3 Touches To Sell Anyone

Y’know, it only takes three Life Touches to sell a prospect.  That’s it. Well, okay, depends on a few things. But it’s really as easy as 1-2-3. Let me tell you how because it could mean faster sales and more income to you.

First let me clarify “sell.” What does it mean to sell a prospect?  Does it mean you walk away with a check in your hand?  Not really, unless you’re into the sell ‘em and leave ‘em one-night stand selling style. I’m not.

I’ve found that a better way of selling is building long-term, trust-centered relationships. I become a trusted advisor that they “must” come to for their needs.  So, to sell means to sell them on YOU. And that only takes three Life Touches.  Do this right and you’ll walk away with check in hand MANY times over the next few years!

Here are the considerations to make it happen fast.

Quality interaction

Sorry, you can’t depend on email autoresponders alone to build relationships. Even top internet marketing gurus don’t just use email. They host webinars, teleseminars, live seminars, make videos, send mail, and even outbound phone calls!  Crazy!  They focus on multiple touch points to establish trust. Which leads me to the next point…

Purposeful follow up

EVERY interaction must have a purpose. I call the important ones Milestones.  Each milestone has a design to move the relationship forward in trust, connection, desire, and buying. A phone call just to ‘check in’ is usually worthless. Before you make a call or write and email, ask “what do I hope to accomplish from this?”

Building rapport

You need to be big in their mind. Your prospect is hammered every minute from all the people who want to see you fail. You need to stand out. What’s the defining characteristic about you (and your product)?  Sales people are given a list of 50 benefits and features and try to pitch them all. You need to focus on ONE THING that stands you out. Only talk about that.  Be so bold and convicted about what you are selling that every competitor fades into the background. You’ll be viewed as an expert. And they will be sold.

Magnetic personality

Suck them in. Draw them close. Pull them to you like a black hole. Your personality and engagement needs to be gravitational. Your prospect can’t resist you. Charm them. Ask about the important things in their life. Make small jokes (carefully). Give them a bit of your personal side. Let them know that you are a person trying to make your way just like them. Smile!  If you are instantly attractive, prospects will desire to be around you. And when that happens, you’ve sold them.

The three Touches

Here’s Milestone Map that I follow most times to get “intimate” with my prospect, or a networking contact quickly.

1) First touch. Usually a chance meeting or a phone call. This is the first time I make personal contact. It’s very important to establish a base for the relationship. Meaning there is something to talk about next time. Whether it is a need they have, an interest we share, or something I can help them with.

2) Follow up on the first touch. This should happen within a couple days. Can be an email or phone call. I like to write a personal note card and mail it if I have their address. Even better is finding their address and sending a note/letter. They are surprise because NO ONE does that. And everyone loves to get mail (other than the usuall bills).  I also use this second interaction to get an important piece of information used in the next touch.

3) Locking them in. I try to find out an interest, desire, or need during the first two touches. Then I find a related article, website, book, or something related to that topic. I mail, email, or fax the piece to them with a personal note. This step is AMAZING. So few people do it because it takes a bit of work. But it works wonders on the prospect’s subconscious. They will remember you forever.

Important note: Following this doesn’t mean you will get a check from every prospect. Sometimes, they just don’t want your product! But it builds a strong rapport that can then be leveraged for referrals, future business, and general goodwill in the marketplace.

Try it out and let me know how it works for you!

By the way you’ll need a system to help track and manage all this. I recommend Vision Pipeline Assistant. It’s simple, fast, and free.

Why are you calling next week?

I talked with a sales trainer today. He relayed a story about a conversation with one of his clients.

The salesman said, “I’m following up with that prospect in a couple weeks.”  The trainer asked back, “Why?”  The salesman was stumped.

Excellent question. A simple question, but excellent. You need to ask “Why” about every single follow up. If you don’t have a great why, then you are wasting your time and your prospect’s time.

Before you make your next call, think about the purpose and the goal of that exact call. Better yet, use a system that maps this out for you… I’m partial to Vision Pipeline Assistant.

Keep in mind that the purpose is not always to make a sale. Depending on your specific sales cycle, you may have a dozen Life Touches before a sale happens.  So, the purpose of each Life Touch is to move the relationship forward.

When you build great relationships with prospects, you will have long-term and profitable clients.

What’s Most Important?

Excerpt from the book…

As we discussed before, the purpose of a sale is to get a client. The sale is the first major Milestone. This means that the relationship is more valuable than the transaction. Did you get that? Let me repeat:

The relationship is more valuable than the transaction

Put that on your wall. Big. Let it remind you to spend more of your time, energy, and resources on building relationships than on making the sale. As long as you focus on closing deals, you will be broke and miserable.

Most sales people work so hard to close a sale, then forget about the person and on to the next.  How are YOU building long-term relationships?  Or are you suffering through starting over every month?

I woke up today a little blah

I had about 14 follow up calls and a few emails scheduled and didn’t really want to make them. I also had a big list of other tasks completely unrelated to selling that were important.

But selling is my livelihood. I don’t sell I don’t eat. The problem with my calls today was that I was pretty confident none of them would result in a sale. Why make them? Well, my sales cycle is 2-3 months. Most of the prospects have to wait for specific timing in their production schedules. And no matter how hard I try to close, they only buy when they are ready to buy.

It’s tempting to bump out contact for weeks or months until I think they are ready. Sometimes I do. But it’s really stupid because “touching” them regularly, even when they aren’t ready to buy makes them remember me. Otherwise, the other guy will win.

My job is less about closing and more about being available. I need to show them that I am a partner in their business and they can count on me. Even though it may seem annoying and fruitless, these regular follow ups add up to create profitable long-term client relationships.

So today I won. I worked my pipeline. Didn’t make any sales. But I had a few good laughs, discovered some personal details, and made a few friends. Hopefully, this helps the sale when they are ready.