decision-maker role for drug and alcohol testing in their company. Basically, you should connect with
these contacts, but do not put them on your call list or spend a whole lot of time trying to convert them to anything other than what they already are.
Conversation #1—The Insights Conversation
The second bucket is the “nurture” bucket. This bucket is for contacts that do fit your target market, but they have shown only a little bit of interest in what you do. In other words, there is no urgency on their end. For these prospects, check in quarterly, but when you do, make sure to bring value in your connection. Busy people generally do not like to
make time for salespeople, especially if they are not currently in the market to buy what the salesperson is selling. So when you connect, the conversation needs to revolve around insights that are immediately valuable to them and their professional status. This is where I would insert
communication that includes an insight paper, power breakfast, or professional round table. During my presentation at DATIA in April, I will go into depth on how to set these meetings up . . . it’s much simpler than you might think, and these events will help move your prospects from your “nurture bucket” to the next bucket, when the time is right.
Conversation #2—The Capabilities Conversation
The third bucket is your “interested” bucket. These prospects have shown significant interest and are currently looking to solve a problem with their drug and alcohol testing, but you are
unclear on what their specific needs are. For these types of prospects, you should be able to easily set up what I call a “capabilities meeting.” During this meeting, you put together a
presentation designed around the phrase: “People call us when . . .” Your goal in this meeting is not to discuss any pricing or specific solutions, but rather to discuss what problems you have solved for clients in similar situations as your prospect. Corporate clients are ready to make a
decision when they have a very specific problem they need solved. Often, they feel like their problem is unique to their situation, when in reality you may have seen it (or variations of the problem) countless times. The capabilities meeting shows the breadth of issues you can solve. When you are able to pinpoint their
exact heartburns with their current provider or their current heartburns with doing nothing, you get beyond the boring pricing conversation and instead become sought out by the prospect. Tis way, you isolate yourself from your competition. If you ace this meeting, it will lead you to our last bucket of prospects . . .
Conversation #3— “When Can You Start?” The fourth bucket is the “Buy Now” bucket. These prospects are in your target market, they have expressed intense interest, and you want to work with them. With this bucket, you get to have the best conversation of all, which is the “Needs and Pricing” information. Keep in mind, if you get to this
phase and you believe success is only dependent on your pricing, you may not have them in the correct bucket. While pricing should be competitive, you should not have to beat anyone
else’s pricing to get the business. Tere will always be another company in your market that is willing to sell for cheaper and go broke faster than you. Let them . . . At this meeting, you are simply
presenting your solution based on discovering their specific needs, and you are presenting your pricing. The only thing left to do after this meeting is to get a signed contract and start doing your thing. Some clients can go through these
buckets in one day, while others may take years. If you happen to be at the DATIA conference in New Orleans, I’ll be going much deeper into each of these conversations. I’ll also give specific examples to share what I have found to be successful. Once you figure out how to work your
sales funnel while also adding tons of value to your prospects and clients, sales becomes a fun game, and your business will benefit greatly. Now more than ever, smaller providers
are needed to serve corporate clients with special needs. Larger operations are unable to provide nimble solutions at a consistent service level like the small providers can. I look forward to discussing all of these solutions in detail in New Orleans! ❚
Susan Lobsinger is president of Lobdock Impairment Detection. After college and a 12 year management stint in the corporate world, she opted out for
the entrepreneurial way of life. Susan has discovered a passion for helping businesses succeed, and has dedicated her business to educating clients and helping them make informed, intelligent decisions about their drug testing policies and programs.
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datia focus
spring 2018
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