PresentationDon’t overwhelm your customers with too much information.

I met Charles on LinkedIn. I liked his profile—and the fact he sent me a personal invitation—so I accepted the connection, and we started a conversation.

I was intrigued by his offering and wanted to learn more, so we spoke on the phone. By the end of the call, I felt confident enough in his sales ability and product to offer him a referral to one of my contacts.

The next words out of his mouth were: “Shall I send you a deck?”

Why would I want a deck? I knew the business impact of his product and that my contact should at least take a look. I had all of the information I needed.

Speed Up the Sale, Don’t Slow it Down

How many times have you received an email with attachments and multiple links? Do you hit the delete button, or worse yet, save it to read later—knowing you probably never will?

Sending too much information at the wrong time puts a wrench in your sales process.

The same goes for demos, product descriptions, and any other information your customers didn’t ask for and probably don’t have time to read or watch.

Software salespeople, in particular, love to give demos, thinking if someone agrees to a demo, the prospect is qualified and can go into the CRM as a lead. Wrong! These folks might be curious, a competitor, or just kicking tires on their lunch break. A prospect is not a lead until you speak with that person and ask your qualifying questions.

If a buyer requests a deck or demo, great! However, if you send it at the wrong time in the buying process, you’re wasting your sales time and maybe even delaying a decision.

Stop pushing demos and stop pushing products. Ditch the sales pitch. If your goal is increasing sales conversions, be careful what you offer and what you send.

Don’t Make It Hard to Refer You

Sending too much information to your Referral Sources also slows you down.

When people offer you referrals, find out what they need from you. Perhaps they’d appreciate a short email to help them introduce you, or they might already be confident making the introduction. Let your Referral Sources lead the way. That’s when your sales process really accelerates.

Connect with No More Cold Calling

Follow Joanne on Google+ or Twitter @ReferralSales, or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.

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How do you make life easier for your prospects and Referral Sources?