It’s hard to believe but here we are, 3 weeks away from the 4th quarter of the year. It’s do or die time team! If we don’t make it happen NOW, then we are just going to have to be satisfied with the results we’ve gotten. Are you? Or do you want to turn up the heat and make this good year a great year?! Let’s talk about a couple of strategies that you know but often don’t pay enough attention to.
Often the easiest person to sell OOH advertising and/or sign another land lease with is the person you’ve already sold something to. We know this but forget sometimes. Perhaps that’s because of the terminology we use. It’s quite common for salespeople and sales managers to talk about “closing the sale” – but is that word “close” really the best way to describe what’s really happening when there’s a decision to purchase an advertising/marketing campaign or lease us a parcel of land?
Of course, it’s unlikely that OOH sales teams will stop using the word “close” to describe a prospect becoming a customer. But that doesn’t mean we have to think in terms of “closing” anything at this point in our sales process. The truth is, it makes no sense to view “closing a sale” as the end point. It makes much more sense to see this moment as the beginning point of a new relationship—a partnership.
Our new customer is a valuable source of two extremely important things: insights on how to make sure we know how to turn them into highly successful users of our medium and consequently a raving fan. Also, referrals that could connect to additional business. Why wouldn’t we want to ask about both of those things? Why wouldn’t we want to hear the answers sooner, rather than later?
Strike While the Iron Is Hot: Make Them Raving Fans
Let’s look first at the issue of making them highly successful users of our medium. We may not be used to thinking of this as part of the sale … but make no mistake, it is! If something goes wrong, we’re going to hear about it, and there are going to be consequences, financial and otherwise, that will have to be dealt with. We want to strike while the iron is still hot – and while we can still affect the outcome by designing the perfect “handoff” to our staff.
We want to get all the information necessary to make sure both sides experience a seamless, highly effective relationship. That means we want to be asking the right questions shortly after the customer says “Yes.”
For instance:
- Who, on the customer’s side, will be most directly involved in facilitating getting the creative to us or giving us the direction we need to give them impactful creative?
- Do they understand what we can control to make this relationship successful? Do they understand what only they can control to make this relationship successful?
- Would they like to know the most successful best practices for building highly effective OOH creative?
- What kind of timelines are the decision makers/influencers on the customer’s side expecting?
- Who do they need to talk to on our side?
- What are the most likely obstacles to a profitable relationship … and how can we prepare for them ahead of time?
There are plenty more, but you get the idea! However, we can’t assume we already know the answers to these questions
Strike While the Iron Is Hot: Referrals
Next, let’s look at the subject of referrals. This is something many OOH salespeople avoid discussing with buyers in the period right after the buyer has said “Yes.” But if we stop to think about it, we’ll realize there is no logical reason to avoid raising the issue of introductions. There may be other departments, divisions, locations within this company with which we should be in contact. Additionally, our contact is likely to know of other companies/owners that could benefit from what we offer – and they may even have a relationship with people in those companies.
Some say it’s important to wait until we’ve been working with them a while and the customer is happy before discussing add-on or future business. While waiting may make those salespeople feel more comfortable, it only delays the process. The time to “plant the seeds” for future business is soon after closing the first piece of business.
We can frame our question around a beneficial outcome for the client. What should be implicit in our question is the answer to the customer’s inevitable question, “What’s in it for me?”
For example:
Tom, now that we have your Westside location squared away, I was thinking it might make sense to look at the Eastside location to determine if there’s a way to improve your customer count numbers there as well. What do you think?
Or:
Mary, now that the branding campaign is in place, would it make sense to explore what we can do to help drive your seasonal promotions that are such a significant contributor to your overall revenue numbers?
In each of these areas – laying the groundwork for a creating a seamless working relationship and planting the seeds for future business – we have nothing to lose by asking — and everything to gain.
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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