promise to send something to a prospect, send it.
Lesson 3. Always lead with value. 'What is the value to me?'
That's the question that every prospect is asking when they hear your message and/or when you get them on the telephone. It's really your job to tell them. They will not guess, read your mind or figure it out on their own.

Lesson 4. Be crystal clear. You are the expert in what you do. You are the expert on your product, your service and/or your offering, your prospect is not. It is a huge mistake to assume that your prospect knows or understands the value of what you have to offer. You must make your message so clear that even a child would understand the value. A confused prospect does not buy.



© 2007, Wendy Weiss

Related Articles
  You Can't Sell Anybody Anything… Until They Discover They Want It!
  Sales Training London: You Can't Sell Anybody Anything Until They Discover They Want It
  "Arm Around The Shoulder" Online Copy Will Boost Sales
  Niche Marketing - Introducing a Different Way to Identify Who You Serve in the Marketplace
  When They Do Not Buy

Article Tags: representative, sales representative, technology, voice mail



Related Forum Posts
Re: Hiring introverts vs. extroverts - [quote="Evan":37xmbjab]It's generally hard to be a good salesperson if you are an introvert.[/quote:37xmbjab] Evan, I was thinking about the same right? Then I was put in charge of training sales teams and found out interesting traits among the successful ones. Often times, the extroverts talk "too much" and kill a sale. They attempt to overcome every objection by giving answers while NOT understanding they are not hearing true objections. When objections are answered but the buyers aren't proceeding for transaction, they're not telling you the real objection. When that happens, there is a psychological shift occurs that the more you appear needy to sell as a salesperon, the less attractive your sales team becomes because people like to be facilitated instead of being sold. So the hybrid of both characteristics will serve best in sales. The tone of your voice, posture, attitude, all work well... and you want to look confident, mature, calm and not attached to the end result of the transaction. It's like saying.... Mr. Prospect, I certainly would love to welcome you as a customer, but even if you don't proceed, it wouldn't be my loss... but saying this through your tone of voice, look on your face and everything else instead of in words. And some extroverts ones have hard time expressing these messages through unspoken communications, seeking approval for their answers to customers objections by speaking too much. Interesting isn't it? Warmest Regards, Takuya
Simple way to avoid Cold Calling - Gary, A chiropractor I work with hates cold calling (me too!) and he uses a technique to warm people up to using his services - it's so simple! In Sales your dealing with 3 pools of people: 1. Strangers 2. Prospects 3. Returning Customers You need to move people from one pool to the next. We'll concentrate on #1 and #2 as it's most relevant to your question. My Clients does the following (you just have to tailor it to your situation - be creative). My Client (we'll call him Bob) Bob leverages his time and resources to only get people that need his offer (pain relief) to put their hand up. Dealing with Strangers can get expensive and they don't like to be told what to do as they have no trust or relationship built with him. So to get Strangers to put their hands up he writes up an offer with a free report on a particular pain relief - let's say lower back pain (note: he can simply just change lower back pain to neck pain and have a new report). and uses multiple marketing vehicles to promote the Free report - magazines, newspaper, forums, postcards, private clinics etc. The only people picking up this information are the very people Bob would like as customers as they have Lower back pain. Bob's Free report ends with him stating his services and includes a Free in-house Consultation with no obligation. You'd be surprised at how easily Bob converts Strangers into Prospects. Note: They become prospects when they ask for the Free Guide and in exchange provide their contact details. This gives Bob unlimited opportunity to contact them for the Free in-house consultation with no obligation to continue using him. At this stage Bob's ability to close the sale lies in his office providing good customer service, Bob's ability to help the prospect and provide value at the free in-house consultation. Notice, he hasn't had to pick up the phone to COLD-CALL his Stranger pool or his Prospect pool. Hope that example helps to increase your prospecting!
what about home schooling? - [quote:2e7w5tgk]In fact, the concept of homework is actually quite useless since in the "real world", we do all of our work in the office. So wouldn't it make more sense to have ONLY in-class assignments? Confused If this happened, there'd be less plagiarism. Moreover, if you encounter a road block at work, you're typically not going to have the time to "take it home" and research the answer or re-submit it if you didn't do well the first time. In the "real world" you have to solve problems on the spot, so shouldn't the classroom environment reflect that?[/quote:2e7w5tgk] That sounds intriguing, while it might make for a longer day, it could be a more profound learning experience. Home schooling sounds like the closest example to this model... at least in the earlier years of development - not uni levels. I like it....
Re: what about home schooling? - [quote:30twuzn2]In fact, the concept of homework is actually quite useless since in the "real world", we do all of our work in the office. So wouldn't it make more sense to have ONLY in-class assignments? Confused If this happened, there'd be less plagiarism. Moreover, if you encounter a road block at work, you're typically not going to have the time to "take it home" and research the answer or re-submit it if you didn't do well the first time. In the "real world" you have to solve problems on the spot, so shouldn't the classroom environment reflect that?[/quote:30twuzn2] Its been many years since I had a job that didn't involve taking work home. Of course, I could've worked in the office 80 hours a week, but working 50+ and taking some specific work home was easier and allowed me to get work done around the house too. But, this does depend on the amount of work each person has to. I realized quickly when I was managing a doctor's office, working with patients, scheduling, promoting, handling money collection and insurance work - that it saved my sanity to take the insurance work home where I could work on it in peace. In another job, I worked the store alone on my shifts and it was easier to take all ordering resources and information home to get the ordering done in an atmosphere that allowed me to focus on the orders with less interruptions - and since my bonuses were almost totally impacted by proper ordering, it was imperative to get the orders right. Shri


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Ask for a Flexible Work Arrangement

How to Handle the “I Am Not Interested” Objection

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.