Good morning!

-TCoL

Missed our last feature article? The Sick Day You Saw Coming

When a quote goes quiet, the reason usually isn't the one you fear. It's rarely a firm no, and almost never a deal you lost to someone else. Most of the time the prospect just got busy, or they're waiting on a partner's sign-off, or they're still weighing two other numbers. And because saying no feels awkward, even the ones leaning against you tend to stay quiet rather than tell you. So, silence tells you little on its own. The quote isn't dead, it's parked, and whether it moves again comes down to how you follow up. That's where most owners lose the sale, either by never following up or by following up in a way that gets tuned out.

One of the best salesmen we ever worked with understood this better than anyone. He could put real pressure on a prospect when he wanted a decision, and he was always pleasant, even funny, about how he did it. He didn't mind hearing "don't call me again." He told us he secretly liked it, because at that level of pressure the person was going to buy or not, and now he knew which. The lesson wasn't the pressure. It was that he read the person first and let his read of the situation decide how hard to push. Some prospects got a light touch, some got the hard ask, and he almost never got it wrong.

So, how do you get to that level of skill and confidence?

Before you decide how hard to push, answer one question honestly, the way the best salespeople and businesses do instead of flattering themselves: how much does this prospect trust you right now? Trust is what closes deals, and pressure only carries as far as the trust beneath it. Lean hard on someone who barely knows you and you confirm every reason they had to hesitate.

When the trust isn't there yet, the next move isn't more pressure, it's one more cup of coffee, lunch, or one more round of golf to earn it. Once you've read the trust honestly, the follow-up comes in three weights.

It never opens with "just checking in" or "circling back," because prospects have learned those words mean you're chasing, and they stop reading. You give them a reason to reply instead. Pass along something useful while they weigh it: a photo of a similar job you just wrapped up, an answer to a question they're likely to have, or a note that you can still hold their spot in next month's schedule.

This is the touch for a prospect who's interested and just busy. You're not asking whether they looked at your number. You're staying useful while they decide.

This one uses the deadline, but the deadline must be real. Every quote should carry an expiration date, and that date gives you an honest reason to reach out that has nothing to do with pressure. It's logistics. "Your quote holds through the 15th. After that I'd have to reprice it against what lumber is running now, and it isn't running lower."

You aren't inventing urgency, you're telling the truth about your costs and your calendar. Most people who ignored the earlier notes will answer this one, because now there's a reason to.

This one forces a yes or a no, like telling the prospect you're closing the file unless you hear back. You make the reply almost effortless: "I'm going to take this off my open list unless I hear otherwise. Say the word and I'll keep it live." It works because people don't like losing an option, even one they'd been ignoring. But it only works if you mean it. If you're secretly planning to call again Thursday, the prospect feels it, and the whole thing goes limp.

So, you save the hard approach for the cases that earn it: the known procrastinator who needs a push to decide anything, the new prospect you'd rather qualify fast than chase for a month, the quote about to expire on a real cost increase, or the one you don't have much faith in and want settled either way. Some of them will tell you to get lost. That isn't a lost sale, it's an answer, and an answer frees you to spend the time on someone who will buy.

Deciding which prospect isn't worth your energy is a separate issue, and it starts before the quote ever goes out. Our piece, The Customer You Should Have Said No To, is about making that call early on.

The mistake almost everyone makes is picking one weight and using it on everybody, chasing a ready buyer with the hard ask, or letting a time-waster sit on a soft note for a month. Read the prospect and gauge the existing trust most of all. The interested-but-busy one gets the soft touch. The fence-sitter gets the honest deadline. The procrastinator and the long shot get the hard ask.

The pressure should always follow the read, never the other way around. The best closers can walk right up to the line and stay pleasant the whole way, because they have the confidence that they know the customer and trust levels before deciding how to push.

The Co. Letter shares general information to help you run your business and isn't a substitute for advice tailored to your situation.

Have an interesting business question and need a free bit of advice? Send your question to [email protected]. No confidential info, please!