Every second counts: How using e-signatures can help you close a sale

I don't dispute that. Relationship-building is a critical part of getting your customer to the point of signing on the dotted line. But consider this: how many sales are you losing at the point of signing the paperwork?

As the founder and CEO of InsureSign, I spot these missed opportunities all the time. Simplifying your closing process can help you truly convert your lead into a sale.

By switching to e-signatures, you can…

• Increase sales by shortening the time it takes to close deals from days to minutes.
• Close deals by completing and signing documents from anywhere on a computer, tablet or phone.
• Gain a competitive advantage over other event sales professionals.

Below, I'll walk you through two true stories about event sales managers who almost lost—or did lose—a sale due to an outdated contracting process.

Situation 1: The hospitality event contract

You don't have to dig deep for these stories. They're all around you.

For example, here's a true story about a consultant of ours - we'll call him Jack.

Jack was hosting a tech meet-up in Charleston. He chose a beautiful, new boutique hotel as the venue and contacted their sales team to negotiate a contract. He was full of positive energy about his choice - looking at the menu and photos of the space, it was easy to envision how his event would go.

Jack liked that vision. He was on the point of signing the contract… when the sales team sent it over on a Friday. They sent a PDF for him to print, fill out, sign, scan back in and email back.

Jack was on his way to nearby resort to play golf when that contract arrived. He didn't have a scanner at home, so he had to postpone signing the contract until he was back in the office on Monday.

He mentioned it while he was golfing, and his friends made another suggestion: why not just have the event at the golf resort instead? They made a compelling case for it, and he was already on-site. He changed his mind and opted to host his event at the resort.

And there you have it. The boutique hotel had a great sales team that got him all the way to the finish line. He was on the point of saying "yes," and then they put an unnecessary hurdle in front of him.

If he could have signed using a tool like InsureSign while he was motivated, they wouldn't have lost that sale. If the hotel's sales team had sent Jack an InsureSign link to sign via SMS/text message, he could have signed right from the golf cart in the middle of his round.

Situation 2: The ticketed event sale

My wife and I were about to purchase VIP tickets to a music festival (not cheap, but it was an event we really wanted to attend).

We had gone to the event the year before, so when sales opened, we were on the list. We got an email from their team asking if we'd like to purchase them again - great lead-nurturing. We clicked through to buy.

Then the same thing happened: they sent me a PDF to sign. Fortunately for their sales team, I signed it easily with InsureSign. When I sent it back, I told them I'd put them in touch with a member of my own sales team, because it would have been easy to lose us as buyers at that point (and no doubt they lost other opportunities).

The festival's sales team had done good work by keeping us on their list and nurturing us as potential customers. However, at the point of making the sale, they created an unnecessary obstacle and put the burden on me to see it through.

It would have been easy to blast out a single renewal form with InsureSign's reusable forms feature. One email could have gone to the festival's entire prospect base. The signatures would have just started rolling in, with no additional work from the sales team.

If you make your sales leads wait for hours or even days to finalize the sale, they may lose interest. There's never a better time to close the deal than when you've got your client excited. They've got the band lineup, and they're looking forward to it. They've got the menu for their event, and it looks delicious. That's the best time you're going to have to close the deal. With every hour or day that passes, you're losing ground.

The solution

Why are people still doing business this way in 2018? InsureSign is not complicated to adopt; you could be using it within five minutes. It's simple, compliant and very fast.

Many new customers think of adopting an e-signature software as creating an extra step, but it's not like that at all. It simplifies the process, and it's much easier than dealing with the many emails they're already sending out.

All of the printing, signing, scanning, emailing, printing again, scanning again… that's all gone with a tool like InsureSign. Your forms come back complete, instantly, with no missing fields.

Contact us for a demo today to see how InsureSign can simplify your events sales process. Our representative will walk you through the process start-to-finish. Plus, we have free trials available, so you can test it out yourself risk-free. InsureSign's e-signature software makes booking events simple, quick and convenient.

Plus, InsureSign's electronic signing software is way more affordable that you'd think—no additional budget approvals necessary.

Trust me. Your customers—and your bottom line—will thank you.

Events & Conferences MICE Travel Technology Guest Experience