Prospector on Deck: Come to the Plate Prepared to Avoid Striking Out

by Linda P. Kester
As baseball season gets into full swing, Linda Kester compares prospecting to America’s favorite pastime. She says leasing professionals who prepare a great opening statement, listen carefully and ask important questions will close more deals. There are many ways to score in baseball and in leasing, but preparation is vital.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend my first spring training event. I watched the New York Mets play their home opener against the Detroit Tigers in Port St. Lucie, Florida. It was so much fun. Traditions Field was sold out and the crowd was bursting with excitement to watch live baseball again. I love baseball: the strategy, the competition, the sound of the ball hitting the bat and especially the hot dogs. A hot dog always tastes better in a ballpark.

When we took our seats right behind home plate, I watched David Wright in the on-deck circle. He was busy preparing for his first at bat and it occurred to me that prospecting and baseball share some common traits.

As a leasing rep who engages in prospecting, you step on-deck by preparing your objectives. What do you want to accomplish on this call? Do you want to just get on first base? If so, your objective could be to find out how decisions about leasing get made.

When Wright is on-deck, he swings the bat and prepares mentally and physically for his turn.

When you are a leasing rep on-deck, you do some quick research on the prospect (quick because you don’t want it to turn into call reluctance) and set your primary and secondary objectives. An example of a primary objective is to find out who the decision makers are, or to find out how many sales people the company has. The secondary objective would be to get the screeners name or an email address.

Next, Wright steps into the batter’s box. This is like making an opening statement while prospecting. If you have a poor opening statement, it’s similar to hitting a pop-up on the first pitch. Your time on the call (or at the plate) is ridiculously short and you haven’t advanced at all.

A well-planned opening statement can be compared to a walk. The batter has some back and forth with the pitcher, and ultimately achieves his objective of getting on base by simply trotting down the field.

If you have not prepared your opening statement, pick up the phone and blurt out the first thing that pops into your head like, “I was just checking in,” then you strike out. I call this the “Probation Officer” opening statement; if you are on probation you have to check in all the time.

If you are a true leasing sales professional, you step into the batter’s box and have an excellent opening statement prepared. You say, “Hello Joe, this is Linda Kester with Philly Financial, let me steal a minute. I head up northeast sales for Philly Financial and software dealers like you turn to us when they want to increase sales and profit margins.”

Or maybe you say, “Hello Joe, this is Linda Kester with Philly Financial. Barry Manilow suggested that I call you.”

David Meltzer from Avalon Leasing in Georgia uses the opening statement, “Hello Joe, this is David with Avalon Leasing. I was on your web site and I have some questions about your company and the products you sell.”

After you’ve used a well-crafted opening statement, you advance to first base. You achieved your first objective and now you need to start discovering more information about the prospect. To advance the relationship you need to ask questions. Questions like:

  • What manufacturers do you represent?
  • Do you use financing as a sales tool?
  • How often do budget limitations of a prospect cause a postponed sale or failure to close?
  • Reflecting on the last three or four quotes that didn’t close, what were the reasons?

Once the prospect starts to talk, then the strategy really begins. You listen to understand exactly what he is saying. What is the meaning behind the words he is using? You listen to find a way to help him increase sales or reduce annoyances. If you are talking to a lessee you listen so you can help her get the equipment she needs to grow her business.

When they start answering these questions, you advance to second base. You have uncovered some of their needs and you are helping them find a solution.

Imagine now that you are advancing to third base, and the pitcher tries to pick you off so you have to quickly run back and tag second. This is similar to a prospect blurting out an objection like, “All of our customers pay cash.” You are a skilled leasing professional. You have prepared a response to the cash objection. You say, “Mr. Vendor, it’s great that a lot of your customers pay cash. How long does it take you to get paid? Do you get your money net 30? I can pay you net 24 hours.”

Another great response would be, “Mr. Vendor, we’ve found that when you ask your prospect the question, ‘Will you be paying cash for this or would you like to hear about our financing options?’ You uncover a lot of information about your prospects and you end up selling more equipment.”

Once you have resolved the objection, you are on third base. You should be feeling good about yourself, ready to come home and ready to close the deal.

When Wright is on third base he tries to get home by paying attention to the situation and looking for the opportunity to score. There are many ways to score in baseball, just like there are many ways to close the deal in leasing.

When you are closing, ask these questions:

  • Will you give us a try on your next five proposals?
  • Are you personally sold on using us?
  • Are you working on any applications right now?
  • What would you like to happen next?

Once you get the answers, you are running down the third base line to home plate. You are getting applications and closing deals.

Although I used the example of the leasing rep being the hitter, you can also think of yourself as a pitcher. As leasing professionals, we have to pitch, pitch and pitch again. We have to continually take action because we never know which one of our calls, voicemails or emails will result in a big league vendor or lessee.

Just for the record, even though I went to the Mets’ spring training, I am an avid Philadelphia Phillies fan. Go Phillies! I can’t wait to eat a hot dog this season at Citizens Bank Park.

Linda P. Kester is a bestselling author and professional speaker with 20 years of experience in leasing sales and marketing management. As founder of the Institute of Personal Development, Kester has helped hundreds of salespeople increase their volume. Her book, 366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing, has produced results for leasing companies in the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia. For more information, visit www.lindakester.com.

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