This text is from our consulting firm's latest 321 Biz Development episode found on 18 podcast platforms like Spotify, iTunes, Pandora and iHeart Radio. 321 Biz Dev has over 500 podcast episodes across multiple platforms. There is too much content to write for this article, so readers are referred to the podcast for the complete story. 321 Biz Dev supports supporting attorneys, CPAs, corporate dental franchisers, independent dentists, home health providers, homebuilders, medical groups, plastic surgeons, medical billers, insurance brokers, real estate brokers, restaurants, tattoo shops, boutique shops, indie artists, hair stylists, HVAC companies, and plumbers.
Did you know that the majority of business owner-prospect appointments have some degree or a high degree of confrontation?
Confrontation is not the expectation on neither side of the transaction. It's only natural if left unmanaged. And, guess what? The business owner has the responsibility to control the appointment (321 calls appointments, interviews) with the prospect.
Confrontational appointments originate from both the small business owner and the prospect experiencing anxiety and frustration. Various reasons why appointments include anxiety and frustration are:
Money is expected to change hands.
Buyers instinctively do not trust salespeople.
The appointment was not initiated from the beginning of the sales pipeline.
The good news is the prospect is at your office or on the phone to see if your product or service meets his or her needs. This means, as the small business owner, there is a 50/50 probability the prospect will buy or not buy.
What determines if the prospect buys or not buys is the method used to close the deal. The formal method is called a sales system.
Disclaimer: the 321 Biz Dev sales system applies to big-ticket, high price transactions starting at $1,000 or the commission earned starts at $1,000. As the transaction price increases, the need to use a professional sales system rises.
Sitting at a 50/50 buy or not buy probability, using a professional sales system elevates the closing likelihood well above 50%. Not using a professional sales system reduces the closing likelihood to 7%. The 7% closing figures reflects people who will buy regardless of sales system quality.
Readers and podcast listeners may be excited with the 7% default closing probability. But please remember that the 7% figure is 7% of appointments, not 7% of contacts. Therefore 7% should be viewed as an extremely poor closing ratio.
Looking at 100 appointments, an 80% closing ratio means 80 appointments will close successfully. A 7% closing ratio translates into only 7 appointments closing. If the transaction price is $1,000, then closing 80 appointments generate $80,000 in revenue or commissions. Closing only 7 appointments generate $7,000 in revenue or commissions.
Leaving $73,000 on the table is a lot of money!
Check out the podcast episode with the same title to get the rest of the story about managing appointment (prospect interview) expectations.
If this article provoked some deep thought about improving your sales performance, please do not hesitate to contact me, Rick Nappier, at 726-999-0999.
Interested parties can also can click HERE to complete a 5-minute questionnaire so 321 Biz Dev can learn more about your current sales situation or learn about your current or past experiences with trying to improve sales performance.
Please complete the questionnaire and a 321 Biz Dev specialist will contact within two business days.
We hope your enjoyed today’s article and linked podcast episode.
Please watch the video below to learn more about 321 Biz Dev Lead Generation for Professionals.
Rick, CEO