You try to be helpful when talking with your prospects, but it might not always come across that way. In fact, it could be the opposite. What you view as “adding value” or “just checking in” could end up harming your sales efforts.
How can you tell if you’ve crossed a line from being helpful to being desperate, invasive or just plain annoying? Casey Firenze outlined a few signs to watch for in a HubSpot blog post. We share her thoughts in this issue of PromoPro Daily.
You overly explain everything. You’re the promo pro in the interaction, but keep in mind you don’t have to walk prospects through absolutely everything. They’re professionals, Firenze says, so give them some credit. You don’t need to hold their hand like they’re a kid at a crosswalk or try to push them along. Instead, strive to be patient and relevant with your outreach. Giving too much information can lead to a frustrating experience.
You want to build a friendship. If you care too much about being liked, you could be stalling your sales. Remember, Firenze says, it’s not about your personal compatibility with a prospect, but rather their interest and what your business can do to serve them. You should still be kind and friendly, but you don’t need prospects to love everything about you.
You’re too nice. Do you avoid push-back and hate to engage in give-and-take with your prospects? This isn’t a good thing. Firenze says you should be willing to embrace difficult conversations and handle them tactfully. This is the mark of a truly exceptional salesperson, she says.
You dominate every discussion. Whether you’re nervous or simply enthusiastic, you might become more talkative than usual. If the prospect can’t get a word in, you might end up dominating the conversation and overloading them with irrelevant information. Instead, take a deep breath, listen to the prospect and respond accordingly.
You let the prospect dominate every discussion. You might think you’re helpful in letting the prospect say whatever they feel. However, Firenze says there’s a line between letting them participate in the conversation and letting them dominate. You shouldn’t sit through a 15-minute monologue that isn’t relevant to the issue at hand. Remember, she says, you’re meeting with them for a reason.
You can show your promo expertise without overwhelming your prospects. Provide useful insights but don’t bombard them. It can be a fine line between being helpful and overly helpful, but when you strike that balance, you become a true resource to your prospects.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Casey Firenze contributes to the HubSpot blog. She’s an enterprise account executive at Amplitude, a self-service product analytics platform.
