being more aggresive on sales

[huggytree]

im trying as hard as I can to find some more work...in the past ive always taken a low key approach to sales....I send fliers and let the customers come to me....about once a year I call all the potential customers on my list and ask for work(most of the time I just get an answering machine)

well its time again this year and ive gotten some decent leads...one in particular said he is looking for another plumber...I sent him all the info today in a fax

how long before I do a follow up call? how many follow up calls do I do? what should I ask in my follow up calls?

typically I have done 1 follow up call.....typically I give up after that....many times I get a answering machine

I am trying to expand and want to attempt to be more aggressive on sales....the customer im trying for has enough work for several employees...

should I ask him for a meeting? lunch?

thanks!

[Wozcreative]

I'm not an expert on follow ups, but I would probably suggest a non pushy way of doing it.. more of a "reminder" type.

You would give them only one call, and introduce yourself again, remind them that you both spoke about ABC and that you wanted to "confirm" that he had received your fax. If he has, then ask if he has any questions about it. You will find that 50% of the time, they may have additional questions. Try to be prepared as to what type if questions that might be so you can speak to that. I don't think you should ask for a meeting though, not necessary. Unless his question pertains to something you would need to show/see.

[billbenson]

I don't respond well to a hard sell if that is what you are doing. There are usually ways to soft peddle products. It may be more aggressive in your industry. I would think that just getting a quote in front of them for an upcoming job would be a good objective.If your customer says he's not interested, he already has a plumber, I'd say well can I at least quote you on your next job? Figure out a way to get some prior quotes for jobs in front of him as well as references for the same jobs.

Be creative. If you find out he is drinking buddies with a customer that likes you get your new prospect some info on jobs your old guy had done. Get creative. I don't think hammering people with phone calls is going to get you the quality customers you want.

[Freelancier]

It's like dating. Too many calls and you're a "stalker". Hard sells probably don't work well anyway, because either someone wants you or they don't, so let them make that decision and move on if it's not in your favor. I like Bill's approach of just trying to get them to let you quote a project. It's a "foot in the door" move that can work well if your prices are competitive and your quote includes a page or two of testimonials along with references for them to check.

[KristineS]

I'd try one follow-up phone call and one follow-up e-mail. If you get a machine I'd just recap where you meant and what you sent him and ask if he has any questions. I'd also open the idea of a longer meeting, but not be pushy about it. Something like "If there's anything in what I sent that needs clarifying, I'd be happy to go over it with you at your convenience" and leave it at that. If you don't get a response to your message, I'd send an e-mail a couple of days later saying the same thing. If you get no response after that, I'd let it go.

[billbenson]

In sales, you must show your VALUE and your DIFFERENTIATION. Both of these will set you apart from the competition.

Your question "how long before I do a follow up call"

My opinion: IMMEDIATELY. Why wait? It will only allow them to find someone else?

Your question: "how many times do I do a call"

My opinion: It depends. How much do you need the new sale? if you REALLY need it then call every day. A strategy I teach is to call three times daily - morning, noon and afternoon. Leave a voice mail on the first two calls and not on the third. I guarantee that if you follow this strategy for five days in a row you will have a HIGH probability of reaching the customer.

BTW, ALWAYS ask for a meeting and/or lunch!!!!!

The problem I see most business owners facing is that THEY are sales call reluctant. It's not the customer that thinks sales is an issue . . . it's US!!!! We talk ourselves out of every sales call before it happens. For some reason we think sales is evil when it is NOT AT ALL. All we are doing is meeting customer needs. We are matching OUR VALUE to their NEED and giving them the best solution possible. It's not a sales call . . . it's a solution to their problem!

Now go make that call!
Josh

Other than the lunch comment, I disagree with everything you said. All I would do is hear your voice and I'd hang up. If personal reputation is a priority, which it is in a small town like HT serves, you would go out of business with your strategy.

[DeniseTaylor]

I agree with the non-pushy approach. Instead, make it so you are helping the customer. See if there is anything THEY need, type of thing.

As far as number of attempts - you could decide upon 3 attempts before just letting it go.

Whatever number you choose, I wouldn't do more than 3. And those three should be at widening intervals. Perhaps the first follow up in a week. The second in 6-8 weeks and the third a few months down the road. You'd need to adjust this for what works for you.

Be friendly and helpful when you do contact them.

[Wozcreative]

Sales calls are annoying, unless that person was the one to reach out to you first after hearing about you somewhere.
When I had a land line I would get sales calls by real-estate agents to sell my condo. They would call annoyingly telling me that they've recently sold a unit thats similar to mine for $ and if I was looking to sell. NO! ****es be crazy.

