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A reader
brought a TV ad to my attention that maybe you've seen too. It's the
Fidelity Investments commercial where a sales rep is talking to a prospect who
is giving off all kinds of buying signals ... the kind that make most of us
drool. As the
reader pointed out, and I confirmed when I saw the spot, the rep never asked for
the business. It was
more like, "Well, we have this available," and, "Keep this in
mind ..." The
prospect did everything but say, "How do I give you my money?", but never
did take that last step, as many people don't unless we help them along at the
very end. Fidelity
has been a client of mine, they're a customer, and I'm a customer of theirs. I
can assure you the fine sales and training folks I've worked with there probably
cringe every time they see this ad (which was likely put together by some
marketing people). The
message is simple: There's
a difference between letting someone know what you have available, and ASKING
them to make a decision. ASKING
gets action, just letting them know what's accessible wishes for the sale. For
example, put yourself in the position of the prospect hearing this: "And I
just want to let you know that we do have these in several different models and
they are in stock." That's
weak compared to: "And based on what you told me about your situation, the
K-100 Model would be ideal to help you cut down your processing time. I have one
in stock and could ship it today. May I do that for you?" Naturally,
the second one asks for a decision. Don't just throw your desires out there and
hope they'll react; be specific and ASK them (or INVITE them) to make that
decision now. Sure
you'll get more no's, but what will you have lost? Nothing. Will you
get more sales? It's guaranteed. Just ask the people who get the high numbers
now. |
