The ongoing debate on every sales consultant’s mind: “when is it time to finally throw in the towel and give up on a lead?” Is there such a thing?? Does that mean we are defeated? Isn’t it all just a numbers game???? Every Sales consultant at the core should be a competitive person. It’s the only way to really not get discouraged and take every new lead as a challenge, a challenge to win the person over and feel comfortable enough to talk openly with you. But how long should this process take and at what point are we turning a lead into a dead end. These are very good questions that I shall attempt to answer for all you invigorated and non-disillusioned Sales Consultants.
So first things first: when do you give up? Well a clear indicator is when your prospect has refused to take your calls after at least a handful of attempts. If you keep calling, you are just going to create a negative association with not only you but the company you represent as a whole. You never want to create that association!!! If you call your lead and there is an immediate disconnect, I mean literally the phone disconnects, I would take that as a clear sign. Although there are exemptions to the rule, you could always use humour as a way to re-connect. That way the last thing your prospect remembers of you is that you made them laugh, not mad!!!!
Always ask questions regarding who is the person that can give you that definite “no”, although the person answering the phone may think it is them, a lot of the times that is not the case. They may feel they are the gate keeper but if you keep your position that could make all the difference. Say you go through this process and still nothing, no movement, no call back, no love from your prospect. What should you do then? I say, don’t beat yourself up and waste your precious time on a prospect that never would have turned into a client anyways. Focus on the positive, which is your skill and willingness to move on from a negative situation. By doing so, you wipe the board clean and find that client that really connects with you and your product.
Good luck and stay positive fellow Sales Consultants!!
Christina Ramalho / Sales Consultant / PEO Canada