5 Things To Do While Waiting for a Big Prospect to Get Back To You
A while ago my team and I were waiting to hear back from a large oil company about a pending deal. We had already made our number with three days left in the quarter, but we wanted to go out with fireworks.
We had already gone out to Oklahoma to give them the numbers and the sales proposal. Now all we could do was wait… and wait.
We almost drove ourselves nuts. We barely survived. It was a horror show.
There are plenty of things you can do besides reciting Apocalypse Now quotes, laughing at the jokes on Spiro, or just sitting there and sweating while you wait for a big prospect to respond. Use that nervous energy to plow through some useful tasks and tackle those things you never got around to.
Here are some of my best suggestions to keep you busy:
1. Don’t Over Follow Up
Yes, this isn’t a TO do, it’s a NOT to do. You know your prospect is making a decision, so don’t badger them. Respect their space or risk annoying them and screwing the deal.
If you feel an overpowering urge to “check in,” call your mom instead. She hasn’t heard from you in a while.
2. Go Networking
There’s no such thing as downtime in sales – you can ALWAYS be expanding your existing network and checking in with old prospects for new opportunities.
Use the time while you’re waiting to throw yourself into looking for early stage prospects. Have you tapped into your Linked In? Looked at all the possible contacts in your own company? There are a lot of networking opportunities that sales guys overlook.
You should always be doing this, but it’s hard to focus on when you’re waiting for news from a big prospect. Put yourself in the isolation zone – block out time on your calendar, don’t look at your email.
It’s just you, your phone, and a ton of coffee.
3. Do Your Expense Reports
How much money did you spend driving all over God’s Country chasing the sweet green? Get that money back!
Sales guys are always behind on this and I don’t understand why. If you’re one of those that keeps putting this off, now’s the perfect time to kill 20 minutes.
4. Go To Church
Why not let the holy spirit take you over while you wait for Bob to call you back? Maybe you’ll be struck with some divine inspiration to use in your sales game or come out thinking you’re the next coming of Christ – then nothing can stop you.
A sales rep I knew went to church, presumably to pray, but maybe to confess. Sometimes I wonder if his skin didn’t start smoking when the priest blessed him with holy water.
5. Use Spiro To Look at Your What’s Next Screen
If you’re still blindingly preoccupied with hearing back from a prospect, you probably aren’t using Spiro.
Spiro’s “What’s Next” screen tells you to keep it movin’ and keep it movin’ in the money-making direction. Its smart technology will look at data from your email, phone, calendar, and CRM to suggest the next moves to make toward the biggest deals.
Good Distractions Can Improve Your Sales Game
While we were waiting and doing our best NOT to think too much about our big oil company prospect all those years ago we occupied ourselves with all sorts of things – some productive, some not so much. It turned out we won the deal.
Having good distractions can actually make your odds of winning deals higher. Everyone has their process, their own way to achieve Zen when stressed out or battling with some impending possibility of doom. Try to channel your energy into something that’s worth your time.
We’re humans and it’s natural to want answers to burning questions. Sometimes though, it’s best to wait it out.
Photo: Martin Sheen’s character losing it in Apocalypse Now
