Be Your Prospect’s Security System

As many of you who read this blog on a regular basis know, my son, Michael decided to take a year off from school this year and work full time. You also know from past articles that he is a delivery man for a local pizza place in Chapel Hill.

Two nights ago, Michael came home with one of those great sales stories that reinforce the importance of follow-up. About six months ago, the owner of the pizza place was approached by a salesman who sells security cameras. The system the owner was using at the time was antiquated; one camera and a VCR.

The system the salesman was proposing had 3 or 4 cameras with digital technology, with surveillance accessible online via the internet. To entice the owner to buy the system, the salesman offered to let him use it for free on a three month trial basis.

Three months went by, and no salesman; four months and no contact from the salesman; five months, nothing. Finally after six months, the owner gets a call from the salesman who says, “Hey, I let you use that system on a trial basis for three months, it’s been six months and you never called to tell me if you wanted to buy it.”

YOU NEVER CALLED TO TELL ME IF YOU WANTED TO BUY IT!? Is this guy kidding? You have to wonder how much business is lost because far too many salespeople decide to wait for the phone to ring.

Not only is it the salesperson’s responsibility to call the prospect, but I would think, as a salesperson, you would want to be the one calling rather than the one waiting for the call; otherwise you’re not in control.

In our office, we have a line we use in these situations. Whenever a prospect says to us, “We’ll call you,” we always say, “Don’t bother,” and then pause a split second for the effect to sink in. We then say, “It’s not your responsibility to call us, it’s our responsibility to call you.” Then we settle on a time for our follow-up call, leaving us in control of the situation.

In case you’re wondering what happened with the owner, he said to the salesman, “Why should I call you? You’re supposed to call me.” The salesman attempted to justify his lack of follow-up with "not wanting to be pushy," and finally asked, “So, are you interested in buying the system?” The owner said, “No,” because even though he loved the security system, he was more afraid of dealing with a salesperson with poor follow-up.

Just imagine! If it is not enough that you have a prospect with a security need and a great product that ensures the physical security of a business, then what does that tell you about the importance of visibility and follow-up in taking control of the buying process?

Show your prospect first that they can rely on YOU as their "security system," AND THEN GO SELL THEM A SECURITY SYSTEM!