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The end of 2020 is drawing closer and closer. While many people are ready to scrap this whole year, there is still time to finish 2020 strong and set yourself up for an even more successful 2021.
Last week, I shared my first five recommendations. And I know you’ve been sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for the last five. The wait is over!
6. Give More Than One Pricing Option
Why do I love three pricing options? I love three pricing options because if you give somebody only one choice, it’s easy just to say yes or no. If you give them two choices, now you’re starting to get them thinking. But when you give your client three choices, they will typically buy the middle option.
You need to create your pricing and your proposals around this middle option you anticipate them to choose. However you word it – presence, competitive, dominant or gold, silver, bronze – present three pricing options if you want to sell more.
7. Set a Very Specific After-Proposal Follow Up Plan
So you’re at your first meeting, and you’ve gone there ready to sell some advertising. You asked great questions, shared testimonials, and showed them what you’ve got. Then when the client says, “I need to think about it.” Be ready for that too by establishing this very specific three-step follow-up plan.
First, tell them, “Let’s set-up a check-in 48 hours.” Get a date on your mutual calendars. Second, if 48 hours isn’t enough, ask them, “If you need more time, what are we going to do?” Third, ask “What if we miss each other?” This is how I psychologically try to program my customers to respond to, “If you stand me up for this date, then what?”
It’s also worth noting that we need to be prepared for when their answer is “no.” I’m not going to beat them up about it. But I might say, “I’d rather get a ‘yes,’ but if it’s going to be no just tell me no. We will work together at some point.”
8. Talk About the Love You Have for Your Customers
In the land of COVID, stranger danger is real. People are more likely to buy from you if you’ve helped other people be successful. That’s why I’m always open to share and talk freely about my other clients.
Yet, in nearly every slide deck I see, in just about every proposal that I see, there’s no mention of anybody else that we work with—our advertising clients. Why is that?
“Well, you know, we really can’t talk about other people,” many say. But stop. We’re not talking about being unethical. I’m talking about screaming from the mountaintops the love I have for my clients. Don’t be afraid. Tell them how much you love your customers and how much they love you, and that they’re going to love working with you, as well.
9. Get Clear on the Path to Making a Decision
When I get to the end of the sales call and they’re showing excitement and giving me buying signals, I ask them, “You seem like you love this idea. Do you love it?” And if they say they do, then great. I’ll say, “So what’s your path to getting this approved?” and “What do you need from me?”
And then I’ll ask, “What do you think is going to be the biggest roadblock that you’re going to run across? What can I give you—video, can I reformat this slide deck for you, could I record the sales deck using a tool like Loom or Soapbox and give it to you to show your boss?”
A lot of sales trainers out there would say, “Never meet with anyone who’s not the decision-maker.” Well, that’s easy to say if you’re not really responsible for selling anything.
I think we have to meet with people that are in the chain of command. That is just a part of what we do.
So remember to ask, “What do you need from me?” Get really clear on this with your clients and prospects.
10. Deal with It if Somebody’s Answer is “No”
If you’re going to close more ad sales deals, you’re going to need to rock through them. If a customer’s answer is no, I’m not going to beat them up about it. A lot of times people will say, “Never give them the opportunity to say ‘no.’” Okay, that’s a copyright 1996.
You have to recognize that in today’s world we’re having to resell people all the time. So if you really make them angry because you jump back down their throat when you’re in full-press sales mode … if the answer is “no” or “not now,” your answer should be something like, “We’ll get together and we’ll work together at some point in the future.”
Some people will say, “Well, you never get a second chance to sell them.” I just don’t agree with that. I teach pros at my ad sales training workshops that I feel like we have to resell these people over and over again. So, if the answer is “no,” that just means “not right now.” And actually, that’s alright.
—
If you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results, you are trying to redefine insanity. Stop doing that. You are an ad-visor. Look to do things differently than others in your field. Look to close out this tough year out with a BANG!
In closing, remember – I say it all the time – if ad sales was easy, everybody would be doing it. And they’re not. So we’re either crazy or we’ve found careers that will feed our families for a lifetime.
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Ryan Dohrn is an award-winning ad sales training coach, a nationally recognized internet sales consultant and in international motivational speaker. He is the author of the best-selling ad sales book, Selling Backwards. He is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media and 360 Ad Sales Training, a boutique ad sales training and sales coaching firm with a detailed focus on ad sales training, internet consulting and media revenue generation. Ryan is also the Publisher of Sales Training World.
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