The message on our voice mail said, “. . .You called me about a year ago when you were looking to buy a good all around youth horse. I know it’s been a while since we talked, but I’ve got one for sale right now that you should see if you’re still looking. . .”
We looked and we bought that horse. And still own him eight years later.
Granted, one year is an eternity for getting back to a potential horse buyer. But the seller wasn’t concerned about the time that had gone by, the unlikelihood we were still “looking” or the time wasted in making a phone call.
He had a specific horse to sell and a list of people who might be prospects to buy him. His list might have been on index cards, a yellow pad of paper or “in his head”. But he had a system to follow up.
And selling horses is all about following up, isn’t it?
When you show people your horses for sale, it’s a rare event when the sale happens on the spot. You know the prospects’ lines by heart:
- “He is a very nice horse. We’ll talk about it.”
- “We have a few others to look at before we make a decision.”
- “I’ll have to talk to my spouse about finances and see if we can afford her.”
- “I’ll have to get my other horse sold before I can buy him.”
- “I’d like to have my ________________(insert: instructor, coach, trainer, friend, psychiatrist) look at him for me.”
These lines are just part of the sales process. Change the product name being sold and they fit all situations.
When you hear these and other excuses over and over, don’t be discouraged. Expect resistance. It’s part of the sales process.
As a professional horseman, however, are you acting like a professional salesperson? By that I mean, do you follow up on not only horse sales, but all sales that you do?
You don’t follow up because:
- Too busy to do it yourself.
- Don’t have anyone else to do it.
- \Afraid of hearing NO.
- You forget the prospect’s name, information and needs.
As someone said long ago, “Remember, no matter how many departments, employees, products and services you have to offer, Nothing happens in a business until something is sold.”
Just like a catcher’s mitt is a specially designed and fitted tool, your follow up system for sales prospects should be too. Choose and design your own catcher’s mitt for capturing leads and prospects as the first step for a follow up system. Select from a list in a folder, a hand written spiral bound notebook, an MS Word computer file, an index card tickler file, a calendar with notes, an electronic spreadsheet or special software designed to track sales leads.
No follow up system, no sales.