One of the challenging parts of selling software or any product or service in which the sales process is long is moving forward in the sales process with the prospect. From my experience it is crucial that you lock in a next call with the potential prospect. Without a next step or more specifically a next scheduled call to get feedback from the prospect you will find yourself being in the dark. Being in "the dark" status means you invested time and effort on the sales process with the potential client but have no idea when him/her will reconnect with you in order to stop the process or even better continue the sales process in order to close a new deal. In addition, being in "the dark" means chasing your prospect via email, phone, text until you get a response from them, which is a major time suck. This is the worst scenario a sales person can find themselves in and this should be avoided at any cost if you want to improve your chances of winning a new sales deal or closing a lost opportunity as soon as possible in order to save you time.
In order to avoid being in "the dark" with a sales prospect you need to do one simple thing before ending your call with them. Request to schedule a quick follow-up call with them. This is very simple to do, but from my experience a large majority of sales professionals due not request to schedule a follow-up call with their prospects and prefer to wait for them to get back to them.
Sales call example (last part of the discussion):
Sales rep: It was a pleasure talking to you John, before we end our call do you have any additional questions for me?
John Prospect: Thank you Sales rep for the information you provided me about your product. I will review internally with my team and get back to you with feedback.
Sales rep: No problem John. Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions. I look forward hearing back from you.
In this example call the sales rep made a major mistake, HE DID NOT SCHEDULE A FOLLOW-UP CALL WITH JOHN PROSPECT!!! The sales rep has now positioned himself into "the dark" with no scheduled follow-up call to understand the prospects review results and if he is interested in moving forward with the sales process and making a purchase.
Lets take this same sales call example, but this time request to schedule a follow-up call:
Sales call example (last part of the discussion):
Sales rep: It was a pleasure talking to you John, before we end our call do you have any additional questions for me?
John Prospect: Thank you Sales rep for the information you provided me about your product. I will review internally with my team and get back to you with feedback.
Sales rep: One last thing John, since both you and myself have hectic schedules would it be possible to pencil in a 10 minute follow-up call with you in order to get feedback from your internal review with your team and discuss next steps?
John Prospect: Definitely, one second let me look at my calendar .....
It is important to note that not all sales prospects will agree to schedule a follow-up call with you. This is okay and you should not be too aggressive, but from experience a valid prospect will respect your time and effort and agree to schedule a follow-up call to provide internal review feedback and discuss next steps. In addition, if they agree to schedule a next call it is a good indicator that this prospect is serious and you have a better chance of closing a deal with them.
This small tip will save you time and frustration and hopefully improve your sales cycle.
Remember - Always schedule the next call prior to ending a call !
