» Sales
Don’t Just Touch Base
Provide value at every interaction to keep sales momentum alive
BY BARB GORMLEY I
f you follow up to just “touch base” or “check in,” prospective clients will likely see you as just another pesky salesperson fishing for busi-
ness, say experts in the sales field. “It’s important to provide value
when you follow up, so it doesn’t seem that all you care about is making a sale,” says Jodi Rumack, who is based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and who helps fitness facility owners implement systems and processes to achieve max- imum success. Here are four alternative keeping-in-
touch approaches that can help sustain sales growth and let prospects see you as an asset, not a pest.
Customize your approach To simply pick up the phone or send an email with no reason for connect- ing accomplishes nothing, says Jerry Pilkey, a professional sales coach and owner of Selling Solutions in Komoka, Ont. Instead, position yourself as a
36 Fitness Business Canada November/December 2017
source of information, not a glorified order-taker. Analyze prospects’ busi- nesses, and show how your product or service can help them with their cur- rent challenges.
Do something nice You can easily turn a sales call into a value call by, for example, emailing an interesting article that you think they’ll appreciate, suggests Rumack. “Or send them a small recipe book, fitness tracking sheets or some gift cards,” she says. “It’s a nice way to build rapport, to show people that you care and to keep your name top of mind. Plus people love getting mail and will appreciate that you’ve gone out of your way to connect with them.’”
Re-emphasize the unique value you provide Prospects sign on because they believe that you, your program, your product or your service will have an important
impact on their organization, says Jill Konrath, author of Agile Selling. Reiterate this impact whenever you connect, by reminding them how you can help them to, for example, drive membership, improve employee mo- rale or land more clients. She suggests saying something like:
"Pat, in our previous conversation you mentioned how important it was to get going on this soon so you could realize the savings that you need by year end. Let's set up time to talk so we can get you moving forward."
Don’t drop the ball To create and sustain long term rela- tionships, show that you care. “Listen and act upon their concerns,” says Pilkey. “Seventy percent of business is lost because customers feel that people are indifferent or just don’t care.” And once you’ve landed the job,
don’t sit back and let your guard down—there will always be more-ag- gressive salespeople tempting your clients and waiting for you to lose your focus. Says Pilkey, “Nurture your custom-
ers, and let every interaction prove that there is a cost to not doing busi- ness with you.” FBC
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