Christopher sells phone systems. After several attempts, he got an appointment with Cheryl, an executive at a large manufacturing company.
On the morning of the meeting, he prepared himself for the appointment. He armed himself with the company’s four-color, 10-page brochure, several testimonial letters and even a CD that explains the features and benefits of his phone system. “I’m gonna slamdunk this one,” he thought.
Upon arrival at the appointment, he was greeted by a secretary who said, “Cheryl needed to run out and asked if you could leave her some information.”
Although disappointed, Chris was prepared. He left a pile of information with the secretary and thanked her for her help.
A few days later, Chris began the cycle of calling and leaving a message. After leaving voice messages with no return call, he couldn’t understand what happened.
So what happened? She asked for information, but Chris didn’t understand information will not sell. Only people can. You need to get in front of the prospect or at least speak to the prospect to ask the right questions to get them to realize they need your product or service. Marketing materials may be an important part of a sale, but they need to be used properly and can’t be a substitute for you.
First, a brochure will most likely be ineffective because most of the time a request for one is merely a means to end a phone conversation. If they truly are interested in what you offer, why wouldn’t they spend even a few minutes on the phone with you? That way, they can answer enough questions so you can tell if it makes sense to send something they need and want.
You should understand why they need your brochure, what they are going to do with the information and, if they like what they see, what will happen next. If they aren’t willing to share that information, then they are not truly interested.
If prospects don’t have time for you, they won’t take time to read your brochure. Chris should have held onto his materials and called back to reset the appointment or at least had a short prequalification phone call to identify any need.
Author and columnist Greta Shulz is president of Schulz Training and Consulting in West Plam Beach, Fla.
