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Covid exception question - Does taking prospects out for lunch/drinks improve chances of closing them?
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I'm not against catering a lunch in and make it a learning lunch.
Pro tip: Do not provide boxed lunches or they will grab it and run 🏃♀️
Pro tip: Do not provide boxed lunches or they will grab it and run 🏃♀️
Hahaha for sure. Thanks for the tip
Yes. If it it is accompanied by meaningful conversation and relationship building.
Yes agreed
Not everyone is comfortable yet, and restaurants still don't know what to do. This one is tough.
No, I meant would it help if there was no covid around
It was always thought it was nice to drop the business side and share a meal.
Gotcha! That seems to be the norm
yes
it depends. pre covid, I believe it improved closing chances. i used to always take prospects out to lunch and happy hours. it built relationships that I still have to this day, even though i've left that job and industry entirely. i'm hoping it goes back to this post-covid. i really miss the relationship building side of sales.
Yes I was thinking the same because I've heard that going out to lunch with prospects has increased chances of closing and also building great relationships
Anything out of the office or at least out of the standard pitch/meeting improves chances in my opinion.
Yes and no, its not the act of the lunch/drinks - its what you do with the time. On my team (pre-covid) we referred to our T+E budget as "champion building" budget. If you are taking out a champion you've already got on board, the purpose of the lunch is to extract vital selling information from said champion. If the person you are taking out isn't champion level yet, the sole purpose of the lunch is to push their status with you into the champion level, so you can extract necessary company information from them. This is where most sellers/teams miss -- focusing too much on the "pitch" and the "demo" - close rate is directly proportional to the amount of information, data you have collected about the company -- and this is most efficiently done though champion building.
Yes I understand how important this could be. What I meant to ask was more from a technicality pov. Simply put - Can you do the same over zoom? Or in person lunch/drinks is better cuz its more personal?
I don't think it improves a chance to close BUT it improves the relationship you have with your prospect. "People buy from people they trust"
Doesn't that improve the chance of closing?
If the person you are taking out to lunch or buying drinks with has any type of pull getting the deal done, I would say it definitely helps. Handshakes, eye contact, beers, and candid conversation go a long way
Yes, I think so too!
I'm afraid if everyone would be comfortable with that 🤔
Afraid why?
Well you can still send a jar of icecream. Can be an instant closer for some, and I don't think anyone will hate a BJs (Ben and Jerry, if you are wondering you dirty minded prick)
When you use icecream and BJ in one sentence, your mind instantly goes to Ben & Jerrys
Asking for a favor will cement the bond. If they are wearing a neat piece of company attire, ask if you can trade (new for new) for something similar.
Golf shirt, golf shirt. Lanyard lanyard kinda thing.
I find the super small, "favor" deals will then close real deals with me.
Golf shirt, golf shirt. Lanyard lanyard kinda thing.
I find the super small, "favor" deals will then close real deals with me.
This is an interesting insight. I'll have to look into this tactic in future. Subtle and effective
babyboomers probably, bob hope's 100% will help, gen x waste of time and money, millennials waste of time and money can be done in a tweet.
do what in a tweet? how can you close prospects in a tweet?
most of our millennial clients have admitted that they only engaged in reading subject lines and jumped to the website or LinkedIn, which usually just ended in them getting distracted until we called back. oh and that they never consumed the emails or vm's
sending them value prop statements to consider or think about has gotten me the best traction if their in follow up stage
Aaah this makes a lot of sense. Just curious, what space are you into?
currently im in voip and insurance contracts all saas. i have even sent transcripts of our demo and ask for feedback on scripting and have sometiomes gotten great engagement.
This is amazing!
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