Who Seduced Your Prospect While You Fell Off the Grid?

Happy New Year!

If you've slipped at all in your prospecting and follow-up with clients over the holidays, nothing is a better motivator to get back on track than a fresh start. While you're getting back on track, maybe a little patience would be a good resolution as well! Sales trainer Adrian Miller has some excellent advice for salespeople frustrated with a long, drawn-out sales cycle. Practice patience, and you'll win the race!

"Patience is a virtue. Sure it's an age-old adage, but it's still very relevant when it comes to managing prospects," says Miller. "Too many of us, especially when times are challenging, tend to lose our cool and give up on relationships before they have reached fruition. Prospecting cycles can often be long and tedious. The key is keeping the proverbial slowpokes on the grid so your competition doesn't take them away. So, cool your jets and read these important tips on maintaining your prospects while they inch forward towards buying from you."

Be Realistic
In a perfect world, you'd make a presentation, and prospects would decide right on the spot that they immediately must have what you're offering. Unfortunately, little things like budgets, cutbacks, management approvals, and expenditure planning seem to get in the way.

Often times, your prospects might simply have their hands tied when it comes to buying anything right now, but that doesn't mean that they won't when the time is right. Find out what is preventing a decision from being made and when a purchase is likely to happen. Be patient and understanding, and you'll probably be rewarded with a sale.

Add Value While Biding Your Time
Ok. You've made your presentation, and there's definite interest but no movement yet. That doesn't mean that you should sit back and wait for them to call you. On the contrary - this is the time to add value in a relationship with a prospect.

Start thinking of ways that you can stay in the forefront of their thoughts without looking like a pushy salesperson. It's all about providing those little extras that show that you care. What kinds of little extras? Well, start with keeping them connected with a regular newsletter and email blasts that you send to your clients. Send them industry publication articles on topics that might be of particular interest or invite them to an upcoming trade event or networking get-together. You might just provide them with a useful new business strategy or a valuable contact through your efforts.

Hang in There, but Play It Smart
Prospecting cycles can sometimes drag on for years and then result in valuable business. Other times, prospects can keep you hanging without any intention of buying. It's your job to determine who has real potential and who is just stringing you along. Sometimes, it's hard to tell, and certainly, the best way to determine their viability is to ask lots of questions and keep them close during the process.

Finally, the worst thing you can do is to simply give up and let them fall off the grid without knowing if there was true potential or not. What you don't know will certainly be found out by your competition, who will willingly take the business from you!

Adrian Miller is the President of Adrian Miller Sales Training, a training and business consulting firm that she founded in 1989, delivering sales-level performance training and executive-level business development consulting for your unique business. A nationally recognized lecturer, she is also a sought-after conference speaker, and an accomplished author of "The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success".

New Year's Commitments

At the stroke of midnight tonight, the New Year enters. What do you want 2009 to bring for you? Will you be making a New Year's resolution? As someone who has broken many New Year's resolutions (very quickly, too!), I'll be taking sales trainer Joe Bonura's advice this year and making a New Year Commitment, rather than a resolution. Here's why:

"From now on, do not make any more New Year Resolutions (NYR); only make New Year Commitments (NYC)," says Bonura. "While a resolution is a firm decision to do something, a commitment is a devotion or dedication to a cause. Do you agree that dedicating yourself to DOING something is much more powerful than DECIDING to do it?"

It always works better if you take a systematic approach to making a New Year Commitment. Here is a great way to approach the task:

As Easy As One, Two, Three
1. Make a list of all your commitments for the coming year.
2. Go over the list and select the three most important ones that you will commit to doing.
3. Devise an action plan that includes tactics that will move you toward your goal. This includes how and when you will accomplish your goals.

Hold Your Feet to the Fire
Discuss your NYCs with an accountability partner who will hold your feet to the fire if you fail to move forward in achieving your commitments. Also stress to your accountability partner that you will not be upset with their honesty and resolve to have you reach your objectives.

Powerful Little Package
Write your three commitments on a 3x5 card, fold the card into a tight little package, and carry it with you everywhere you go. The card will serve as a constant reminder of your commitment for improvement.

Dream Your Way To Accomplishment
Every night before you retire, for each of your commitments, list something that you will do to move toward your goals. It is a task that takes less than five minutes, and if you do it before you turn-in for the night, your subconscious will take over while you sleep.

Make An Appointment With You
Make a calendar appointment with yourself once a week to do a gut-check on your progress toward accomplishing your NYCs. Put the appointment on the calendar and show up, just as you would for any appointment.

Party Time
Celebrate each time you accomplish a milestone on one of your NYCs. In other words, reward yourself for a stratagem or course well done.

Start Climbing
Enjoy the New Year, and make every day a rung on the ladder to the success that you will achieve.

Joe Bonura is known as a "real world" speaker who gives his audiences ideas they can apply immediately to increase sales and improve service. Bonura is also the author of "Throw the Rabbit: The Ultimate Approach to Three-Dimensional Selling." Learn more at www.bonura.com

The SalesDog blog will be quiet tomorrow as we celebrate the New Year and write a few New Year Commitments of our own! We'll see you Friday!

A New Kind of Resolution

It's almost time for New Year's Resolutions. Besides the usual resolutions of eating better or exercising, how about making a commitment to helping your customers in any way you can?

I came across this tip from sales expert Dave Kahle, and was immediately impressed by the giving attitude (and how it can help you win more sales!) What a way to start the New Year.

"When a customer goes out of business in your territory, get the home addresses, phone numbers and resumes of your contacts," says Kahle. "When you hear of a position opening up somewhere, let them know about it. Try to help them find jobs in your area. Whether or not they find employment because of you, they will recognize that you tried to help. Keep in contact with them. It is possible that they will surface in a position of responsibility for some other company giving you a great opportunity to leverage your relationship into a new account."

Dave Kahle is president of The DaCo Corporation, a sales training and consulting firm. He is also a high-energy, high-content speaker, with a special gift for engaging his audiences and stimulating people to think. Learn more about Dave by visiting his website at www.DaveKahle.com.