Don’t Be A Snooze When You Talk

A friend sent me a TEDx speech on youtube about failure that I’m sure could help me obtain copious amounts of success if I watch it. There is only one problem: the speaker is so boring that I literally cannot maintain my attention on the presentation.

The most critical messages will not be understood if the information is framed in a boring manner.

This applies to everything. Conversations with sales prospects, conversations with co-workers, conversations with employees, conversations with executive committee board members, conversations with children. This also applies to Marketing! To the person in charge of a Marketing department at a company: boring branding/messaging (this looks professional) is ignored. Times are changing, it’s a great idea to keep up.

I like the saying “get to the point” because it’s the most elegant way to describe how to be heard and understood. Don’t be boring!

Call Sales Leads Fast

This is a quick story about who closes more sales.

I made two calls about my rotator cuff injury. It took the first chiropractor I called 24 hours to return my call. They called right as I arrived for my appointment with the second chiropractor I called. Companies spend a lot of money on lead generation.  Sales leads will go to waste if the inside team doesn’t respond quickly. This applies to all industries for B2C and B2B: IT, staffing, manufacturing, automotive repair, personal care – get it together and have a policy for a prompt response. Put yourself in your prospects very busy and stressful shoes. Don’t think that Director of IT, Purchasing Manager or Executive Assistant to the CEO has a report due for work today, attending college on the weekends, kids in soccer and a spouse that needs meds from the pharmacy after work? When they call looking for information, the first responder has a really good chance at that sale.

 

Sales Leads Are Like Salads

1940's plate from Japan - but that salad (lead) is fresh - call that person!

Sales Leads Have a Very Short “Shelf Life” 

Imagine a fresh leafy salad, ready to be consumed. Now imagine walking away from your salad for a few hours. Can you imagine how “fresh” your salad will be when you return?

Probably not, since the typical “shelf life” for a salad at room temperature is about an hour. After that, not only will it look wilted or taste as good, it will begin to be tainted with unwanted elements.

Imagine, if you can, that you walk away from that salad for five days or longer. What do your think your salad might look and taste like then?

Salads are my own personal analogy for sales leads. After all, sales leads have a “shelf life” too. So, let’s talk about an acceptable response time. My philosophy and expectation regarding a sales lead is that I, and representatives of my company, respond within two hours or less.

With so much competition, demand generation psychology, and so many other influencing factors, the best way to snag the business is to be the first responder.

My approach is simple, really, if you put yourself in the shoes of a buyer. And perhaps you have personally experienced waiting unnecessarily for a sales person to contact you.  No one likes to be put off when they are ready to buy, be it a business service, consumer goods or whatever is top-of-mind.

Like that salad, when it comes to a sales lead, it’s best to just dive right in.