Pulling the Trigger on Sales

Source: RainToday

In this article, author Craig Elias suggests that you can shorten the sales cycle by capitalizing on “trigger events.” These are events that make prospects more receptive to changing service providers, and typically fall into three categories:

• Bad experience — with a service, person, or provider – that creates dissatisfaction.
• Change or transition in people, places, or priorities — such as a new decision maker.
• Awareness of the need to change for legal, risk-avoidance, or economic reasons.

In the first minute of a call, you should attempt to understand which “buying mode” a prospect is in:

• Status quo — The prospect is happy with his or her current situation.
• Searching for alternatives — The prospect is unhappy, but the trigger event took place some time ago and he or she has already taken action.
• Window of dissatisfaction — A trigger event has recently occurred, but the prospect has not yet done anything about it.

The third buying mode presents the greatest short-term opportunity and should be pursued aggressively. The other two modes may present long-term opportunities.

For the complete article, click here.

From RainToday, www.raintoday.com, October 21, 2009, “Shorten Sales Cycles by Capitalizing on Trigger Events.”