Use This Question to Clean Up Your Follow-Up File

How many prospects do you have pending right now? How many of them will close in the next week? The next month? If you're like most salespeople, you're not entirely sure where you stand. Tele-sales expert Art Sobczak suggests you use "The Cleansing Question" to move prospects along and find out where you stand!

Ask the Cleansing Question
The main reason reps have too many leads working is that they don't ask the tough questions early enough. You need to find out if the person you're talking to is really a "player." It's always better to get a "no" early, than to waste time, effort, paper, and postage chasing shadows that never will materialize.

Here is what you need to do starting today. Begin cleaning up your "non-prospect" prospects now by asking this Cleansing Question:

"Mr./Ms. Prospect, we've been talking for awhile now, and have agreed that we'd be able to help you (fill in with how they would benefit.) I want to be sure I'm not bothering you, or wasting your time or mine. Tell me, what is the probability we'll be able to work together in the next month?"

Think of the possible results here.

1. They say, "Zero probability." Great, now at least you can find out the real problem, or move them out. Movement, forward or out, is progress.

2. They give some other probability. Good, but not great. You want to ask what you both need to do to move forward now. Get specifics. Commitments. Ask them to attach time frames to the commitments. Don't allow them to continue putting you off. Again, movement here is success.

3. You just might get the business right now. Perfect. Sometimes all it takes is the nudge to get the boulder rolling down the mountain.

Do some late-summer cleaning. Examine your follow-up files. Prepare you own strategy and ask the Cleansing Question.

Art Sobczak, President of Business by Phone, Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople - both inside and outside - designing and delivering content-rich programs that begin showing results from the very next time participants get on the phone. Learn more at www.businessbyphone.com