Marketing to the Near Sales
Posted by: Cheryl Clausen in coaching, tags: increase sales, marketing near sales, sales coach, sales coachingNear sales represent all those people who are interested, but they just aren’t ready to buy now. They need to think about it, they’ll revisit this is six months, they have to talk to some other people, etc. They’re still in your sales funnel, but they aren’t ready to do business today.
Michel Fortin has an acronym for the stages of buyer awareness (OATH). It’s a great way to explain where buyers are or aren’t in the buying process.
- Oblivious - they aren’t aware they even have a need for your services.
- Apathetic - they have some awareness that they need your services, but they aren’t motivated to do anything about it
- Thinking- they know they need your services and they’re thinking about doing something, but they need to do a little more research
- Hurting - they’re ready buyers actively seeking your service
A buyer won’t buy until they’re ready to buy. Accept that as fact. Don’t try to manipulate or coerce someone into doing something they aren’t ready to do. It just makes you look like a pushy obnoxious salesperson because you are.
Instead change how you approach near sales. You can’t control the stage of awareness a potential client may be in the buying process. What you can control is how you help people to move through the stages of awareness, so when they’re ready to buy they’ll buy from you.
Prepare ways to deepen the relationship beyond the initial connection. Map out a marketing plan to provide valuable information to your prospects that will educate them and move them closer to a ready buyer. This can’t be a bunch of drivel about how great you are and how long you’ve been in business. Educational and valuable means it answers questions your potential prospects need answered, it removes objections they might have, it explores what they have to believe about your service, and it invalidates other options.
Entries (RSS)