How many of you know the exact percentage of sales you close? Many companies labor under the misconception that they close 17 or 20% of their leads, but they are counting from those who agreed to an appointment. Gosh - we can all close 17% from the appointment stage. But that's not a real number - unless you believe that the leads who don't want an appointment will never buy from you.
How many calls do you make to get that appointment? And how many good prospects do you lose because they may have a need but don't want an appointment? or don't know they need you and won't waste their time to be told they do?
Only 3% of your leads will make an appointment - usually those who are
- already considering adding your type of solution,
- already down the path of choosing a solution (or helping their own folks do a work-around so they can do their own fix),
- speaking with your competition and are doing comparison shopping.
Prospects won't want to see you just because you have a great solution. If they are in the market for a solution they will seek their own vendor at the appropriate time.
DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A SALE, OR AN APPOINTMENT?
Prospecting by attempting to get an appointment gives you a double sale: first you sell the appointment, then the solution. For the record, 3% of cold leads take an appointment, but 40% of all leads could potentially benefit from your solution - and you're not getting past your request for an appointment. Let's look at the numbers:
100 prospects - 3 will agree to an appointment. It takes approximately 2-10 calls and emails, and 2-3 months of calling and leaving messages, (not to mention the time lost) before these 3 will agree.
3 meetings. One quarter will cancel prior to the meeting, leaving 2.75.
2.75 will meet with you anywhere from 2-7 times. 75% will express real interest and possibly get as far as pricing, leaving 1.91.
Of the 1.91, 38% will close, or .6758%.
.67% close out of 100 leads called for an appointment.
How much are you spending to close one sale? Do you have this number? And how many extra sales folks do you need to hire just to make up for the 2/3 of 1 you are closing?
MAKE A SALE INSTEAD
When your focus is being a servant-leader to facilitate a prospect's internal change issues to get buy-in for a purchase, you will not only be asked to come in for a visit, but they will have the entire Buying Decision Team there to meet with you. By using Buying Facilitation™, you can begin the call by helping buyers begin to decide how or if a solution such as yours can offer them Excellence - not because you sell it, but because they need it. With Wachovia small business bankers, our opening question was:
How are you currently adding new financial resources for those times when your usual bank can't give you what you need?
Using that question and additional Facilitative Questions, the 'hit' rate went from 10% agreement for an appointment (and eventually 2 closed sales after 11 months of follow up), to 37% request for an appointment and 1/2 of those closing within 2 months.
When you focus on making an appoinment rather than a sale, it's because buyers:
- don't know how to buy without creating major political/relational disruption, and the disruption might be bigger than the problem;
- don't know how to get the proper internal buy-in from all the folks who will touch the solution;
- don't know if they can fix the problem themselves with their internal folks;
- are confused about options, choices, possibilities, outcomes, change;
- use their "good enough for now' work-arounds.
Net/net, you're absolutely ignoring what's going on for the buyer.
You need to learn Buying Facilitation™ . I just know you do. And I can at least triple your close rate. Guaranteed. So why aren't you buying my training programs? Let's see: you have other obligations, other training vendors, other training priorities, and you don't know how Buying Facilitation™ would disrupt what you are doing now. You need a whole string of people to buy-in, need budget, and need a change management model.
It's not my solution that is the problem.
Don't use your body as a prospecitng tool. Use your time with prospects to help them manage their buying decision issues so they can invite you in. And you'll never have to call to make an appointment.
Have a think about it. Would you rather sell? Or have someone buy. They are truly two different activities.