Theres also a real estate agent on my floor that introduced herself to me (a nice person/friendly, but also very nosy/asks personal questions about my "living" situation.. weird), we exchanged cards but now all she is doing is sending me CRAP IN THE MAIL! I don't appreciate it. I am not looking to sell so why am I being pushed to? She'll be the last person I contact on this planet when I do decide, simply because of the annoyance.

[Freelancier]

She'll be the last person I contact on this planet when I do decide, simply because of the annoyance.

But I'll bet she thinks she's doing you a favor. :)

[billbenson]

Sorry you feel this way. But, offering a prospect a SOLUTION to their issue is not "being pushy" . . . it's what we must do every day to survive. If we sit back and only use the "hint / hope" approach our business will die.

I'm not saying we push until they slam the phone down on us but I am saying that we must ASK for the order if we expect to have success in our business. How you ask is up to you but ultimately you must ASK.

Josh

If calling them 3 times a day isn't being pushy, I don't know what is. There are more subtle ways than what you suggest that are far more effective. In fact what you are suggesting will loose you customers.

[tallen]

To give the beneift of doubt, I would guess that SmallBusinessUniversity is talking about follow-ups with "hot" leads, people who have already expressed an interest or made an inquiry, and by calling three times a day, he really means "attempt to make contact up to three times a day until contact is made" (e.g. if you get through to your sales lead on the first call, there is no reason to call them again a second and third time). Otherwise, if he's talking about cold calls or follow-ups with leads that have already said "No Thanks," then pushy and annoying indeed!

[Patrysha]

I was kind of halfway between low-key and aggressive in sales when I was selling radio.

I never stopped following up - I'd just find different reasons and approaches to contacting them and touching base from time to time. There were some that warranted a visit every month and others that I would drop in every 3-4 months.

I would never contact a prospect (or a client for that matter) without something specific to speak about whether that was something new we had to sell that might meet their needs (special occasion advertising or promotions) or something interesting I'd found or read about their industry that I thought would help (ex matching an article on trends in floral design to the home decor prospect) or sometimes clarifying something I had heard around town or in the media about their business (I read in the paper your head office is expanding operations or just won such and such award...whatever)

[Harold Mansfield]

how long before I do a follow up call?
After responding to requests for information, I usually follow in within 48 hours with a "Just checking to see if you got everything you need" email.
I generally don't call people unless they've requested to be called.

I let people know that I can't give them any exact costs until I speak with them to insure that I know all I need to know. That usually prompts serious people to at least call.


how many follow up calls do I do?
If you mean per person? I do one. I'm not into the hard sell. If I've left a message, and sent an email and I still haven't heard from them I'm done.

I may drop another email in a week. My entire approach these days is to talk to people who are ready to buy, and not spend a lot of time on window shoppers.
There's plenty of information on my website, as well as any proposal or PDF that I send them .


what should I ask in my follow up calls?
First I see if they have any questions and then I try and get a time frame for when they want the work completed by, and from there if they have money and are ready I can usually get them. If they are still not sure or shopping around I don't spend a lot of time on the phone with them. You'd be surprised how many people call back when they get the impression that you are busy and have clients waiting to do business with you.

There's a fine line between being accessible, helpful and cordial and begging for the business. From my experience, as soon as they think you are desperate for the work you've lost. But again, at your price point a little humility may be warranted.


typically I have done 1 follow up call.....typically I give up after that....many times I get a answering machine

I am trying to expand and want to attempt to be more aggressive on sales....the customer im trying for has enough work for several employees...

should I ask him for a meeting? lunch?

thanks!

If you have sketches or plans to show them, yes. But overall that's up to you. Your price range per job is much higher than mine. For a $10k+ job, I may schmooze a little.

[billbenson]

That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Thanks Tallen.

I would NEVER call a stranger using this approach because as was said earlier, it IS pushy. But, if someone was already interested in my product you better believe I will call them many times until we finally connect.

BTW, the approach I mentioned earlier is a common technique based on circadian rhythms. The point being that some of us are morning people, some afternoon, etc. and are more apt to be around (and receptive to a call) at different times during the day. So, by calling at different times you have the best chance of getting a hold of your warm/hot prospect at a time that is more suitable for them.

New to this board but loving the dialogue!

Josh

My apologies. I thought you meant to just keep cold calling throughout the day to the same person.

