Not getting a response from your outbound reach with potential buyers makes it impossible to engage and differentiate yourself and your product or service. You could be the greatest salesperson selling an amazing product, but your sales results will hardly reflect your expertise if you can’t connect with your prospects. The inability to secure a conversation with potential customers is a common problem among salespeople. The feeling of frustration and disappointment that creeps in makes it difficult to maintain focus and motivation to keep trying. Frustration is more persistent when you’re passionate about your product and its ability to help your prospect.

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Most of us have felt this or continue to feel this and at times it is overwhelming. What other career exists where you show up and practice your craft on your prospects? Professional athletes practice all the time in preparation for game day. In sales, every day is game day. But how do you compete when you can’t get on the field?

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Undergoing corporate sales training in Toronto, Waterloo and Kitchener can help you with this. Here are a few tips that will drive you to take different approaches to initiate contact with your prospects:

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1. It takes an average of 8 attempts to secure a conversation with a prospect. Underperforming salespeople tend to give up within 2 attempts and some give up after the first call or discovery call itself which highlights the importance of staying persistent for the results to come.
2. Accessing your prospect via a telephone conversation in some cases still works, however it is more often than not that they ignore unknown numbers. Alternatively emailing, sending messages via social media or sending a letter via mail or courier package are also good options. The thing is, prospects know that sales people tend to hide behind email and play it safe. In some instances, they reward those for taking the initiative, stepping up and picking up the phone. Also, how easy it is to delete or not respond? It is more difficult to hang up. The value you provide is transferred more authentically over the phone. As it takes 8 attempts to secure an appointment, follow up via email, mail or social media.
3. The best meeting is a face to face meeting. This is our opportunity to truly connect in person, feel each other’s energy, see facial expressions and read body language. A very close runner up these days is video messaging or video conferencing. To stand out in the sea of email, a video message is a breath of fresh air. Your prospect gets to see and hear you and allows your personality to come through. Few key points- keep it short, to the point and tailored to your audience. It is important to assess your message, if it is not working via email, perhaps examine what you are saying and ensure the focus is on your customer. A bad email converted to a video will still yield no response.
4. Keep in mind that your prospects, just like you, are human beings. Your potential buyers may not be ignoring you- your prospects do not work 24/7, nor are their lives defined by their position at work, for the most part. Consider they may be on vacation, on sick leave, or simply too busy to answer your calls. Manage your expectations and emotions. Don’t jump to conclusions and assume the worst when you are not able to connect with a prospect. Timing is key and it is usually not on your timeline. Remember, persistence is key. Although it may be frustrating, the successful salespeople are not quitters and don’t make it about themselves. Stay positive, focused and continue to follow up with a drip sales message, sharing valued articles, insights about their industry or company, maintain a steady communication pulse. Avoid the “follow up” and touching base emails. Add value so when the time is right you are top of mind for them.

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Undergoing corporate sales training in Toronto at K2 Performance Consulting can be highly beneficial, we provide all the necessary tools and impart the skills on how to address your greatest business challenges and dramatically improve your results along the way.

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Another important point to keep in mind is to showcase your personality online and offline to increase your connection rate with others. Show your prospects that you are interested in them and selectively highlight your interests outside of work. You can achieve this by asking questions, showcasing success stories, sending Birthday cards or Thank You cards. Staying connected to clients on social media, commenting on their posts, endorsing them, staying aware (is a milestone coming up in your client’s life? Are they expanding their business into new territories? etc.).

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How can you make yourself more interesting?

1. Posting your real picture on your website.
2. Starting a periodic newsletter and staying consistent with it.
3. Starting a podcast and inviting potential clients as guests
4. Thinking of new and innovative ideas.
5. Inviting clients to networking events and charity events.
6. Being consistent with writing blogs, guest posts, and other content.
7. Sharing trivia or interesting news about your market with your clients.

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Increasing profitability for yourself and your company requires you to engage with potential clients. To do this you need to be interested, curious and able to ask great questions to get to know our prospects.

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