The Sales Archaeologist

Well they finally caught Whitey Bulger – the elusive South Boston Gangster had hidden and avoided capture for well over a decade, in spite of being on the FBI’s most wanted list and an the subject of an exhaustive man hunt. There he was one day prominent, well known and available and then all of a sudden when things changed – he disappeared.

That probably sounds a lot like some of your prospects?

At first they are available, helpful and returning your calls. They can't get enough of you and all of your insights. They ask questions and when you email them something there is an immediate reply. Then it happens, one day, unexpectedly they go into hiding like Whitey Bulger never to been seen again. If that sounds familiar then chances are you might be missing something in your sales process or dare I say missing a process in general.

In fact Whitey Bulger wasn't exactly hiding was he? Santa Monica? I was expecting Rural Iowa, Winnipeg or some small town between Lincoln and Omaha. That is where people go when they are hiding. Similarly your prospects are not really hiding, they haven't moved, closed up shop or changed jobs - they are simply choosing to not communicate with YOU. 

Prospects have multiple words and sentences that are actually synonyms for the word no. Do you hear NO when they say....

• Can you get me a proposal?
• Can you send me some references?
• How about a demo?
• Is there some more material?

These at first glance might look good to a sales person and quite often they get excited. But the real question is “what happens after the _____?”  Do you take the time to ask that question and explain in advance that you find it unprofessional to not communicate? Do you let them know that No is the second best answer and you would prefer it to maybe?

Doing the above in a way that does not alienate the client or prospect requires that a sales person has what we call the consultative skill set and yet the majority of people in sales do not have those skills. Don’t let your prospects turn into Whitey Bulger – please get some Help