Exploring the DISC model of human behavior reveals four fundamental style preferences of behavior and communication. Among these styles, one is particularly drawn to the sales profession. Most salespeople fall into what the DISC model terms High I’s, or Influencers. These individuals thrive on building relationships and enjoy meeting, talking, and interacting with many people. However, a common challenge for this behavioral style is a tendency to be somewhat disorganized and inattentive to detail and follow-up. As a result, the most frequent complaint about salespeople is their failure to follow up.
Despite their many strengths, this tendency can be detrimental in the world of OOH sales. It might not seem like a significant issue at first glance, but consider these statistics we shared with our OOH Sales Mastery classes earlier this week, which underscore the importance of timely follow-up:
- 50% of leads will work with the first person/company that contacts them (Hubspot).
- 30% of prospects will choose a competitor if you don’t respond quickly enough (Website Builder).
- Companies that reach out within one hour of receiving an inquiry are nearly 7X more likely to have a conversation with the lead (Harvard Business Review).
- Following up with a website lead within five minutes makes you 9X more likely to make the sale (InsideSales).
- Leads contacted within the first hour are 60X more likely to convert to a sale than those contacted 24 hours later (Lead Response Management Study).
At our firm, we teach a ‘rules-based OOH selling system’ rather than a ‘script-based selling system.’ This means we don’t provide scripts to memorize and use in the field, which we find inauthentic. Instead, we want you to be yourself while following a systematic process that guides prospects through the sales conversation using your unique personality and speaking style. One of those critical rules we emphasize with our OOH Sales Mastery clients is: TIME KILLS DEALS.
Understanding the importance of timely responses, it’s clear that we must approach opportunities with a sense of urgency and guide prospects through the sales process efficiently.
In order to do this, we have to be sure that we are “leading the dance” and not the prospect. There is a point very early on in a sales conversation where it is literally a fork in the road. Either you are going to seize control of the direction of the conversation or by default, your prospect will control the conversation. That’s it, there is no 3rd option. You may have the kind of productive conversation you need to have occasionally with the prospect in control. Unfortunately, that will not happen often.
You must commit to taking responsibility for directing the conversation in a gracious and respectful manner, ensuring the process is as efficient and effective as possible, ultimately leading to the decision of whether to do business together…or not.
Need help with sales skills or coaching to take your out of home company to the next level. Learn more about OOH Sales Mastery at oohmastery.com or Contact Dan Nausley at dan.nausley@sandler.com, 423.702.5579.
Lisa & Dan Nausley and Reggie Piercy of Sandler Chattanooga have developed the OOH Sales Mastery Program after more than a decade of training/coaching thousands of OOH Operators across the country in sales, leadership, and executive coaching.
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