If I ask a typical sales rep what time of year it is, I will hear answers like “vacation season” or “summer doldrums”. You may be surprised to hear that this is
budget season. Yes, your customers are
at the very beginning process of building out their budget plans for 2013. Are you engaged in that process? If not, you should be.
Blog continued below
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Here’s
an example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a
rep. He was frustrated that a prospect
had gone dark. After a few great
meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?”
email right then, during our call.
He did and guess what happened?
The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls
and emails. That’s why I wrote the
book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” –
and who hasn’t – the book is for you.
There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for
planning killer sales calls. What are
you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake
up on their own!
The
book, Click “Send” and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with
Extraordinary Sales Success is
available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at
the iTunes store.
No eReader? No problem! Click HERE
to download and print the book in any format you want.
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If you have an existing customer and are looking to grow
your business with them, now is the time to ask them about their 2013
plans. This process will also help you
understand just how good your relationship is with your customer based on their
level of transparency with you.
I would suggest that you begin the budget dialogue with
something like, “We are in the early stages of our 2013 planning and you are
one of our important customers. What do
your plans include for us in 2013? I’m
not asking for specific budget figures, although feel free to share those! I’m more interested in how you plan to grow
with us next year. What are your
priorities?” Ask something like that
then listen closely. If you are dealing
with the right kind of people you should get some good answers. You will quickly learn whether or not you are
a strategic partner, how much (if any) you can expect to grow with this
customer, and by how much.
You should ask the budget question to all of your important
customers. The kind if insight that you
will gain is invaluable and will help your organization budget for next year.
This time of year, although typically slow, can be
incredibly important for next year. Use
this time wisely.
