Have you ever made a good decision when you’re really, really tired? Have you ever delayed making a decision because you were tired? You didn’t have the energy to think, analyze and compare decision criteria?
Guess what? A lot of your prospects and customers are tired.
You have companies that are doing really well during the pandemic. They’re tired from just trying to keep up with the business.
You have companies whose worlds been turned upside-down. New products have to be developed because no one is buying the old ones. New channels for selling must be established. They’re tired just from trying to figure out the best business model for the future.
Your job as a salesperson is to make working with you and your company easy and safe.
How?
#1. Evaluate everything in your sales approach. For example, the tried-and-true method of giving prospects three options to consider in your proposal might have worked well in a pre-pandemic business environment. Today, all those options might send your prospect into data and decision overload. Why not just present your best recommendation, or at least reduce to two options? When possible, roll out solutions in achievable steps and stage.
#2. Don’t make the prospect guess at the ROI if they choose to work with you. When prospects have limited time and/or money, they don’t want to waste either one. Sit down and crunch the numbers with your prospects and customers. Together, determine what a good return on investment looks like and when they can expect to see it.
And please, don’t bring in your preloaded Excel spreadsheets to demonstrate value. That approach forces your tired prosect to think even more. Is the data being presented real? Psychology shows that people believe their own data. Co-create solutions with prospects.
#3: Give your prospects and clients qualified referrals. Make their lives easier by providing introductions to business opportunities that will improve their sales pipelines. Provide resources for problems that your company doesn’t solve or sell. Help busy, tired prospects and customers that have even less time to vet vendors. Be a shortcut for clients and make great introductions.
2020 has been a bit of a slog. Be intentional about making it safe and easy to work with you and your company. Tired prospects and customers don’t need more work.
Good Selling!
