Have you ever had this happen to you? You’re talking with a prospect who seems very interested in hiring you to help them buy or sell their home. You have a phone or face-to-face consultation, go over the benefits of working with you, and agree on a price. Then, they stall. It might sound something like:
- It sounds great but I have to talk it over with my spouse.
- We think we want to go with you, but we have two more agents to interview.
- I’m not quite ready to move forward, but I’ll get back to you in a few weeks.
No problem, you think. They sound promising and you can wait a couple of days for the business.
But then, you try following up a few days later. No response. You send another email or leave voicemail. Again, nothing. Perhaps you try a few more times with no luck.
OK, you can take a hint. They likely are no longer interested in your services, so you stop calling and move on to warmer leads.
Finding Out What Happened
It can be frustrated to be left hanging, wondering what happened. Did you do something wrong? Did they decide not to move? Did someone else make a better offer? You can spend countless hours beating yourself up about losing what seemed like a promising sale.
If you are willing to be persistent, you can learn why your prospect didn’t hire you or what made them lose interest, but it requires you letting go of the outcome and having no expectations for future business from them. If you can do that, it’s time to pick up the phone.
Learning The Truth
Next, call them with the agenda of learning the truth. Don’t bother with email or leaving voicemail. It can take a few tries to reach them. When they pick up, apologize. You can say something like:
“I just wanted to call and apologize for us not being able to connect over the last few days/weeks. I feel like somewhere along the way, I may have dropped the ball or not provided you with the right information. Since I haven’t heard from you, I can only assume you’ve gone with someone else, so I’m not calling to pick up where we left off. I just wanted to see if you had any feedback for where I can improve for next time. Was there something about my (presentation, service, price, etc) that didn’t seem right for you?”
Now, stop talking and listen. If you do this right, your prospect will tell you what was wrong. Sometimes this can lead to them giving you a second chance to fix the situation.
Even if you don’t get another chance, it gives you closure. You learn the truth about what happened rather than blaming yourself for what might have gone wrong and you learn what you can improve for next time.
