“Be careful about simply sending more information on your product or service.” – Jim Camp in today’s Tip 1649
How about you? Do you connect before sending information?
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Camp Negotiation Systems
4 Reasons People Say No
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Transcript
Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Jim Camp. Jim is a former VP of Sales, and is now an owner and coach with Camp Negotiations. Jim has also served as a military pilot and is retiring as a Major General from the United States Air Force. Here he is:
Jim Camp: Hi, everyone. This is Jim Camp. I’m glad to be back with you for another sales tip. Last episode, we talked about prospecting and trying not to sound like you’re reading from a script. This becomes especially important during your first contact with a potential lead. Keep in mind there’s a big difference between a contact and an actual lead.
Today, I want to touch on how to approach a contact that comes to you or your organization through a marketing response, an email, or your company’s website. If you’re fortunate enough to have some preliminary information about the contact, that’s great. Obviously, this is to your benefit. Your contact may have provided some great qualifying information. They may be asking for more information about you, your company, and about your product or service. If you’ve never talked with this new contact, you might be tempted right away to send more information.
Here’s the tip for today.
Be careful about simply sending more information on your product or service. I strongly recommend instead, you make an attempt to talk with them first.
Let’s try to uncover what prompted them. What’s the reason that they reached out to you or your company?
Here’s a simple example of an email that might work for you. Let’s say our contact’s name is Mike. “Hi, Mike. Thank you for reaching out. I’m confident that a brief conversation can help us both determine if our product or service might be a fit for you or your company. If there isn’t a fit, that’s okay. You can tell me no at any point. When would you be able to connect via Zoom or a phone call to discuss? Look forward to talking with you, Jim.” If they decline to set up a call, that’s okay. Now you’re probably a little bit more safe with sending the information they’ve requested. But keep in mind, when you send that information, also make another attempt to connect with them after they’ve received the information.
For example, “Hi, Mike. What prompted you to reach out to us? I’m happy to send the information you’ve requested. When you’re ready to discuss, we can get on a call to address any of the questions or concerns that you might have. Again, you can tell me no at any point. I look forward to talking with you, Jim.” The bottom line here is this, information is great. However, until you can actually connect and uncover their initial vision of why they reached out to you or what challenges or problems are trying to solve with your product or service, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to actually convert what I call a contact into a lead.
Remember, presenting information too soon before you uncover their vision might actually create objections. What you send them may not be what they’re looking for.
In the next episode, we’ll talk more about the three things you must have before a simple contact converts to what I call a lead. I hope you have success in prospecting. And listen, if you can prospect without fear, without fear of the word no, you’re going to be way more successful. Take care and I’ll talk to you next week.
Scott Ingram: To get your hands on a free download with the 4 Reasons People Say No from Jim and Camp Negotiation, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1649. Once you’ve clicked over there to grab that download, be sure to click back here for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!