Three things that keep prospects from saying yes

A lot of emphasis these days is put on getting leads. But leads don't generate revenue; clients do. So let's explore the three reasons why clients may not decide to buy your services - and what you can do to improve your sales conversion.

Confidence

Let's start off with confidence. How confident are you in yourself? Are you discounting your abilities and unconsciously using negative self-talk? How confident are you that you can help them? Are you confident in the value you can offer them?

If you want to improve your sales conversion, first work on your self-confidence. This is affected by three things:

1. Your intention

If your intention in getting clients is to fill up your own wallet, or if you don't really care about your clients, you will find it difficult to build trust. They will feel this invisible energy that makes them postpone their buying decision. It's like bad vibes. We've all had them from someone else. Let's make sure we're not sending them ourselves.

2. Your self image

If you have self doubt, it may manifest in your language, your rates, and other forms of non-verbal communication. Get it sorted by working with a coach or someone who can help you overcome your own limiting beliefs about yourself. Watch back this webinar to discover how to overcome imposter syndrome.

3. Your sales pipeline

If you're expecting to close five clients by working on only seven prospects, you're setting yourself up to look desperate. And desperate people do not look confident. It will show in your sales conversation, your opening and closing approach. Have a robust pipeline; just assume a 20% conversion rate. So, if you need five clients, work on 25 prospects. What's the worst that can happen? You get more clients than you need?

Sales conversation

The next thing that affects sales conversion is your sales conversation. Are you acting like a human brochure or are you actually solving their needs?

We don't all have lots of selling experience, but we've all had experience of being sold to. So, think about what kind of sales conversations you enjoyed in the past; the ones where you felt comfortable, helped, and cared for.

Think of that process you went through and how it made you feel confident to buy. What did the salesperson do to you, with you, and for you? What kind of conversation did you have? Was it a one-way presentation about the products, or was it a two-way conversation that used questions to discover your needs?

Who was the salesperson for you? Were they human brochures who just waffled about their features and benefits, or were they solution providers who listened to you and suggested useful advice?

Look at how you sell. No matter what you sell, there is a pattern in your selling conversations. How do you start? What do you spend the most time on? What is the ratio between talking and listening? What kinds of questions do you ask, or don't ask?

There's a reason why good salespeople drink their coffee hot. Let's say you're doing a Zoom meeting with your prospect and you each prepare a cuppa before the call. Do you get to drink your coffee hot, or is it already cold by the time you drink it? If you get to drink it hot, well done! That means you're listening to the prospects first before waffling away about what you can do for them. If you're drinking it cold then, well, you've been talking too much.

Your sales conversation should make the clients feel that you understand their needs. You have listened and your solutions are relevant. They should also feel that they co-created the solutions with you. People are less likely to say no to a solution if they feel that they've co-created it.

Your follow up

The third thing that affects your sales conversion is your follow up. It's amazing to meet salespeople who are so excited to have a sales meeting with you, but do not follow up afterwards.

They make the proposal, send it off, and then expect the wheel to turn by itself. Or they end their proposal with: 'Let me know if you have questions.' That's a reactive attitude. End your proposals by making an appointment for another call to explain the details, and to answer their questions. That's another excuse to talk to them, and another chance to get a decision.

Marketing gets you leads, but leads don't generate revenue. So focus on your sales process - not just your marketing strategies.

Would you like to write content that your fellow business advisers will enjoy? Submit your blog posts and share your knowledge with the community.