'I'll get back to you' - don't be left hanging!

We have all heard the replies such as

"Leave it with me, I'll call you back,"

"I've not had time to go over it, I'll get in touch,"

etc.

And you're left there hanging on, waiting for them to call back like a right plum.  You get off the call and you're not sure what to put in the diary - can you call them back if they said they'd call you? When? And what do you say?

Awkward.

What has happened here is that you have given up control of the process. It is up to you to control the sales process. That said, it is also the buyer's journey, so if they're busy, they're busy, don't try and push a sale through if you're getting clear signals that they're not ready. So there should be a middle ground.

To keep deals moving through your process and pipeline, you need to establish the next step in every contact where possible. In our training we bang on about never leaving a CRM entry without a diaries follow up. Even if a prospect say 'no', it's a 'no for now' and you can comfortably get in touch in a year or eighteen months without bugging them. After all, their policy might have changed, they may have a new decision maker, they might then have a need for your service or product. So, first rule is.. don't leave that entry without a diaried call back.

Second rule.. when you're in touch with your prospect, try and politely, and whilst listening to them, keep control of the process, set yourself up for the next touchpoint. I'd recommend a call here, email leaves you hanging just as badly.

Some examples?

'No worries, I'll give you a shout in a week or so to give you a bit more time,'

"You say your busy season is for the next few weeks so I'll just get in touch then,"

"I'll leave you to it then, and I'll call on xx day once you've had a chance to go over it,"

What you're doing is leaving the door ajar for yourself. Don't take a 'no, I'm busy' as a 'NO'. If they want to say no, they will do so (by email if they're too shy on the phone). Take their cue, if they then say, 'No, really, just let me call you back," you are then in a bit of a corner, admittedly. But even so, you should diary to get in touch again - maybe leave it a bit longer as you don't want to annoy them. You can also consider your next touch point to be in a different format, such as by a hand written snail mail note, or a card. Be considerate, but persistent until you hear a definite no.

Good luck!

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Go forth and sell!