People buy for their reasons, not ours. Sometimes we write a prospect off, then they unexpectedly buy from us. If we had some magic way to get into their minds to understand why they do and don't buy, it would help. But since we don't, using Sandler techniques is the next best thing.
It's important that we learn lessons when it comes to those types of interactions.
A while back, a client of mine that sells insurance was working with a prospect. The prospect wanted to meet in person, but she needed some information from him first. She uncovered that he was also talking to a buddy of his that sold insurance.
She had called and emailed to follow up with him but never heard back. Finally, she decided it was time to close the file and move on.
A couple weeks later, the prospect called her and asked where the quote was.
"Well," she responded, "I was waiting on you to get me that information."
"Oh yeah," he said, "I forgot about that."
She followed up with a phone call and asked, "Did you have any questions?"
"No, it's okay," he replied. This was a somewhat expensive policy, and it sounded like he was brushing her off, so she didn't follow up.
A week or so later, she got an email from the prospect's lender that said the prospect was working with her. She emailed the prospect with the subject, "Urgent: Instant response needed!"
He called her back and said, "Yeah, I do want to work with you."
"Which deductible?" she asked. Turns out, he'd never even read the policy! He ended up just going with her recommendation.
How valuable do you think it would be if she knew why he came back? My suggestion to her was that she talk to him and find out.
If you've ever had a client you thought wasn't going to buy from you who then unexpectedly did, you need to know what played into that! Remember, in each sales interaction you want to learn a lesson. That way, you can use that information in future interactions.
