Give Your Prospects a Choice

One of the keys to doubling response rates is to create freedom of choice.

As humans, we have an instinct to protect ourselves against people trying to invade our space, take our valuable time, or manipulate us into doing something. So, we ignore the request, mislead, or lie to them—not because we're bad people, it's just what we do.

As you’re trying to get new prospects to respond or take any sort of action, consider that they need options that don’t make them feel pressured. At the same time, of course, we need to offer clear next steps that are easy to say yes to. Your ego-mind might see the below example and think, “If I give them an out, then they are going to take it, and I won’t get what I want.” Keep in mind that your job is to get a response and to get the truth. Can you handle the truth? Or would you prefer to keep things in limbo, not quite knowing where you stand?

Here is an example of an email template that gets a response 75% of the time when your sales process has stalled with a qualified prospect:

Subject: Stan – Quick follow-up note from Dean Osgood

Stan,

The last time we talked, we seemed to be on the same page regarding moving forward with the process of BizTech brokering your next deal. Since we last spoke, I reached out a couple of times and haven't heard back.

I'm not sure if something has changed since then, or if you just got super busy.

If we are still on track, the next step is to schedule a 30-minute meeting next week to solidify the transition plan. If you have some lingering concerns we have not discussed or something has changed on your end, that's okay.

All that I ask is that you let me know.

Dean

I know it might seem like a stretch to compare horses to people in the sales process. That said, I highly recommend Horse Sense for People by Monte Roberts, the original horse whisperer. I always come back to his description of getting a wild horse to take a saddle: “A raw horse that quickly accepts a saddle, bridle and rider does so because he has been offered freedom of choice.” If you try to force or manipulate a human being, or a horse, it will respond with an immediate resistance. “It will deny you what you want.”

When we want to get people to respond to a new outreach or stalled situation, we have to offer a choice—they are either open to talking with us further or they are not. Simple as that.

You will double your response rates if you take this advice. Don't take my word for it—try it. I have thousands of examples of this working with targeted cold outreach and qualified stalled deals.

Onward.

Tom