Sometimes you just have to Steamroll!

Not getting the answer you want? Sometimes getting the right person on the horn is all you need to do to close the deal. Booking high quality sales appointments is, like so much in life, about persistence; being unwilling to take “no” for an answer. This is not an arena for the shy and retiring. This story will illustrate how applying the principles I’ve outlined in many of my previous posts leads to success.

The client: an office and industrial relocation company.

The prospect: a manufacturing company with offices, labs, clean rooms, warehouse, and inventory.

On my first call I spoke to a very pleasant chap named Mark. Mark told me that I needed to contact Leslie in the purchasing department. I spoke to Leslie and booked an appointment for a site tour and job walk. Simple enough, I thought, but the fun was just starting. A day later I got an email from Leslie that read, “I need to cancel this meeting until next week. I need to follow-up and see if this service is needed.” Now I knew perfectly well the service was needed—they were planning to move! I waited a few days and called Leslie who told me, “I’m going to check with Marcus and see what’s going on.” Up til now, I had thought that Leslie was the head honchette.The following day, Leslie left me a voicemail saying, “Marcus has already chosen our moving company.” I asked Leslie to speak to Marcus but she said that he was already swamped with dealing with the move. So I waited a day and called the reception desk, asked for Marcus and he picked up right away.  When I pitched him and requested and appointment he said, “sure, I can use one more bid. I haven’t been very impressed with the ones I’ve received”. I scheduled the walk-through.

The truth is that I was a bit worried that, when my client showed up, he would be referred back to Leslie, who might have gotten pissed off that I shot a curve around her to reach Marcus. As it turned out, Marcus met directly with my client and was impressed with their credentials.

The result: approximately two weeks after the job walk, Marcus informed my client that they had been awarded the bid.

The Takeaway: don’t be dissuaded, discouraged or deflected. Get the decision-maker on the phone at all costs and close them!