 Do you only have 10 minutes to sell your cleaning company? |  |
Have you ever made a sales call and had the prospect tell you they've only got
10 minutes to talk? How do you handle it? The way I see it, you've got three
choices.
Choice One:
Take advantage of the 10 minutes they've
given you and talk nonstop about your cleaning services.
Choice Two:
Ask them to reschedule the meeting for a
time when they have more than 10 minutes to talk.
Choice Three:
Do the opposite of Choice One and get them
to talk for 10 minutes.
So let's review our three choices. With Choice One, you sound like a
salesperson, which isn't a good thing. You've given them the chance to
say at the end of your 10 minutes, "Well I'm afraid I've got to go. I'll be in
touch." And then you never hear from them again.
Choice Two might sound like a good alternative (rescheduling the meeting),
but it's not. If they are in fact busy and have just 10 minutes to give you,
they're not going to want to set aside more time for you later. And if they used
the "I've only got 10 minutes" as an excuse to get rid of you quickly, then
they'll just find another excuse not to see you.
You might have guessed that Choice Three is the one that gets the best
results. With the first choice, where you do all the talking, you need to figure
out a way for them to understand the value in your cleaning services -- in just 10 minutes. In their
mind however, they may be thinking about their next appointment or wondering
"What's in it for me? I don't really care how great you are at cleaning
toilets."
But if you can get them to see the value in talking with you, then they'll
want to hear more and may either go over their 10 minutes, or ask you to come
back for another appointment.
To get them to see the value, or "what's in it for me," start asking
questions. You want to get the prospect talking so you can spend the time
listening. When you take this approach, you no longer sound like a salesperson
trying to sell your cleaning services, so they may let their guard down a
bit. If you ask targeted questions to get them talking, they start to
realize that you're not selling to them, but actively listening and learning
about their situation.
People want to talk to people who are interested in helping them improve
their situation or solve their problems. If they feel you are sincere and want to
help, they'll start to see the value in doing business with you. Here's an
example of how you could reply when a prospect says, "I've only got 10 minutes":
"There is so much I could tell you about our cleaning services, but I'd hate
to waste any more of your time by talking about services that might not be
relevant to your situation. Instead I'd like to spend the next 10 minutes
finding out about any issues you might have. That way, I'll be able to tell you what
we can do to help resolve those issues. To do that, I'd like to ask you a few
questions..."
So the next time someone says, "I only have 10 minutes," don't fall into the
trap of trying to sell your services in 10 minutes. Instead, get them talking by
asking targeted questions that will get them thinking. Your 10 minutes just may
end up being a 30-minute meeting!
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Jean Hanson helps owners of small cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through her online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Read inspirational cleaning success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com,
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