Have you been landing lately?
Pilots joke that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. That happens too frequently in selling. It is easy to walk away from a new prospect meeting, and not know with clarity what should happen next. Of course, there are implied next steps that quickly fade from memory of the buyer and seller. Then the seller, in an effort to jump-start the process, starts making follow-up calls. Those follow-up calls quickly turn into annoyances because there is no clear purpose other than hoping something might develop. Take the time to think through your specific objective on each call. Is it to gain information, start a relationship, qualify need, or decision process? There are dozens of possible objectives. Just be clear on that specific meeting’s objective and if it is met what is the next step you want to ask for. A good general rule is that every call should end with a “Yes, let’s do it!”, a “No,” or a next step that is specific on time, content, and action.
A set definite objective must be established if we are to accomplish anything in a big way - John McDonald
