6-Steps To Help You Close
More Payroll Proposals
(PRINT AND USE AT YOUR NEXT SALES MEETING)
By Glenn Fallavollita, President of SellMorePayroll.com & Drip Marketing, Inc

• Word Count: 389
• Time To Read: 1.6 Minutes @ 250 Words Per Minute

Most payroll salespeople stop following-up on a proposal after one or two attempts at moving the sales process forward. Therefore, if you are a sales leader for your payroll service, it would be in your best interest to train your sales team on the value of following-up, especially when you consider the staggering statistics below.

How Many Contacts Does It Take To Close A Sale?

• 2% are made on the 1st contact.
• 3% are made on the 2nd contact.
• 5% are made on the 3rd contact.
• 10% are made on the 4th contact.
• 80% are made on the 5th to 12th contact.

Try This 6-Step Proposal Closing Process:

If you are in sales (or a sales leader), you might find the 6-step process I have outlined below of value:

1. After a salesperson has created a proposal, it is sent to a second person for final proofing.
2. The proposal is then logged into a tracking report (created in Excel for each salesperson).
3. After a proposal is sent to a prospect, a copy is sent to the sales leader for an executive follow-up call. This call has two objectives. First, it is to thank the person for the opportunity to earn their business. Second, it is to do a trial close, i.e., “When did you want to run your first payroll with us?”
4. Set up a sequence of phone calls (or meeting) to follow up on a proposal, AKA, proposal review call/meeting.
5. Develop an educational e-mail follow-up campaign/s (see sample below).
6. Send a handwritten "thank you for your time" greeting card via the USPS.

Click here for a sample "Thank You" greeting card via Amazon.com.

Send This e-Mail Within 24-Hours Of Delivering A Proposal.

Dear (first name),

Thank you for the opportunity to earn your business this week.  By the way, I have attached a few items you might want to read:

• An article/whitepaper on X, Y, and Z.
• Some recent client testimonials about our X, Y, and Z.

Again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to earn your business!

Warmest Regards,

(Your name, title, etc.)

Executive Summary: During your next one-on-one meeting with your salespeople, ask each person to give you their proposal pipeline report. Now, ask each salesperson these two questions:

1. “When will this company make a buying decision?”
2. “What is your follow-up plan for every proposal that hasn’t been closed?”

After listening to their answers, this e-mail will make complete sense to you.