The Most Dangerous Thing an Agency Can Do Is to Send a Person Untrained in Torch to See a Good Prospect
Torch bearers in your quest for new business.
Most agency people, untrained in the important new business Torch skills, see the first visit with a prospect as an opportunity to demonstrate how smart they are, how good the agency is, how impressive the work is… These untrained agency people love to talk fast during their detailed “capabilities presentations” so they can cover more ground. It’s a way of speaking that clients often call the “Vomit Comet.” That’s not the way agency people trained in Torch work.
First Visit Objective
Your key agency personnel who have been trained in Torch have learned that the objective of the first visit is to build TRUST so prospects will talk openly and honestly about their needs, pain, and problems with their current agency. Once trust has been built, then clients talk honestly about how they plan to proceed, and they openly discuss the actual selection process. This gives your agency a big advantage.
Armed with this information, your Torch can make a good decision on whether or not to proceed with the account, especially since Torches never leave the first interview without discussing budgets.
Torches Talk Only 20%
Torches have also learned why it’s important for the prospect to talk 80% of the time while the Torch talks only 20%, usually in the form of asking key questions. Of course that 80% goal isn’t possible if you go in with a PowerPoint deck, a canned capabilities presentation, a thick set of samples, or some case history not really related to the prospect but so much fun to tell.
Case Histories Are Old X-Rays
Torches have learned that case histories are like old x-rays. And how often does your physician show you old x-rays from some other patient? And what would you level of interest be if your doctor showed you these old x-rays? Probably not very high, just like prospects look at your case histories.
Fast Close New Business
Torches also know whether or this prospect can be fast closed, winning the business usually within 48-hours or maybe within 7-days. They also know why capability presentations are for losers, and why proposals are usually not needed if the agency handles itself smartly.
Learn On Site at Your Agency
All of these skills are taught in a two-day, on-site program called Torch from Sanders Consulting Group. Here the emphasis is on showing everyone who comes into contact with prospects how to win the account right from the first contact. For more information about Torch, call Sanders Consulting Group at 412.897.9329 or email us at [email protected]
Torch Photo by markotapio