Michael Oliver:

Focus on your "Purpose" which is to discover, in these circumstances, if…

  1. They still need help?
  2. They are prepared to be helped? (Even if you don’t have the correct solution for them!)
  3. They are prepared to help themselves?

You do this with the "Process Of Discovery" (covered in detail in Chapter 12 of my book) giving them the space to talk about their present circumstances and whether they are acceptable to them.

Depending on each person you reconnect with, find out…

  1. Why they became a customer or partner with you?
  2. Why they dropped off?
  3. Is there is anything you can do to rectify the situation?
  4. Have their circumstances changed or are they the same since the last time you last spoke. I bet in most cases nothing has changed. (For those who didn’t do anything with you in the first place, you could start here.)
  5. Have they done anything about changing their present circumstances?
  6. If they have any idea of what to do to start changing?
  7. Are they happy to stay with what they have or would they like to give your solution another go… if you can address their needs and criteria more keenly?

Reprinted with permission from Michael Oliver, Natural Selling® Sales Training. http://www.naturalselling.com