When every deal matters more than it ever has, every opportunity is critical. So it’s time to get ghost-busting.
Eliminating ghost prospects from your pipeline is all about good relationships and the right communication.
But I know all too well how hard that can be. So here’s my process and toolkit to get ghost-busting and increase your team's conversions.
A stand-out first impression
You only get one shot at this, so make sure you’re getting it right. Being personalized, and engaging while speaking to the right person is crucial, as well as showing a willingness to get your prospect what they want, instead of the sale you want.
Your reps need to position themselves as a peer or guide to the prospect, not a seller. Offer value-driven connection with the sole aim of benefiting the prospect. If you’re selling x product can you go over and above by also providing guidance on y product, which you don’t sell? Add a bit of magic with freebies, without expecting anything in return.
First impression resources:
- Cognism - get to the right person, the first time
- Trumpet - blow prospects away with engaging follow-ups
- ReachDesk - add the sparkle with free gifts and vouchers
Unshakeable credibility
You can’t always build trust in a fifteen-minute call but you can build credibility. Make sure you evidence integrated relationships, showing who else you and your company are associated with in terms of mutual connections, similar clients, and trustworthy affiliations.
Support this with your internal credibility resources. Can you bring your Customer Success Managers into the call to add expertise and cement your competence? Bring in product experts, industry experts, evidence and social proof.
Credibility resources:
- LinkedIn - to leverage your network
- G2, TrustPilot and relevant review platforms - for your social proof
Good listening and language
Scrap the sales script.
You need to listen and respond.
Avoid being a robot, ask human questions and understand the answers to work out the right response and most appropriate next step. Your prospect can tell when you’re following a format instead of building a genuine, mutual relationship, so make sure your listen-talk ratio is high here.
When you do talk, eliminate jargon. It’s harder than ever to stand out from the competition so being genuine will get you far.
Listening and language resources?
- It’s all you! Engage ears and brain.
Ghosting goes hand in hand with the 'do-nothing' outcome - your fiercest competitor you're probably not even thinking about. Here, Tom explains why it's the biggest threat to your business and how you can tackle it.
Shelley Lavery is the COO and Co-Founder of Jiminny, the leading conversation intelligence and sales coaching platform that helps companies maximize their revenue. With over a decade of experience in coaching B2B sales teams, Shelley was previously Group SVP of Sales at Reward Gateway now leading the conversation intelligence discussion with expertise and insight.
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