As a top-notch salesperson you have to be specific with your clients. Ending a client meeting and agreeing on follow-up steps has to be done in specific terms. Here are few examples of vagueness which I hear all too often. This is usually at the end of client meetings with salespeople trying to wrap things up.
WHAT NOT TO SAY (TOO VAGUE):
– “Sounds great Bill, I will follow up with you in a few days.”
– “Today was a great meeting, can we connect towards the end of the week to regroup?”
– “Thanks a lot for taking the time to meet today. I know this is a lot to digest and I am sure you will need some time to think through everything.”
– “Thanks for meeting with me, I will follow up with you over the next couple of days on these items.”
All of the above examples are WAY TOO VAGUE and are not specific next steps. Here are examples of how being specific will throttle up your sales cycles.
WHAT TO SAY (BEING SPECIFIC):
– “Thanks for the time today Bill. Can we regroup tomorrow at 11AM on these follow-up items?”
– “How does Thursday at 8AM look on your end for a further review of this quote?”
– “I am glad you liked the presentation today. Can we pick a day and time this week to discuss additional feedback?”
– “Based on this meeting, would you like to move ahead now with the proposal?”
Do you see how the above examples are very specific and not vague “up in the air” follow up steps? The more specific and solid your next steps are, the more likely you will move through the sales cycle faster and avoid the weeks, if not months, of chasing down clients! You will also avoid “fizzled out” sales that started hot and then died because too much time lapsed (a major problem that can be seen with an ageing pipeline).
Happy Selling!
– Patrick