How do you handle a buyer turned non-buyer?

We've all experienced this situation - you have a prospect who says "Yes, I'm in!" and then they disappear. Phone calls and emails head straight into a black hole. The commission you thought was coming is slowly slipping away. What do you do?

In a recent blog post, sales trainer Bill Caskey addresses this subject. "I never expect anything," says Caskey. "Not because I want to cushion the fall, but because when you begin expecting something to happen in a certain way then you close yourself off from being flexible - or to having it happen in other ways."

"So, when someone who you thought 'was' a prospect, now tells you they're in 'think-it-over-land,' you have to handle it correctly. Don't beg. Just say, 'I kind of thought that was the case since I didn't hear from you. This is not unusual when considering a purchase like this. Sounds like you're having second thoughts. Let me ask you this. Are you having second thoughts about solving the problem we discussed or second thoughts about who you want to help you?'"

"Now this assumes there is a compelling reason for them to change (problem they're wanting fixed, or a solution they're urgently dying for)," says Caskey. "If you have neither of these, then you never did have a prospect."

Bill Caskey is the President of Caskey, a training firm that specializes in training and developing B2B sales teams through face to face training, teleconferencing, written materials, custom podcasts and one on one coaching. Learn more at http://caskeyone.com