Thoughtful Thursdays – Follow up to hurry up and wait
Last week I talked about the hurry up and wait nature that sales can take on and ways that might minimize the wait time. While working on sales activities to increase customer urgency do not forget that it might just be a longer sales cycle you are dealing with.
If the cycle is longer, one does not want to spend time shortening what cannot be shortened. You can be very busy, and at the same time be less productive. The sales cycle refers to the duration the process takes, not the effort put in.
For example, I was helping a client with a new product introduction and it was determined that the sales process spanned about one year from first contact to when the customer was prepared to place an order. In that time span the actual effort made selling was far less. There was a certain amount of hurry up and wait that became part of the sales process.
There is a point where you need to allow your customer to get on with their work. This does not mean you ignore them, but reduce the call frequency to a mutually agreed to minimum. It may surprise you how much time is spent following up unnecessarily. This time is better spent placing more irons in the fire and increasing the number of sales opportunities you are working on.
If you have done your work well, you do not have to wait for the phone to ring because they will call you when the time is right.
Manage your time as your most valuable resource. More opportunities will translate to more sales.
Good selling,
Richard
Have a question about sales? Contact Sakanashi and Associates Inc. and I will respond.
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