How to create urgency with sales prospects (naturally)
Trevor Hefford
We empower the restaurant community to delight guests, do what they love, and thrive.
No sales rep wants a pushed deal on the last day of the quarter.
So, at the 11th hour they pull out all the sales tricks.
There’s the scarcity close:
“Mr. prospect. My software price goes up if you wait until next month to buy.”
Or the incentive close…
“Mr. prospect, if you buy my software before the month ends, you’ll get a 10% discount.
These types of sales closes are manipulative and ineffective.
Why?
Because the prospect is 100% in control of the sale…
And most customers know that if they don’t buy before the end of the month, they can still get that promised discount later.
And few sales rep would walk away from a discounted deal even after the quarter closes.
So the question is…
How do we create urgency without looking desperate or manipulative so we can close deals faster?
To create urgency, you need to shorten selling timelines.
I use something I call the early ask method? (E.A.M.?).
Asking is not manipulative. It's a sales person's job. And it can be done naturally.
It goes like this…
The moment your prospect shows interest in your solution, the sales cycle timer starts ticking…
And you need to naturally move the prospect through at least 3 selling events before you can close the sale.
A discovery call
A demo call
A proposal call
These 3 events are typically each spaced about 1 week out or more. So, at minimum this is a 3 week sales cycle, or longer.
Your goal should be to shorten this timeline from 3 weeks to 3 days.
Yes, 3 days. It can be done.
But the question to ask yourself is not whether it can be done, but are you using the E.A.M.? as your urgency goal.
Here’s how it works:
When your prospect shows interest in your solution today and wants to move forward, you ask them "in a low key voice",
"Are you open to a discovery call tomorrow?"
The moment they tell you that day won’t work, you quickly BUT in a "low key voice" ask,
“How about the day after tomorrow?
If they say no to tomorrow, you then ask in a "low key voice"...
"How about before end of the week before we lose track of what we talked about?”
By offering three time options before each sales event you’ll create urgency naturally and prevent sales events from being pushed out 1, 2, or 3 weeks later.
Better yet, you won't have to resort to last minute sales closing techniques.
Try the E.A.M.?.
Guarantee you’ll shave weeks or months off what could typically turn into a long and protracted sales cycle.
Bilingual B2B Executive - People & Sales Leader - Merchant Services / Payments- Fintech - SaaS
5 年I love this... nothing wrong with politely speeding up the process!
High Ticket Remote Sales | SaaS | Business Coaching
5 年Great post.? It's always best to make every conversation you have with your prospects about THEM not yourself.? Hail marry offers at the end of a quarter sometimes hurt deals as the prospect may not be completely comfortable or ready to move forward.? Another great way to create urgency naturally is to understand how your product or solution may be tied to your prospects project/campaign.? Understanding this, can help you create a work back schedule with your prospect so you can both build a mutual plan together.? If you or your prospect miss these agreed upon timelines, the project is at risk, which results in a more effective outreach approach vs having to throw another hail marry offer their way.