I received a call from a sale rep the other day and he told me a story about selling to a bank. He wanted to know whether I thought the deal would close.
It seems he cold called the bank VP who did not want to see him. However, he was persistent, and "forced" the meeting. He met with the VP , his manager was with him.
They played good cop-bad cop and they convinced this VP that what they were suggesting was a great idea. The VP seemed to be impressed by their sincerity, and said that he would pass it up to his boss.
Immediately they went for the appointment with the boss, skipping the VP. The VP said that he would see them again, before they met with the boss, and they tried to schedule the meeting. It just so happens that he did not have his calendar with him, but suggested a date anyway. It turned out later that the bank was closed that day, and of course, the VP would not be in.
Not to be put off, they scheduled a web presentation for four weeks from that day.
They are sure that this sale will close once the presentation is made.
Your opinions count. What do you think.
My feeling is that these two guys don't have a chance to make this sale. It will be a full month before they talk to this guy again, if even then. There is a boss in the picture, and in fact, the VP said when they were there that he doesn't need another supplier.
Maybe the biggest thing that got me was that the "forced" the appointment. Those don't really work out the way we think. The prospect isn't a prospect he is someone who was in fact "forced" to meet.
Good Selling,
Steve
BTW: in case you asked, feeling much better now, thanks!
ss
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2 comments:
Hm...Are you saying you never "forced" an appointment or sale or manipulated anyone in your sales career?????
Yeah, right!
Beth H. NYC
Of course, when I first started I probably did. But I have learned that those appointments don't work for me. Its not to say that that sometimes it does work, I just don't do it. The purpose of the blog was to illustrate that the appointment was so weak there wasn't a next step. Remember that the objective of each step is to get the the next step. But I appreciate the feed back, Beth. If you would look at some of my books, you would see how my selling has evolved. That is really the key to good sales, being aware of yourself, and changing with time and age. I suppose that you are better than you were before?
regards, Beth. ss
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