Stop chasing your prospects. Lead them. If you’ve ever finished a conversation, presentation or demo only to begin a long chase to nail down your prospect for a decision or next step, it’s because you didn’t lead well.
Ouch.
I know this may be hard to hear.
When you don’t set up your interactions in such a way as to guide your prospect to a clear next step, whose at fault? The prospect?
No.
You are.
Most salespeople are not taught how to build in clear next steps that sound natural and conversational.
The reality is that it’s easier to be noncommittal and casual about follow up. Perhaps you don’t want to pressure anyone or come off as pushy. I get it. However, if we’re really trying to help our prospects, we need to be professionals. We need to lead. Professionals lay out a path to their prospect’s success.
You can to…
The formula is simple.
With every interaction, build in the next step on the front end.
If you’re having an introductory meeting, line up your next step at the beginning of the conversation. It might sound like this as part of your written or verbal agenda: “Given that this is an introductory meeting, provided the conversation resonates with you, are you open to using the last 5 minutes of our time together to layout some next steps?”
It’s that simple.
It can be tempting to rest on our laurels. Quite frankly, it’s easier. No prep. Nothing to think through. But that’s not leadership.
This quote from Lewis Hamilton – 7-time world champion in Formula 1 racing – speaks to what it takes to lead.
“It’s easier to chase than it is to lead.”
Don’t fall into the trap of chasing your prospects. Get out in front. Lead the pack. Lead your prospects with clear goals with every interaction.
I hope this helps!