Sometimes things go quiet with prospects and clients for a good reason. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for them to make a buying decision or they had just completed a sale with you and were happily ‘sorted’.

No doubt you’ll stay in their mind’s eye through marketing activities – newsletters, social media, events and so on.  And after a while you want to get back in touch. ‘Just seeing how things are going’ may work with existing clients but is unlikely to unleash a tsunami of opportunities with prospects! (It might even feel a bit lame to your loyal contacts.)

Let’s think from their perspective. What might be going on for them? What might be in their mind?

  • Their business has grown or changed and they need a different solution.
  • They are interested in the latest developments.
  • They still have the problem they had.
  • They like working with you!
  • They trust your insights.
  • They’re stuck!

These are all clues to how we could ignite the spark and rekindle the sales conversation.

What might that sound like for our prospects or clients?

  1. I have recently done some work with a client who has a similar challenge to the one you were struggling with and they found this useful … When we speak I can explain a bit more about how.

  2. I saw this and thought of you … What do you think?

  3. I have some thoughts about how you could tackle this … Let’s set up a call and I’ll walk you through them.

  4. I have used this approach myself for … problem and it has worked surprisingly well. Have you got 5 minutes to hear how I think it could work for you?

  5. I know you were hoping to achieve …  How far have you got? Let’s see if we can help move you forward.

  6. Since you and I last spoke we have developed a better/quicker/cheaper/easier/more effective … When would you like to see it?

  7. Have you had a chance to look at the other options?  What questions do you still have?  I believe I can help.

  8. I know this worked brilliantly for you and now we’ve added a feature which you were looking for. I’ll show you how it makes it even better.

  9. When we last spoke you said you would love to see … Good news! We’ve developed it.

  10. We would love your input on the version we plan to release. When are you free?


    And a bonus idea ….

  11. I know you like to be first in everything! We are going to be releasing the latest version of …. Shall we set up a time for me to show you how it works?

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Published by Grainne at All About Results

Grainne is a sales and training professional, a published author, NLP Practitioner and accredited Facilitator. She works with multinational businesses, not for profit organisations and small business owners to build on-brand sales skills and confidence. Grainne originally trained in accountancy but was lured by the shiny light of sales. She honed her skills and experience at Mars selling and negotiating in the major grocery accounts. Initially feeling like an imposter in the extrovert world of sales she came to realise - you don’t have to sell your soul to be a successful salesperson and, in fact, being authentic gets better results. She is on a mission to change the sleazy perception of sales and create a nation of confident, sales savvy business owners. In 2005 she set up her training business and developed a sales training framework, based around NLP, which shapes the programmes she designs. She has had fantastic opportunities along the way training teams in Australia, Singapore, Denmark, Holland as well as in the UK. Grainne lives in Berkshire with her 2 teenage daughters. She is a social tennis and badminton player – which means she runs in the opposite direction from serious competition - and a keen walker. Every couple of years she undertakes a BIG walk to raise funds for a local charity. Author of 3 books: Handling difficult customers; Training skills; Time management.

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