Across the convenience counter I asked, “Would you like to add another bag of chips to your purchase today for just $2 more?” “No,” came the reply. Ugh, that feeling of defeat and failure when I heard those words during my early years of sales. I’m sure as a senior care marketer you can relate. After all, no one likes to hear the word “no," especially when you are so passionate about the services that you know will make a difference in the quality of health or life for someone else.
You’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t want to capture and turn 100% of every lead you connect with. Unfortunately, doing so just isn’t possible. I like to equate this theory to playing tennis. Sometimes my serve is an ace—yes! However, sometimes it may hit the net or be too long, and although I may be disappointed, the one thing that I always do is take a moment to reflect on the one I missed, and determine what corrections I need to make to improve my next serve.
When recently working with a sales rep I asked them what they did when they received a ‘no’ from a prospect and their reply was, “I don’t take it personally. It’s not my fault they don’t want my service and I just move on.” OUCH! Wow, that organization must have an endless pipeline of leads in order for that kind of attitude to exist. Yet their reply resonated with me on a much deeper level. It prompted me to think about the often forgotten sales tactics–the lessons that are necessary in order to constantly improve our sales skills and fill pipelines.
6 Overlooked Sales Tactics
The answer? Work the system. Do the basics, and do them well.
- Question. A sales professional should “feel it” when he or she fails to convert the lead. After every sales interaction, the leader should debrief with the sales rep, review the loss and determine what contributed to it. By doing this, the sales rep grows more intelligent over time, and their win percentage increases.
- Focus. Place emphasis on the importance of paying attention and putting forth optimal effort in generating new leads. For a sales rep, that means getting the word out through the proper communication channels for your target audience. It also means intensifying efforts to develop an “expert” status, and thereby attract others to you.
- Make the Calls. Warm and cold calling still has its place because it works. Reach out to enough people with a clear, real presentation of value, and a certain percentage of those prospects will agree to meet with you and a certain percentage will request a tour or consult—and a certain subset will become your customers. Yes, it’s work. And yes, it’s tougher today than in years past to get to the decision-maker. And yes, you will experience rejection. If you can’t handle this rejection, then you’re in the wrong business. Quit whining and start calling.
- Take Your Time. Despite every urge to move quickly, force yourself to slow down the process when you get a “live one.” Take the time to develop the relationship and fully qualify them. Know what their criteria are for choosing a senior care provider. Once the lead requests fee information, make sure your “benefit” statement clearly addresses those criteria.
- Be Upfront. Ask for referrals! Once the patient, resident or family member agrees to utilize your service begin to ask for referrals NOW. Your customers know plenty of other people who could benefit from your services...so ask them who they are; this is the most budget friendly kind of marketing you could do. Plus, positive word-of-mouth is the best thing for your business!
- Recover. No doesn’t have to mean forever. Be sure to provide a response to your “no” that goes something like this: "While we regret that we've been unable to help you on this occasion, we respect your decision. We will leave you alone for a while, but we obviously want to keep in touch and be ready to help you should the need arise in the future. Here's what we propose: I'll ask a colleague (NOT A SALES PERSON) to give you a call once a quarter. Each time he/she calls, they'll ask you just two questions: 'Have things changed relative to last time we spoke?' And ''May I send you another or additional information to help your awareness of senior service opportunities available. Would that be OK with you?'"
Try to touch base with “no” leads at least every two months, but communicate as frequently as weekly in other circumstances and in certain markets. You must make sure your tactics are welcomed and not resented. When sending emails, direct mail pieces, invitations, case studies, etc. be sure to load them with true value, rather than weighing them down with promotions and "service information" that holds more interest for you than for them.
Remember, selling senior services is about building relationships, and that takes time. You won’t make every sale and you don’t want to get caught up in the ones that “got away." Learn from each experience so that you can improve your chances of catching the next “live one.” Also, make sure you are always looking for opportunities that may arise to fulfill your pipeline with new or recycled leads.
Have you learned any valuable lessons from a “no” response? Please share them with us in the comments below!
