On this week’s Dear Katie, the question was: I loved your insight on having an offer to close more clients. Do you have any other sales tips like this?
I sure do!
And if you haven’t read the article this question is referring to, you can read it here.
If you’re struggling to close deals as an accountant, first, ensure you’ve nailed down your offer first – which I dive into in the article linked above. You must have a well-defined offer before going on to the steps outlined below.
You can streamline the close, but you first need to set yourself up for success before every call.
How?
Email. What I recommend is that when someone books a time on your calendar, you send them an email series that does a few things:
Once you have the lead on the phone or on the Zoom call, you need to be ready to sell. Scripts can help, but you need to use them properly to find success.
The average sales win rate according to Hubspot is 21%, and with a script, you can increase this rate. Hesitation and not having answers to intimidating questions can impact close rates. What I recommend is creating a script that you can use as a guideline, but it doesn’t need to be followed word for word.
Why?
You don’t want to sound robotic, and let’s be honest, no two conversations are the same. A script should guide the conversation, help you ask the right questions and help you build a rapport with the lead.
In your script, I recommend that you include responses to common questions and objections, such as:
Plus, when you’re no longer taking sales calls, a script will help the next person taking these calls close at a higher rate.
Speaking of closing at a higher rate, you should start analyzing your calls, too.
I know this might feel cringy at first, but recording and analyzing your sales calls can really help you improve your performance and results over time.
How can you improve if you’re not reviewing your sales calls regularly? Hint: it’s really hard.
Plus, your sales calls are loaded with super valuable information, and you’ll miss out on this info if you’re not taking the time to review them.
After each sales call, I recommend setting aside time listen to them and reflect on:
Urgency encourages people to act – and that’s exactly what you want leads to do. That being said, I don’t recommend creating a false sense of urgency.
When I say create urgency, I mean setting deadlines for taking action. You can’t wait around forever for someone to sign a proposal. That’s why I set a deadline of 3 business days for proposal signings.
If the lead can’t make up their mind in that timeframe, I don’t want to have to wonder whether I should include them in capacity planning.
I make my deadline very clear upfront, and after the 3 business day period is up, the proposal is revoked.
I know your goal is to close more leads right now, but I want you to remember that an estimated 83% of contacts who request info from businesses don’t buy for 3-12 months.
So, a “no” today isn’t necessarily a “no” forever. It’s important not to lose touch with these leads just because they’re not ready to take the next step right now.
If someone doesn’t sign your proposal in three business days or they say “not right now” on a call (for a good reason), find a way to stay in contact.
I’ve had cases where it took four years for leads to sign on as clients. While this isn’t the norm, it can happen, and if I hadn’t nurtured those leads for as long as I had, they may not have signed on as clients.
Lead nurturing is a long game, and how you do it is up to you. Here are some of my go-to ideas:
The goal of nurturing leads is to build trust and ensure that you stay at the forefront of their minds when they do need your services. Although you may not “close” these leads today, there’s a chance that you will in the future when the time is right.
And, that’s a wrap on this Dear Katie question.
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Now I want to hear from you. Do you have a question?
Until next time, cheers to your success!
Katie
Send a pre-call email series that answers common questions, shares testimonials and case studies, and reminds them about the call.
Create a flexible script that guides the conversation, includes responses to common objections, and helps build rapport with the lead.
Recording and reviewing your sales calls helps identify what went well and what can be improved, leading to better performance over time.
Set clear deadlines for proposal signings to encourage leads to act, but ensure the urgency is genuine and not misleading.
Nurture the lead by staying in touch through newsletters, check-ins, and sharing relevant resources, as they may convert in the future.
Understand that many leads may take 3-12 months to convert, so maintain contact and build trust over time.