Closing More Deals In Tough Times

FranchiseUpdate:

Once a salesman complained, “What an idiot! I can’t believe my prospect went with our competition.” In quizzing him about the lost candidate, the troubled rep was clueless about the buyer’s motivations, concerns, and goals in owning a business. My question is, “Was it the buyer or the sales rep who was the idiot?”

In today’s uncertain economy, sales pros gain the edge by moving into their prospect’s world. They probe, read, adapt, and outsell their competition by fully understanding and responding to how their candidates think and behave. Here are selling insights that may help increase your recruiting success.

Buyers expect responsiveness. Today franchise follow-up is undergoing a service crisis. According to Franchise Update’s surveys, late or no callbacks to email requests are the norm rather than the exception; inquiring prospects often receive material two to three weeks later; and enthusiastic respondents are thrown into voicemail 58 percent of the time. You’ll lose the race if you aren’t responsive. Be first to their door and you’ll win!

Buyers are seeking a relationship. Franchising is people-driven, not product-driven. Buyers smell product-pushers 10 miles away, which is why many salespeople fail at selling franchises. You can outperform competitors by focusing on a prospect’s families, aspirations, and the health and wealth of their futures. By gaining their credibility, confidence, and trust, you’re in the driver’s seat.

Buyers don’t know how to buy a franchise. Most of your prospects haven’t purchased a franchise before, so how would they know how to go about it? You’re the expert, not them. It’s your role to take firm control of the investigation through leadership. If you don’t, they will! If you fail to define the steps and timeline of your buying process early on, they’ll create their own.

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