Do Your Homework

The preparation you do before stepping into the meeting room can make or break a sale. You never know how many tricks you’re going to have to pull out of your sleeve to convince a prospect that your project is worth pursuing. So, be more prepared than you think you need to be to ensure that you’re equipped with tools to tackle any situation.

In addition to researching your prospects and their organization, you should consider what key metrics they might be using to measure their success. What are their decision-making drivers? A restaurant might measure their success based on how many meals they sell. A hotel might look at the number of rooms they fill in a given time period. A commercial property owner might look at vacancy and tenant churn. A farm might look at crop production per square foot of land. If you understand what your prospect is using to measure his or her success, you can figure out how your product or service might positively affect these key metrics. How can you reframe your project to relate energy savings or other benefits to their success metrics?

Also be sure to look at their net profit margins (as discussed earlier this month) and talk to your past customers to see what other good outcomes may be associated with your energy efficiency maneuver. Herald any and all advantages the next time you talk to a person in that same segment that you're trying to convince to do a similar project.

  

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