Are You Losing the Sale at “Hello”?

You’ve probably been told many times by sales gurus that you need a follow-up process: drip feed your prospect with education about your solution and eventually you’ll convince them to hire you.

But the problem with this approach is that it focuses your effort and energy at the wrong place.

You see, the sale is lost at the beginning of your process, not the end.

And if your prospect drops off after your initial sales meeting, and you think you can get them back by following-up, then you have the wrong mindset.

The truth is, if you’re having to follow-up with your prospect, then you already lost them.

The sale was over at “hello”.

Here’s the shift you need to come get to grips with:

Following-up does not create the “sales momentum” you expect it to — it creates sales resistance.

The reason is, you’re the expert, but you’re the one doing the chasing, and your prospect knows that it should be the other way around.

They want to hire someone whom they feel is in control and at the top of their game.

In many ways, they want to hire someone whom they feel is at a “higher level” than them.

But because you’re the one doing the pursuing, they feel like you need them more than they need you.

Following-up is chasing and chasing paints you as a hungry for the sale, rather than as a trusted authority.

This encourages your prospect to shop around, comparing you to others.

Granted, following up with valuable information used to be a valid way to build trust with your prospect.

But now that everyone and everything is connected online, information is everywhere and no longer has that trust-building power.

What this means is that once your prospect drops off your radar and “goes dark”, you can’t bring them back.

There is no “following-up” anymore.

What you need to do instead is build trust in your first sales meeting or conversation.

Why?

Because today’s business environment has become so saturated, that the last thing your prospect needs is more emails to read, meetings to attend, and more information to process (least of all from somebody they don’t know at a deep trust level).

They don’t want to know how you can solve their problem.

They want to know if you’re the one they can trust to solve it.

And they typically decide that in the first meeting.

You only get one chance.

Change Your Follow-Up Process, To A Problem-Clarifying Process

A follow-up process is a general, low-effort way of trying to keep your prospect interested.

As a sales approach, it doesn’t inspire confidence because you don’t know if your prospect appreciates it or when it will produce a hiring decision.

You just hope it does.

But a problem–clarifying process works like a doctor’s diagnosis.

It makes your “patient” feel like they’re in the hands of someone who understands their situation and knows what to do about it.

It helps you get down to the specifics of why they’re looking for an advisor in the first place, unpacking their situation for them in a way they couldn’t unpack for themselves.

And this paints you as an authentic and empathetic expert.

You become an authority on their issue, not just an advisor trying to sell them advice.

This is how they decide you’re the one they can trust.

Here are 4 key points to remember the next time you’re tempted to follow up with a prospect:

1. Following-up creates sales resistance, not trust

2. Solutions have been commoditized and have lost their trust-building power

3. Your prospect doesn’t want more emails or information to read

4. Your window of opportunity to hold your prospect’s attention is very narrow and unless they trust you immediately, in the first sales meeting, they’ll probably never hire you.

End your follow–up process, where you focus on trying to bring your prospect back after they go dark.

Install a problem-clarifying process, where you build trust and onboard them as a client in one decisive meeting.

There is no follow up -- just a simple problem-centric diagnostic process that helps your prospect understand their issue and see that they need your help to solve it.

To learn how to build trust and get hired in one single meeting, order your complimentary books and consultation below.

Related: “They Just Weren’t a Fit” – The Excuse Holding You Back

Get Ari’s 6 best-selling books for FREE here and you’ll also receive a Complimentary Sales and Lead Generation Consultation (value $995.00). Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net-worth new client acquisition expert for financial advisors. His latest books "Are You Chasing Ghosts", "Trusted Authority" and "Trust In A Split Second" have become instant best-sellers among financial advisors worldwide, get your free books here.