Chasing a Sale…
One of the hardest things for some people to do, especially tech minded individuals in the IT industry, is chase a sale. This single action can define an organization as a sales oriented company or tech oriented company.
Not that the two can not co-exist but the nature of chasing a sale brings an advantage that pure tech minded companies don’t possess. In the sales world chasers are called hunters, and account managers or people who wait for sales to come to them are called gatherers or farmers.
Generally tech companies without sales staff fall in the gatherer or farmer category. The phone rings an appointment is made, someone walks in with a problem a sale is made; you get the picture. Hunters or better yet chasers find opportunities and then chase the sale until either they close the deal or are told no. Even then a good chaser will make sure to reach out to a “no” client periodically to see if there is a change in status.
This is the major difference. Chasers are defined by the relentless nature to never give up, to never take no for an answer, and to continually follow up. It would be a lot for me to ask tech minded individuals or non-sales people to try to adopt these traits. The reality is that this can’t be expected as it is not in the majority of tech individual’s personalities to work this way. Of course that’s ok because without the techs there would be nothing to sell.
However, there are things that can be applied to a non-sales organization that can create that advantage that we talked about. The biggest one being follow up. You may be surprised to learn that most sales are lost immediately following the initial meeting. This is completely based on the inability or lack of immediacy and follow up.
Now you may think this sounds funny but think about a time in your past where you just did not get back to a potential client, you never provided a proposal, or you simply forgot. Don’t worry it has happened to all of us, and even seasoned sales professionals miss opportunities based on the lack of follow up.
One way to “keep it tech” while creating immediacy and follow up is to provide a simple thank you email when you get back to the office from an appointment. This lets the potential client know that you are diligently working on their proposal and provides you an open line of communication.
Once you have sent this initial email set a number of reminders in your calendar to reach out and follow up with the potential client. Though these reminders are easy to dismiss or overlook at least they will be keeping you on track. The better you can become at follow up the more sales you will close.
Chasing a sale doesn’t mean you are annoying the potential client and actually can be a very positive experience for both you and the client. Potential clients appreciate the communication, just don’t overdo it, and always provide them with anything you have promised, on time.
Frank Gurnee
VP, Channel Services, ExchangeDefender
(877) 546-0316 x4777
frank@ownwebnow.com