Overcoming Sales Obstacles: How to Handle Prospects Who Disappear
Episode 754: Show Notes
Today we are talking about the art of the follow-up. You’ve pitched your service and the potential client is either ghosting you, being passive-aggressive, or fighting against the process you want to put them through. This can be a very strange experience and sometimes prospects convert with quite a lot of resistance. Closing a prospective client happens in the follow-up process, and a lot of us struggle with that phase. Today’s episode gives you some examples of what you can say and do to confidently and effectively follow up with your leads. We’re tackling what a proper follow-up is and how to handle hearing ‘no’.
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In an ideal scenario, leads convert into clients seamlessly. But when selling services, people often tend to not even respond instead of at least explaining why they’re not getting back to you. Follow-ups are imperative and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a wordy email; it can be a voice note, a video, or even another meeting. If you are running a service-based business and aren’t prioritizing serving the way your clients need to be served, then you’re doing it wrong!
It’s easy to be intrigued by the ‘one-to-many’ marketing tactics that have been popularized recently, but those strategies just don’t work with most service-based businesses. Assuming that the follow-up can be done in a mass effort is a huge mistake. Your potential clients aren’t going to see that as a follow-up at all because it is way too impersonal. Often, the reason you aren’t hearing a response in the sales process is because you aren’t humanizing the person on the other end.
Optimize Your Pitch First
Before you even think about your follow up process, let’s make sure your pitch is optimized. If you are not walking people through the proposal either in a recorded video or virtual or in-person meeting, you are abandoning your prospects at the pitch!
Talking about your price can feel awkward, but discussing that part of the process in person (or virtually) is imperative. An email does not match the service you are offering them and they will assume that the process is self-guided. If you have figured out that your service is something they need, usually their objection is something they feel a lack of control over.
The Art of the Follow-Up
Think about what each potential client needs from you and how you can have a human-to-human connection with them. This will guide what you say when you reach out, what channel you reach out on, and how often you reach out to them.
When you give your clients a proposal, set your expectations out for them with a date! That timeline depends on what you are expecting of them and how big the decision is for them. It is also okay to be firm about when you expect payment and answers from your prospective clients; especially when there are specific deadlines. So much of this is simply about giving clear guidance for when you expect to hear from them and what you want from them. When you do that, people tend to be much better about actually responding. Adding flexibility where you are able to also humanizes the process and makes it more attractive to prospective clients.
One (Unconventional) Follow-Up Tactic to Use
One of our favorite follow-up tactics to utilize is becoming present on the prospect’s social media pages. Watch their Instagram stories and comment on their latest posts! This shows that you care and creates a human-to-human connection. It also puts some very gentle pressure on them while reminding them that you exist and they need to wrap up their plans with you. We cannot tell you how many times we have done this with clients who have taken a long time to close and received an email shortly afterward!
The Case of the Disappearing Prospect
Occasionally, you may encounter a disappearing prospect. These are people who not only ghost you, but they go dark everywhere, not even posting on social media. When this happens, we like to use a wellness check-in. Without even mentioning the work, just check up on this prospect to see how they’re doing with an attitude of genuine concern. Is it a strategy? Yes! But you are also concerned about their wellbeing and that needs to shine through.
Sometimes the client is still active online but is literally just not responding to you or only wanting to engage with your personal persona and not your work persona. That is when you need to remind yourself that it is just not about you and is a personal thing that came up for them. A lot of people don’t know how to handle these kinds of situations and when they do approach you, the main thing you have to do (besides making it clear that you still want to work with them) is show up empathetically and as if you understand them! This makes a big difference in the long-term success of your business.
Getting Back on Track After Hearing ‘No’
We want to be clear on when clients don’t work out or have said ‘no’, for now, it requires action and intention on your part! If a potential client doesn’t work out, take action and find new clients. Also remember that if their answer was “no for now”, it doesn’t mean it’s no forever! Make sure you ask if you can touch base with those people in future, when they would be interested, and how you can help them in that space.
A lot of service providers are doing way too much waiting and we don’t think that the waiting is serving you very well. Stop waiting for leads to come to you! Let the ‘no’ go, be okay with that one client saying no, and take action in the direction that you need to in this season.
This looks different for everyone, so start taking stock of your patterns, gaps, and how fast you have to fill them. This will give you a great understanding of what you need and how to get there. If you need help with this process, feel free to book a call with us. We’d love to help you!
Quote This
You may need far less follow-up if you just start pitching directly.
Highlights
The Art of the Follow-Up. [0:18:27]
The One (Unconventional) Follow-Up Tactic to Use. [0:23:52]
The Case of the Disappearing Prospect. [0:25:18]
Getting Back on Track After Hearing ‘No’. [0:33:31]
Today’s Guest:
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:
Pitching, Follow-Up, Closing Leads, Client Connections
