Soon is Not a Timeline
Tony Lenhart ??
Sales Drummer ?? | B2B Sales Therapist & Problem-Solver | Growth Strategist | Partner @ SEG | Speaker
How long is soon?
“Talk soon!” is a common phrase I hear at the end of sales meetings. It's often coupled with an intention of another meeting, but no commitment.
Professional sales always requires more than one meeting; everyone knows this. Yet, too often the momentum slips.
“Time kills deals” is an old saying in sales. It works both ways. Rushing the process leaves no time to build trust. Delay, and the energy and enthusiasm die out. Either way, you’re out of rhythm with the prospect.
So here’s the problem: Soon isn’t a timeline. Soon isn’t a next step. It’s an indefinite, reactive pleasantry.
Too often, it’s just a polite lie. You may never talk to them again - but not because you didn’t want to.
One of two things likely happened:
领英推荐
To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time. - Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990)
Sales is about creating and sustaining energy.
Creating is the earning part - putting in the work with pre-call planning, coming up with intriguing questions to ask, understanding how you can help, and being disciplined about self-promotion.
Sustaining is the asking part - using the last 5-7 minutes of every call to recap and align on concrete next steps. It is not pushy, it's professional & purposeful. This serves everyone if there is true alignment after the first meeting (and the second, and third, and...)
End calls with clarity and purpose, not just “Talk soon” - because soon rarely leads to sold.
Additional Learning:
?? Thanks for being here. Check out my monthly dispatch as well - Sales Drummer ??
Senior Director | Capital Markets | $1.33B in Multifamily Real Estate Transactions
1 周Most people are just fine setting a follow up meeting at the end of the intro as long as they know you're out for their best interest. Thanks for sharing Tony Lenhart ??Nick Meyer
Get publicity without the big price tag ? Founder & CEO, The PR Accelerator ? Media coverage, podcast interviews, influencer attention, and speaking gigs.
1 周Great advice, Tony.
Principle @ Avaans PR | Bespoke PR for Emerging Industries & Ambitious Brands
3 周"Happy Ears"- I love that. It's a perfect description. One thing I LOVE about setting the next call before getting off the phone is that I know if someone doesn't commit to a time, it's unlikely to close at all, and it gets deprioritized. It helps me manage my time.
Sales Growth Architect? Transforming Sales Culture? Sales Process Training? Sales Management Structure? Leadership Coaching ?
3 周Love this Tony! This is why most sales conversations lead to a slow no. As I know you do as well, we always teach our clients to end every conversation with a mutually agreeable clear next step. ??
CEO @ InsideSalesExpert.com Helping sales leaders avoid galactically ridiculous mistakes in all areas of building, fixing & growing their sales teams
3 周Everybody knows that great salespeople always close for next steps at the end of the sales call. So if that's true, why do you think salespeople continually fail to set definite next steps at the end of a call and end with the weak "Talk soon?" I'll go first: -Poor training -Poor coaching -Poor leadership -Poor hiring (the salesperson is at fault because they're lazy and uncoachable but this is still a leadership failure) -Poor agenda setting at the beginning of the call What do you think?