In the world of sales, closing the deal is the end goal. The faster you close the deal, the quicker the pipeline moves and the less time your sales team must spend going back and forth with the prospects.
One of the biggest and most common time wasters in this process that slows down the deal is getting the sales contracts signed.
Virtually every salesperson is familiar with the following scenario:
You have covered all the product specs, and the prospect is in love. They agree to sign on to be a customer, so you tell them all that’s left is to sign a contract to cement the deal. At this point, all you get is radio silence.
You will probably send several emails to follow up with the prospect, leave voicemails, and more, still to get no response. This often goes on for weeks or longer until the prospect finally signs (or backs out) of the contract.
What you have to figure out is – what will help speed up getting the contract signed? If you are facing this quandary, keep reading. Some tips to help are found here.
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Use Electronic Documents
One of the easiest ways you can ensure your sales document is signed in a timely fashion is to stop using paper. It isn’t the 90s anymore – the entire process of having to print out paper documents and then fax, scan, or email them back is dead.
Not only do very few people have fax machines, but the entire process is long and cumbersome.
A better option is to choose a tool that allows your sales prospects to add their e signature to the contract. With this, there is no printing, faxing, or anything else involved.
By using digital documents, you can eliminate most of the problems that stop a sales contract from being signed right away. Also, if the contract has to be reviewed by more than one person, you can include the approval process in the actual document workflow.
The last part of the benefit here is that all the signed contracts will be store online. This means you no longer have to use old-school filing cabinets.
Create a Sense of Urgency
If your prospect hasn’t made you a priority or if they are price shopping the contract against the competition, it’s a good idea to light a fire under the by creating a sense of urgency – this is a smart move.
In some situations, salespeople will send contracts without a timeline or due dates. They assume the prospect will sign it within a few days. Unfortunately, this isn’t usually the case.
It’s up to you to create a sense of urgency. Some ways for you to do this include:
Ask
While this may sound simple, you can’t stress how important it is to get your contract signed quickly. When you send it to the client, make sure to include a call to action or note, such as “We are excited to have you on board. The faster you sign the contract, the sooner we can get started.”
Offer a Deal
It’s also a good idea to offer some type of deal or add value if the person signs the contract within a certain period of time. It may be additional users, an added feature, or a discount. This is up to you.
Set an Expiration Date
Let the sales prospect know the price you are offering is only good for a specific amount of time – i.e. 7 to 10 days. After that point, the contract will be void and there’s no way to guarantee the same price. Most people are more likely to take action if they are aware of a deadline.
If you aren’t pushing your prospects to take a certain action, they will sign the contract on their own time. This may not be as fast as you would like it to be. By creating a sense of urgency, you get your contracts signed faster.
Make Sure to Follow Up
Once you have sent the sales contracts, is the typical strategy to sit and wait to hear back? It’s better to take a bit of initiative and follow-up with the prospect.
If you wait for someone to sign the contract, this is putting your pipeline and your revenue in their hands. To get paid faster, follow-up. This doesn’t mean waiting for several weeks – follow up within a few days of the contract being sent.
If you have used electronic software, you may have a built-in feature that will send a reminder to the prospect about signing the contract.
Another option for following up with prospects that haven’t signed yet is to ask if there is anything else they need. With this option, it reminds the prospect the contract still needs signing, and it gives them the chance to ask questions or clarify the information.
Getting Sales Contracts Signed Quickly: Now You Know
If you have sent sales contracts to a prospective client, use the tips and information here to get them signed as quickly as possible. This will save you time, money, and hassle, and help your customers get results sooner.
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