Call Me Next Quarter

“Call me next quarter.”

The words are misleading. It sounds positive, doesn’t it? You might even believe that your dream client has actually asked you to call them back next quarter.

They haven’t.

This is not a positive response to your prospecting efforts. It has a very clear meaning, and complying with this request does nothing to further a salesperson’s efforts to win their dream client.

You Are Running Your Scripts, They Run Theirs

You are using a script when you make your prospecting calls, cold, warm, or otherwise. But you aren’t the only one with a script. Your dream client contacts also have scripts. They have honed their scripts to be every bit as effective as yours, in some cases even more effective.

The purpose of your script is to get in and to create an opportunity. The purpose of your dream client’s script is to keep you out and to protect their time for those who are going to create enough value to make the investment worthwhile.

Your good script works a lot of the time, so you continue to use it. Their good script works too, so they continue to use it when they receive calls from salespeople. You run your scripts, they run theirs.

What You Heard Isn’t What Was Said

What was said was something very positive. It was framed in positive language, and it is hard to argue against. You heard your dream client say: “Call me next quarter.” This sounds like an opening. It sounds like they really want you to call them next quarter.

That wasn’t what was said.

What was really said was this: “You sound like a nice person. I don’t really have time to spend with nice people because I have more work to do than I can possibly get done—and I am doing it with fewer resources. You have said nothing to make me believe that spending time with you is going to be valuable to me and my company, so I am going to ask you to call me in a quarter, knowing that you will accept this objection and go away—just like 95% of the other salespeople I tell to call me next quarter.”

And most salespeople accept the request to call next quarter. Most go away. Many never call again. The request accomplishes its goal, which is not to postpone the discussion for a quarter; it’s to get you off of the telephone.

Instead of Waiting for a Quarter

There is a message in this objection to a meeting that is worth your time. The objection means that you are not making the case that you can and will create value for your dream client.

Instead of waiting for that quarter, you’d be better served to work on correcting the reason the objection exists in the first place.

What is missing from your message? What are you not saying? What do you need to say during your call to prove that your dream client should invest the time meeting with you? How do represent your ability to create value for your dream client.

Answering these questions isn’t easy. But working on these answers will produce greater results than calling your dream client four times a year—even if it sounds like they asked you to.