Think You Landed the Sale? Think Again
I recently met with one of my coaching clients who had just landed a huge sale. We took a little bit of time to recognize and celebrate the victory, and talked about what that sale (and future renewals) would mean for their business as a whole. My coaching client was of course on cloud nine the entire coaching session, and was practically bursting from the excitement of it all.
Only to get off the phone from our session to an email in his inbox.
The customer wanted to cancel their deal.
We have all been there. The sale process went great, or so we thought, and we began celebrating the victory a bit too soon. Only to find out that we missed a crucial step in the process that caused us to lose the sale a few hours or days later. So today I wanted to share with you how to do a better post-sell wrap-up to prevent the same happening to you.
Post-Sell Wrap-up
After you close a sale, you want to make sure you help your buyer feel great about their purchase. It’s human nature to second guess our choices, especially if they cost us a lot of time or money. So spending some time designing a post-sell wrap-up will go a long way to keeping your clients happy and engaged.
A solid post-sale process accomplishes four main things:
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It helps clarify the next steps in onboarding, so that you can reduce any anxiety or uncertainty that the new client might have along the way.
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It establishes that the new client is bought into their decision and ready to get started.
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It helps the client feel confident about their purchase.
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It preempts any recurring buyer’s remorse issues before they become an issue.
Making Your New Customer Feel Confident About Their Decision
There are many ways to help make your new customer feel confident in their decision, and this will vary depending on your product or service. Over time, you will want to try out a few different techniques to see what works and what doesn’t for your client base. Some of my favorites include things like writing them a personal thank-you card after the sale and giving them a parting gift, which taps into the powerful social influencer of “reciprocity.”
Your own personal excitement level can also help ease their fears. Congratulate them on making the right decision by choosing your company. Model their level of enthusiasm and excitement. Help them feel like they made the right decision.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for a breakdown after the sale. You can ask them for a referral. You can ask them what was the biggest thing that tipped the scale and prompted them to make the decision to sign up for your product or service. This will allow them to process their feelings and enforce their decision with you there, thus reducing the chance that they will cancel once they hang up the phone or leave your office.
