The sales are not achieved and a loss of momentum is slowly making its way the top. We are worried that we might flunk, that our enterprise might just be another speck of the dust of closed enterprises. Staring at the emails from a couple of months ago, we are now on the verge of losing grip. So what can we do to regain momentum and surpass this predicament?
Prospects becoming as black as the charcoal are always a slice of life. What separates an average salesperson from the great ones is one the way they manage to turn the tides in their favor. Below are some of the root causes why prospects are going dark and in line with this, share some strategies to help bring back those dead deals and channel our inner Superman.
3 Signs Your Prospects Will Go Dark
1) Unable to grab a solid next step
If we think that the meeting with our prospects went well and the prospect is not willing to strongly commit to following the lead, we are wrong. This kind behavior could serve as a huge X-mark for our enterprise.
If the prospects are interested and willing to make a purchase, they will surely engage a meeting to complete the purchase needed.
The cause might be that we are working with someone, who could make the show but does not have the capacity or power to seal the deal completely. Our prospects might know why the deal cannot be sealed but are not bringing up the content for one reason or another. To make it comprehensive and to get to the point, ask some pointed and disqualifying questions.
2) Purchase not needed or urgent
One of the questions that we should ask to determine that the deal is strong enough is that “Why are they buying?”This might seem like a simple question but a powerful one. This provides us a hard time to provide a more specific and convincing answer.
The question is centered on the most important requirement for a qualified prospect: Need. If we aren’t able to tell ourselves why the prospects need what we are offering them, then there’s no chance that we can close the deal.
The function or usage and value of the product or service for their case were not fully understood by the prospects. For this fact, we should go back to their enterprise goals and see to it that we fully understand it. By this, we can explain why our product or service fits perfectly into their landscape.
3) Diligence is often forgotten or lacking
If by chance, we have a prospect that is way too relaxed going through a purchase in the decision-making process, take it as a warning sign, a “too good to be true sign”. Ask if they have seen any competitors and they answered that they don’t need to and that they don’t have any questions. Then take it as a huge red flag. This only means that they are likely not figuring out the value of the product or service that we are offering.
The prospect might just be looking out for something or someone that has a better price. They are collecting and selecting around competitors to see what can be offered to them. They are not telling us anything and are not planning to take any action or making the decision.
3 Ways to Prevent Prospects from Going Dark
At the end of the day, the control is in our hands and it is up to our hard work to prevent this from happening.
Regardless of how hard we worked, economic restrictions, internal politics and staffing changes can all serve as an impact of the deals. These things are out of our grasp. Below are the three strategies to help us uncover a prospect from going dark before it’s all too late.
1) Follow-up everything carefully
This means keeping track of our prospects. When we say that we’ll follow up then we should. They wouldn’t be the one to reach out to you unless they badly needed it, so follow-up industriously.
Don’t just check for the sake of checking in , try to include relevant information in each crucial point. Instead of the casual greetings and asking if the proposal has been received, try to include the phrase “let me know if the resource has some questions about our product”.
2) Make it an urgent need
When we are selling to our prospects, we have to make it as an urgent need for them. This should be done through effective communication and explain how they would benefit by acting sooner rather than later.
Also, make sure that they were able to understand what we are offering them in a way that we understood the value of our product. This will also provide them the value we are offering them the risks or consequences of not moving forward.
3) Seek out objections
The best way for the prospects to take of formalities and show their true intentions is by disqualifying them. This is to eliminate the chances that the prospects are going dark on us for the reason that they inaccurately represent their decisions.
This might be strange and a little bit scary but try to call the prospects out.
If they are not willing to agree to the next step, try to ask them why. Ask them to express their concerns. This provides us the opportunity to further cite out our prospects need for our product. It is also a great way of telling them that we are concerned about it.
In this manner, we can face the objections ahead of time instead of having them too late which would only cause a disruption for us. By doing this, at the very best, we are addressing their hesitations and fears. Well, if it turned out worst, we will go on our separate paths with a clear understanding why the deal has not been sealed.
Related: 7 Lucky Steps to Succeed in Your Business
3 Ways to Bring a Prospect Back From the Dead
Although we do our best and what is right, there are still chances that prospects go dark on us. So what are we to do as a marketer to bring back those prospects like a magnet? If we don’t have the machinery of strategies, we will be just waste our time digging up prospects that have been long gone. Below are the 3 worth taking techniques to reach out to the prospects.
1) Transmit an update of product or service
If there is a prospect available and only one component is needed to make their purchase worthwhile, try leaving them a note.
Try to do the same with other similar prospects. When this component is part of our offering, we can include a timely relevant email template. To know exactly why the deal did not move forward, try setting up a ‘Closed Lost reason’ field on the CRM record for our opportunities. In this manner, we can timely reach out to our prospects.
2) Set up events
This can serve as a powerful tool in creating new momentum for the stuck up deals. This also serves as a recent round of funding which would lead to identifying new prospects.
A promoted new director could be a perfect spot to reach out to prospects. By this, we can see if the newly appointed champion in our office has the power of leadership necessary to get the prospects.
If budget is the issue when we last spoke, then an announcement of a new funding round could serve as a fresh start to talk again.
3) Start having some promotions
For some enterprises, promoting incentives to help to kick a start.
Some common examples are:
Discounts on some items
Free training and or onboarding
Flexible billing terms/commitments for some loyal prospects
These can serve as a push “button” for those prospects that are on the verge of closing the deal but just need some “push” to get them on the deal.
Bonus Tip: Adopt a Professional SalesCRM Tool
This might seem pretty obvious, but using the right CRM tool could change your game. If your business is service-based and you work with projects, SalesCRM is a great starter software to help you grow your business.
As we always say, even if we did our very best, some prospects go dark on us. Most of the time when they disappear, we can at least determine why are going dark and use the information that we can get to bring some opportunities that can be saved back to our enterprise.
DevriX also offers marketing strategies that can help your enterprise, if you want to strengthen your brand, you can contact us now!
