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The first meeting is the most important. It is the one in which your prospect forms the first and most important impression of you, your company and your products. From watching the way you handle yourself your prospect will be making some important assessments. " Do we want this person involved in helping us run our business? Can we work together? Does this person care about our problems? Etc..etc..So lets look at how you can make that meeting work for you.
Set a clear objective for the meeting.
Before the meeting, decide what you want to achieve. It may be to initiate a trial for your product, a fact finding exercise to identify business potential, or It may be to get an agreement to make a full presentation. An objective to 'make a sale' is not enough. Your goal must be to move the relationship one step forward towards your prospect becoming a regular customer / client.
Produce an Agenda for the Meeting
Especially if the sales cycle is a long one. buyers a used to attending meetings and expect an agenda. Is a sales meeting any different? By setting objectives and providing the prospect with a clear agenda, you are more likely to establish rapport.
Make an Initial Assessment
When you enter a prospects work environment, there are many clues to the style of business. Is it a relaxed and open environment? Are they friendly? What are your first impressions? Can you do business in this climate? Arrive early so that you can get a chance to make an impression of the company. See the world from your prospects perspective and imagine working in this company yourself. The more you can see things from a prospects perspective, the more easily you will understand the motivation to buy.
Introduction
Smile! Smile! Smile! There is nothing worse than a meeting with a sullen miserable salesperson. Make your first impression one of a positive, happy person and that image will stick. Begin mirroring and matching your prospects voice and body language immediately. The sooner your prospect feels good about you the better. What about shaking hands? Some people do not like to shake hands until they know you better. The best rule is to let the prospect lead. I like to be relatively informal with people, so I introduce myself as Mark Chatterton. If my prospect replies "hello Mark I'm Daniel Chan" , then it will be Mark and Daniel from then on. If the reply is "Good Morning Mr. Chatterton, lets go through to my office" , then its going to be Mr. Chatterton and Mr. Chin, at least for a while. Remember do unto others as they like to be done unto.
"Thank You" is such a simple expression but is so often forgotten. "Thank you for taking the time to see me today" shows that you respect your prospects time and those little things make a big difference.
Breaking the Ice
At this early stage of the meeting we are trying to establish rapport and get our prospect to open up. We want to discover our prospects needs, areas of common interest and the problems our product can solve. What we do not want is a half hour debate on weather we should use a sand iron or a wood. If you find it easy to get conversations going, then rely on your personality to get your prospect to open up, but keep it under control, Even if your prospect seems to enjoy the conversation he will not thank you for wasting his time. If in doubt get on with the reason for the meeting and talk business.
Opening for business
Plan, write out and rehearse a simple opening for the meeting. The purpose is to explain what you do, why you are there and what you hope to achieve in the meeting . Don't overdue your introduction. The best way to create rapport and start to build the relationship is to show a professional interest in your prospects business. That means asking questions. Once you have delivered your brief opening, lead in with a question designed to get your prospect talking about his interests and business needs.
Complete a Fact Find or Question Prompt Sheet
Develop an information-gathering sheet to prompt you to ask the right questions and ensure you get all the information you need. Make sure that you clearly understand their objectives. What are their expectations of you? The more you understand about your prospects needs, the more you will be able to demonstrate that you can help.
Get Them to Describe Their Ideal Solution
Ask your prospect to describe their ideal solution to their problem or need. Create a list of all their objectives that have to be achieved and all the benefits expected.. Help your prospect to compile his list using your understanding of their problems and the benefits of your products and services. You are creating a clear picture of what your prospect wants to buy. This approach also alerts you to any product requirements you may have difficulty delivering. Once the list is finished, get the prospect to tell you which items are essential, i.e. the key benefits. This is a very important step. The initial list is really only a "wish list". Help your prospect identify the important items on the list.
Once the refined list has been agreed, ask: "If I can satisfy all the key requirements and as many as possible of the other items on the list - within a budget you can comfortably afford - are we in business?"
Close
Once you have an agreement, move to the question of money. "Mr. Prospect, before I go away and look at how we can achieve your objectives, I need to have some idea of how much you are planning to allocate to this project. For example, If I were to come up with a proposal which required $xxx.xxx, how would that sound? Go high rather than low and make the suggestion first. This pre-empts the tendency for buyers to throw in low figures. If payment is likely to be by installments, express cost in the way it will be paid.
Finally, fix the next meeting and agree the objectives. Agree any intermediate action that needs to be taken and make sure you diary any important dates. Stay in control of the sales process. Your prospect may never have dealt with you before and will rely upon you to lead the way. If they want to stop the process or do something differently, they will let you know soon enough.
Sell Them What They Want
When you leave you have a clear idea of your prospects expectations and budget. This will forewarn you of any problems you may face in achieving the sale, Do they have expectations you may find difficult to meet? If so, you will now be able to look for ways to overcome them in your office with help, rather than trying to think on your feet. Most importantly, you have a plan to work to. If you can meet your prospects objectives, whatever you present will be directly addressing his needs and you are almost assured a sale.
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