The 3 Cycle Rule: How to Break Up with Your Prospects
What is it?
It’s a rule to help you measure a customer’s true interest & the quality of an opportunity.
Why is it important?
Over the last 20 years, I have seen 2 reoccurring issues with sales people. Those who don’t generate enough opportunities and those who don’t know when to cut ties with the low quality opportunities they have.
I see it every day. The pipeline is full. Full of opportunities that seem to be going nowhere. The same 10 opportunities in their funnel week after week, month after month. Every week the sales person says they are trying to follow them up to get updates … sending emails, leaving voice messages but the rep is confident the opportunity is still alive.
If they can’t return a single call or email are they really that “hot”? Really???? Don’t you think if they had a real, active need/interest they would respond?
But the sales rep keeps defending. Why? Hope!!! Fear!!! Delusion!!!
So … this rule is designed to:
- Save you time
- Decrease the “hoping” syndrome (hoping they will buy when they likely won’t)
- Enable the sales person to cut ties quickly so they put energy towards either higher quality opportunities, finding more opportunities or both.
- Provide the sales rep a realistic snapshot of their pipeline. Is it really as full as they think?
Here’s How it Works
You follow the steps below 3 times:
- At the end of meeting A, before you put down the phone or leave the meeting, you set a follow up meeting (often via phone), with a date & time.
- You send a recap email, restating the date & time of the next meeting (including the agenda).
- You send an Calendar invite (typically Outlook)
- You send a reminder email 1-2 days prior to your meeting.
- Regardless of whether they have responded to your recap or reminder emails, you call exactly when you said you were going to.
- If they are not there when you call (and you have tried to go to reception to page them as well as tried their cell phone), then you send them an email reminding them of the meeting you had but that when you called, unfortunately they were not available.
- In the email, you offer a new date & time using the ‘Assumptive Approach’ (see the module).
- Follow steps c, d, e, f & g two (2) more times.
- If there has been no response from them and they have not been present for any phone meetings, send them a “disengage email”. Tell them that at this point you are going to assume that xyz is NOT a priority for them right now thus flipping the onus back on them to get in touch with you when they are interested.
- Mark your opportunity as lost and move on. They would have had 9 “touches” by now to respond or communicate with you over the 3 cycles. If they can’t respond or communicate once, are they really interested? Do they really have a need? (if you want, you can still set a follow up task for 90-180 days out to follow up but keep the Opportunity as “Lost”).
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