Editor’s note: Art Post has been running a series called “57 Days of Selling” on his Print4Pay Hotel blog. The following is a collection of excerpts from that series that we thought ENX readers might enjoy and connect with.
Day 2: After lunch it was call time, which was directed toward setting appointments for net new customers, but I also found the time to catch some existing clients. I made about 37 calls, scheduled six appointments with three of those appointments being net new. Boy are those net-news tough to schedule, but I was determined to get it done. I gotta hit the number, so I was leaving no stone unturned.
Day 3: My first appointment with this prospect was back in late May. This net new and new business was in the need for a color multifunctional device. I only knew about the new business bit when we first met. The gatekeeper was tasked with finding the right vendors, receive pricing, and then make recommendations to the CEO. I posted this prospect as an opportunity to close in June. June came and past and nothing. I later found out that the prospect was going to hold off since they did not have all of the employees hired and thought the system was not needed at this time. Each month I would call and follow up. Just a week ago, the gatekeeper reached out to say that they were ready to order and wanted to meet to review the pricing.
Day 5: When I started the this collection of blogs, I had about $125,000 in the pipeline for the end of the year and nearly zero for this month. The reason for the zero this month is because I emptied my 30-day pipeline in the last quarter. Here’s what I figure I need to hit my $200,000:
- $600K in the pipeline till the end of the year
- Develop an opportunity a day
- Prospecting every day
- 8-10 appointments per week
- Research the crap out of my CRM looking for potential opportunities
For me, it’s not a 57-day horse race to the finish. It’s more like the tortoise, have a plan, stick to the plan, work hard everyday and good things will happen. As I’ve stated before, the hardier you work the luckier you get. (Thanks to Jack C. for telling me that years ago.)
Day 9: I had one early appointment at 9 a.m. for that wide format color scanner I spoke about the other day. Funny how thrifty some clients can be. The first question was, “Can I rent a wide-format color scanner for a few months?” The second was, “Do you have any off-lease wide-format color scanners?”, and then, “Do you have anything used?” You know my answers, right? No, no and no. I explained to the client why none of those scenarios would work for them. Did I take an order? Well…no, but it wasn’t because I didn’t close enough. The client wanted to get with his accountant and find out what lease is better for them. I’m hoping to have this in my pocket this week.
Day 13: I had a plan for one of my existing clients. I had been in to see them about a month ago, and they had shown interest in a pre-owned wide format system. The gatekeeper stated that she would forward my information and the pricing to the decision maker, and if interested they would call or email me.
When I was there I noticed that they had the same Brother printer that I had used in my home office. Key word here is “had.” I purchased a new printer about six months ago and found myself with three unopened ink cartridges that were identical with theirs.
Thus, when I arrived soaked to the bone on Friday morning, I made sure I had those three ink cartridges on me. After arriving, I offered up the three cartridges of ink, told the gatekeeper that they were new and they could have them for free. After a few minutes we found out the ink cartridges were not identical. As the gatekeeper handed me back the cartridges, my prospect stated, “We want to buy that pre-owned wide format system if you still have it, do you?” I checked my inventory list on my phone (no not really) and stated, “Yes we still have it, and consider it yours.”
Well, that was pretty awesome, 45 minutes into the day, soaking wet, and I had an order! This was not an opportunity that I had planned for October since I did not hear from the decision maker. Going back on Monday morning to get the paperwork completed. Developed an opportunity for $9,000 and closing on the 24th. Not a bad way to start the day, right?