[huggytree]

0 chance I will call them 3x a day...ha

I have 1 customer in particular who told me they are looking for another plumber...I sent him some info and also my certificate of insurance....I plan to contact him again 4 days after the initial call......the biggest problem with my line of work is people rarely answer the phone.....so if im lucky to get ahold of them and they say they are interested I wont be able to actually talk with them again for the follow...just their machine

ive always just done the fliers in the mail every 3-4 months....and it has worked for years, but its really not working well anymore....

my sales phone calls have never worked....I think ive gotten 1 customer in 7 years that way.....when people call me on the phone I say 'no thanks' and hang up immediately...im too busy...I assume this is the case with the people im calling

I believe I need to be more aggressive since my phone sales rate is pretty much 0%...but im not sure if its even possible if I cant get them on the phone for the follow up calls

its all probably a lost cause

im going to try! anyways......I want to gain 2+ more customers

[smartlink]

Go with the non aggressive route. The less aggressive you are, the more likely they will refer others to you. Grow a brand, start a campaign. Also if you're having a hard time with getting proper leads, have you considered changing your tactics?

For example, you may hire others to get potential leads and you make the call and they don't answer/ not interested. Try a different approach at getting leads. Do a search online for plumbers, does your company/ name appear first or atleast on the front page? If not, you should consider local seo for keywords that are centered around your business. Not only will you gain more leads naturally, you won't have to be an aggressive salesman. When people are searching for a service, it becomes a sales dream. Cheers.

[huggytree]

I did a few follow up calls....very poor results.....after my initial calls I sent some of the potential's a certificate of insurance (which shows them im fully insured)...its something all prime contractors need before they hire you.....when I called back a week later the few I got ahold of asked if I was desperate for work?....my response was " No, im just trying to be aggressive for your business"....

now its the holidays, so ive skipped making any calls last week and now for this coming week im busy.....so ive given up with the phone calls until mid Dec or next year

results= 0

[billbenson]

I don't know your industry, but a good website should keep you booked. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of confidence in your new one based on what has been posted here. Because of my web site, I do zero cold calling. My leads are 100% web based or referral. I get people to call me, then I sell them.

My product line is quite technical so I get a lot of time waster phone calls. Depending on my mood, I will help people out even if there is no business in it for me. Some of that eventually comes back to you.

Even if your new site doesn't work out don't give up on it. Pay some developers here to do an in depth evaluation of your site. And no reason to just get one opinion. That will give you a starting point.

[dmerrill]

Hi Huggytree,

I just read your other thread about the "problem customer hate letter" you received. From that thread it seems like you are doing a fair amount of the actual work in your business yourself. You have already received good info on sales followup but so this thread I have the following comments:

1. You say that your flyer mailings are not working as well any more. You need to brainstorm new marketing tactics.

2. Maybe calling your "list" once a year isn't often enough. Every 6 months? 3 months?

3. Sounds to me like you may working too much in the business and not enough on the business. I suggest you consider spending more time marketing to drive new sales and getting the increased business done through (more) employees.

Just my thoughts,

Don

[huggytree]

Hi Huggytree,

I just read your other thread about the "problem customer hate letter" you received. From that thread it seems like you are doing a fair amount of the actual work in your business yourself. You have already received good info on sales followup but so this thread I have the following comments:

1. You say that your flyer mailings are not working as well any more. You need to brainstorm new marketing tactics.

2. Maybe calling your "list" once a year isn't often enough. Every 6 months? 3 months?

3. Sounds to me like you may working too much in the business and not enough on the business. I suggest you consider spending more time marketing to drive new sales and getting the increased business done through (more) employees.

Just my thoughts,

Don

the problem with my market is most of my potential new customers are all busy and don't answer the phone......the larger ones wont hire me because im too small and too expensive

i can call them weekly......ill only actually contact 10% of them and get answering machines for the other 90%

that's why i like the fliers....it puts me right in front of them every 3-4 months

when i actually get these guys on the phone many act annoyed....they are busy swinging a hammer....when people call me i say no thanks and hang up on them....im always busy and in the middle of things


so in a way your right, but in a way your wrong.....i DO need to come up with something new.....the old way isn't working anymore
and YES im too busy to market(except for the winter months, but then everyone else is slow w/ no work too)

thanks!

[gregcooper420]

I believe that the moment you make the sale is actually when the customer first sees the products or service that you are providing. At that moment the customer will have a full description and know if their interested or not. After that the customer will come to you, the follow up is really just to see if your business is legit. Put yourself in the customer shoes, how well do you response to follow up calls after you know about the product but don't have any interest. Put all your focus and energy on the initial customer contact (fliers, brochures, commercials, ads, presentations)

[sharky]

I agree. The contact with the client is important. If he's satisfied with the transaction, he is not only more likely to come back, but also to recommend your services to some other people. Agressive advertising is annoying and therefore otfen unsuccessful.