Sales Guru Explains How To Close Deals - Even On Slow Days
Slow business periods — whether snowy days or Friday afternoons — are the ideal time to make sales and steal a march on the competition, according to sales experts.
[UKPRwire, Fri Mar 06 2009] Businesses across the UK may have missed out on lucrative deals as their salespeople took so-called ‘duvet days’ during February’s bad weather, according to Andy Preston, managing director of sales training firm Outstanding Results, and expert contributor to small business marketing advice website Marketing Donut.
“The snow has the same effect on people as Friday afternoon syndrome, when people assume there is no point in making any calls as no-one will be there or they won't want to take the call,” says Preston. “I've closed many major sales leads on a Friday afternoon and I'm pretty sure there were deals to be made during the bad weather for those who were bold enough to make the calls in the first place.”
With reports claiming that one in five adults stayed away from work during the snow, Preston believes that many businesses missed out on crucial opportunities to make headway with sales calls when other firms had taken their eye off the ball.
“I've lost count of the number of sales reps who've complained to me that they have trouble getting through to the right person, or are getting blocked by a gatekeeper or voicemail,” says Preston. “Yet on the days when they had most chance of getting through, some sales reps took a ‘playstation day’.”
Adversity can sort the best salespeople from the rest, argues Preston. “The top salespeople took the snow as a great opportunity to build connections and rapport with new clients, and they'll now be reaping the benefit of that activity with new appointments in their diary,” he says.
Further information:
Become a Marketing Donut expert by visiting the blog http://marketingdonutblog.co.uk/contributors/
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For more information about Outstanding Results, go to www.outstanding-results.co.uk
