One of the reasons your prospects might not be ready, willing, or able to purchase from you today is because they’re dealing with a problem.
It doesn’t matter what the problem actually is. It’s too distracting, annoying, or painful for them to think of anything else. It’s too much of a pain to think about making any decisions. So, instead, they delay purchasing from you today.
That’s why follow-up is so important.
Let me tell you a quick story about a big problem that a farmer had and to reveal to you more of what I mean…
The Old Farmer and the Large Rock
An old farmer had a large rock in the middle of his field.
Instead of getting rid of it, he plowed around that large rock for years.
He did this because he’d broken several plowshares and a cultivator on it.
After breaking another plowshare one fall, and remembering all the trouble the rock had caused him through the years, he finally determined to do something about it.
He was determined to pull it up and get it out of his field, so one day he grabbed a crowbar.
When he put his crowbar under the rock, he was surprised to discover that it was only about six inches thick and that he could break it up easily.
As he was carting it away he had to smile, remembering all the trouble that the rock had caused him and how easy it would have been to get rid of it sooner.
Most of us do the same thing with our problems.
Instead of really dealing with them, we try to ignore them. We try to work around them.
As I mentioned yesterday, we do anything we can to procrastinate instead of dealing with them. But what does this story have to do with the importance of following up with your prospects?
I told you that story because your prospect has at least one problem that they’ve been dealing with for a long time, just like this farmer.
They haven’t dealt with the problem. They’ve instead tried to ignore it or work around it. And that leads to the whole reason you need to follow-up.
I know that might sound crazy. If they have a big problem and can’t think about buying right now, why should anyone follow-up?
Let me give you three very important reasons.
Three Reasons You Need to Follow-Up with Prospects Who Aren’t Ready to Buy Today
If your prospect has a big problem and can’t think about buying right now, here are three reasons why you need to follow-up:
1. You want to be there when they finally deal with it.
When they finally realize it wasn’t as big of a deal as they thought and they finally deal with it, they will finally be ready to make the decision about purchasing what you offer from someone.
You want to be the someone who is still there when they’re ready.
2. You can help them to overcome their problem faster.
You can be the one to show them that the big rock in their life really isn’t that big. Not only will that help them be free of it much sooner, but you’ll also stand out from the competition because you relieved their pain.
(You’ll also feel good about being able to help them.)
Before I get to the third reason you need to follow-up with prospects who are dealing with a big problem, I need to talk to you about how we all see problems.
Our Problem With Problems
Actually dealing with our problems is only one of our problems with problems. (Try saying that 5 times fast!)
How well you can solve problems in your business or your life all depends on how you view your problems.
Many years ago, I came across a powerful perspective on problems while reading leadership expert John Maxwell’s blog.
He revealed this interesting perspective on how to view problems. He said…
“Problems always bring opportunities, and opportunities always bring problems. The two go hand in hand. If we can learn to appreciate that truth, we have a real advantage in life.“
– John Maxwell
It’s so easy to naturally see problems as negative things.
I do it. I am sure you do too. That means that your prospects do the same thing. And that leads us to the third reason you need to follow-up with them.
3. You need to show them the opportunity even in the middle of their problem.
You do this by answering these questions:
- How can you help them to stop seeing their problem as a negative thing?
- How can you help them see it as a positive thing?
But here’s the key.
Don’t do it just to get them to buy something. Don’t it to really help them.
When you have the mindset of following up with your prospects so you can actually help them, you will see follow-up in a whole different light.
Not only that, but your prospects will see you in a whole different light. When they do, some of them will gladly purchase from you.
Some of the ones who don’t purchase from you will tell all of their friends about your company and your product.
But whether they buy from you or not, or tell others about you or not, the best thing is you will have helped someone overcome their problem… and possibly gained a friend.
Now that you know these things, you should feel much better about following up and more confident about how to do it.
Next week, we’ll begin looking at the 4th marketing fundamental you need to succeed in 2021. Stay tuned.
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