Eight Steps to Keeping Prospects Engaged In Your Sales Process

Ever have a prospect who reminded you of a submarine? You know the one - actively engaged on Wednesday; ready to move forward on Friday; disappears on Tuesday, never to be heard from again . . .

 You can prevent this phenomenon from occurring eight times out of ten by following these simple tips.

1. Have a clear sales process in place that you can articulate to your prospects. Step one should always include discovery, where you are qualifiying your prospects and determining their time frame for making a decision. Then, simply focus on 'closing' each prospect on taking the next step.
2. Explain the process during the first telephone call. The final step in the process should always be the day the service begins or the contract is signed.
3. Let your prospects know the average length of time it takes most people to make a decision, from the time of first inquiry to close.
4. Tell your prospects that they are 100% in control. They can tell you that they are not interested and you will accept this answer, although you will likely ask 'why' so that you can make changes in the process in the future.
5. Explain that the only thing that you ask your prospects to do is to let you know how they are feeling at each step in the process. Reinforce that 'no' is a perfectly acceptable answer.
6. Ask each prospect if s/he will commit to exploring this opportunity with you. Once they commit, explain that you are at the end of step one in your process. Ask the prospect to rate his/her interest on a 1-10 scale, with one being "not interested" and 10 being "ready to start".
7. Ask this question at the end of each interaction with your prospect.
8. ALWAYS set a time and date for your next conversation or step in the process

Article Source: Fairfield Business Solutions

inDay Speaker Series with Reid Hoffman

Posted by Greg Longstaff
Business Development Consultant
Franchise Network Specialist
greg@salesmarket.co.nz
+64 9.307.7860

Enthusiasm & sticking to a system is your guarantee of success.

Greg Longstaff

What are the 2 main reasons people buy a franchise business? Firstly because there is a known brand name, and secondly a business system that allows people to follow guidelines of what should be a successful business model.

When I look at some of the franchise system I have worked with, there are some very clear guidelines that when followed by owners will ensure good sales. As business owners we can sometimes forget the basics of what we did at the start of our business that ensured our initial success.

Enthusiasm, the desire to succeed, even fear of failure are great motivators for you in the initial months of taking over your business!
So getting back to basics, what did you need to do to succeed when you bought your franchise?

Enthusiasm is a great start. Think back to the early days of when you took over your business? That feeling of excitement and adrenalin, nobody would dare say no to you because your excitement for your new venture was infectious. They (your prospects) wanted to jump on the happy train with you. Whether you knew it or not that’s what was happening.


So how did you get your leads initially? That’s right you printed off a marketing area and you called on every business in that area to tell them you’re open for business. You see what I have noticed over the years is that in some cases some franchisees get to a level of turnover and then the operation manual is no longer needed. Sometimes we need to go back and look at got us to where we are today. 

At a certain level of sales a business owner can become tied up in ensuring the production requirements are meeting their deadlines so they no longer find time to do market their business! It's almost like they think they have done enough and the business will just keep coming in to them!

What I am saying is that everyone gets off the ground initially by walking the streets telling people who you are and what you can do for them. To get from $0.00 to $20K this is what you need to do, so to me it would make sense to keep following the same process to ensure your sales keep ascending.

If your sales staff spends all their time quoting because your business is at a level where you are getting enough repeat business, then you as business owners you need to map out a plan for him/her to either keep calling on new businesses or perhaps put on a another sales person (either internal or external). If you current don't have a sales person then maybe now is the time to bite the bullet and hire one. By doing so you WILL take your business to another level. By not doing this you run the risk of your sales either staying stuck on a level, or your sales will more likely go backwards because you’re allowing your opposition to capitalize on the new business in your area that you haven’t yet secured.


Greg Longstaff
Business Development Consultant
Franchise Network Specialist
greg@salesmarket.co.nz
+64 9.307.7860