Are You a Praying Mantis?
I was compared to a praying mantis last week
I was working on a stand at a print show. It was noted that every time someone slowed down to have a look at the stand I would walk over to them and start having a chat with them. Before they knew it they were having a tour of the stand. I found a lot of potential new customers!
The comments about my behavior were a bit of a joke. But, behind them, there is a serious point.
You have to go and catch your prospect
If you want to be successful in sales, you can’t expect the prospect to do all the work. You are going to have to go out and catch them. There is always more that we can do to encourage prospects to work with us.
It is fairly obvious how to do this at an event. But how do we manage this through other channels?
There is always a way to be more involved with the prospect
If they have requested a quote we should be following up. If they have clicked through from an e-mail we should be monitoring this and making another contact. If they like or comment on social media we should be reaching out to them.
This activity doesn’t have to be time consuming. However, if we do not make sure that we carry it out we could be losing an awful lot of business.
We also need to give the prospect ways in which to show their interest
Make sure that every communication that you make to a prospect has a call to action. You should be encouraging them to do something.
Remember, this doesn’t have to be a request to purchase. You don’t even have to ask people to contact the company. But do encourage them to:
- download resources (and make sure you capture the prospect’s contact details at the same time)
- click through to company blogs
- contact you on social media
- ask for a review that you can offer of a part of their business
- request a sample
Now your involvement is leading to a conversation.
P.S. Learn how to sell print successfully online: download my free e-guide “Ten Social Media Rules For Print Sales People” right now at http://profitableprintrelationships.com/social-media-printing-marketing/ You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to use social media and sell print effectively.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.
Download his free e-book, "Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them" and check out his recently launched book, "How To Succeed At Print Sales: Setting targets, planning the right activities and making sure goals are met."
