Build Continuity and Trust with a Letter of Understanding
3 Steps that Confirm Communication and Increase Your Odds of Success
By Rene Zamora
The great thing about working with Internet leads from a good source is that they’re pre-qualified and contain information related to the conversation. This process sets the good providers, like Wheelhouse, apart from their competitors. If you want to set yourself apart from your own competitors, take your initial contact with your leads to the next level by confirming the communication with your prospect through a letter of understanding. This will build trust and keep you from wondering, “What happened?” if they don’t order from you. I would suggest three formal points of confirmation, at a minimum, with your Internet leads.
1. First Contact After Receiving a Lead
When you receive a lead, you should always assume it will be a competitive situation. So, making your call an extension of the pre-qualification process your lead provider did is a way to reassure your sales prospect that you’re the best person to work with. This is simple do.
After introductions are made, paraphrase back to the prospect the notes your lead provider has given you. Don’t judge the notes; simply confirm your understanding before you start asking additional questions or even attempt to schedule an appointment. Most buyers appreciate when information is passed on that they have provided, and especially when the next person actually understands it. On the other hand, if you ask your prospect the exact same questions they have already answered, it can easily frustrate them as it will seem like their time was wasted earlier.
Here’s an Example:
In my notes Mr. _______, it says you are looking for ____,_____,_____. It also says that you need this wrapped up by _______, and that this is the first time you’ll be purchasing a ________ service. Is this a good summary of what you shared with the representative you spoke to? Was there anything we missed or that you want to add at this time? (Take notes and confirm back if they do.)
Okay... this is a good start to help me prepare a proposal for you. I do have some more questions and this would be a good time for me to see your facility. When can we set up a time to meet?
Another option would be to schedule a phone meeting to do your discovery.
Discovery Tip:
Don’t let your anxiousness cause you to push your sales prospect into a discovery meeting that they may not be prepared for. Always offer a future time, with the option of taking care of things now if they feel prepared and have enough time.
2. Email Confirmation, Promises Made, and Your Understanding
Assuming you have a discovery meeting scheduled, send an email to your sales prospect stating what you understand, based on your phone conversation with them, and again highlighting the notes you received in the lead (but don’t call them a “lead” directly to their face!), plus any added information they shared on the call. In addition, include the next steps you agreed to (meeting, information, proposal, etc.) and due dates for these promises. Making promises a priority and keeping those promises will build trust. Trust is needed to win buyers over. If your discovery meeting was conducted on the first call, use the letter of understanding next.
3. Letter of Understanding
In this letter (mail or email), you want to confirm the following:
- Buyer’s goals, needs, or problems
- Current situation
- Vision of how they see things after implementing a solution
- Value – areas that will justify the cost of the purchase
- Access to other buyers, if they exist
Here’s an Example:
Dear Bob,
Thank you for your interest in ICU Security Group. The purpose of this letter is to summarize my understanding of our discussion today. You told me your primary goal is to be able to monitor the activity in your businesses from anywhere in the world.
Today you have four different locations and they each have a security recording device. The businesses are open 24/7 and do not have management in the store for 16 hours of the day. The security systems were originally installed to prevent robberies, and they have, but shortages have risen 20% over the last year totaling $50,000. The cameras do not cover the whole store and no one is checking the recordings since they were installed for robberies and none have taken place. You believe you can reduce shortages if you have the following capabilities:
- Camera coverage over the whole retail and stock room floors to remove blind spots and bring accountability to staff and customers
- The ability for you and your managers to monitor the store any time of day from any internet connection including PDA to add additional accountability
- Ability of managers to see cash register transactions on the video recording to monitor purchase transactions and audit register tapes
You indicated that you would like me to visit with you managers before moving forward to gain additional input. I would suggest the following as a course of action:
- Confirm you are in agreement with this summary
- Arrange interviews with your manager
- Summarize my findings and meet with you to discuss solutions
I will call you on Tuesday, January 7th at 9:00am to review this letter and discuss our next steps. If that time is not convenient for you, please let me know an alternative. I look forward to working with you and your company.
So, you can see that winning business is not just about having the best product, service, or price. The professionalism you demonstrate to your buyer will help you win more business and at a better margin.
Rene Zamora is the president of Sales Manager Now, an outsource sales management company. He can be reached by phone at (916)596-3713, email at rene@salesmanagernow.com, or on the Web at www.salesmanagernow.com.