2015 Prospecting                    

     The Curse of the “Be Backs”

You meet a buyer at an Open House and engage in great dialogue. There seems to be a genuine interest in your recommendations.  The buyer thanks you for the information and says; “Can you give me your card? I’ll get back to you.”  Then, what a surprise! No call-back.

 

The above scenario points out an age-old challenge for all sales professionals. So many times, you’ll feel really good about a conversation you have with a prospect and then get the old “Be Back” excuse. You’ll hear this excuse over and over again and finally get to the point where you accept the fact that there is no such thing as a “be back”.

 

What happens next is a killer. You’ve finally decided to give the next opportunity a bigger push by being a little more aggressive, then lo and behold, a “be back” actually does call or come back. That’s the kiss of death in the sales world. Now, you actually believe that prospects are being honest and will actually get back to you. Welcome to the world of “hope”, where the possibility of something happening robs you of the motivation to lock in an opportunity to sell right now.  This one prospect that actually does call back will cost you 10 other opportunities you will overlook and lose, hoping that other prospects will call you back.

 

Understand that your prospects aren’t really intentionally lying to you. They are just trying to let you down easy by avoiding the confrontation that could occur by saying, “No Thanks!”   So, how can an agent avoid falling into the “Be Back” trap?  The answer is simple:

 

“Always get as much contact information as you can from prospects. And, always have a NEXT STEP!”

 

If your prospect is unwilling to give you a cell number or an e-mail address, or other pertinent contact information, move onto the next opportunity.  Don’t waste time with “Be Backs” that have no intention of working with you. Also, keep in mind that:

“Can you give me your card?”

 

It is also the kiss of death, if you haven’t secured contact information or established a “Next Step”.