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June 12 - June 12, 2019
What would you like to get from this meeting; what were you hoping to accomplish today?” Depending on the person and how difficult it was to secure the meeting, I sometimes add a bold twist: “Why did you invite me in?” Or, “I was just curious. How come you agreed to visit with me?” Try it.
It informs the buyer where you are headed.
lets the buyer know you expect a dialogue.
Ron, thanks for inviting me in. I believe we set up this meeting for thirty minutes. How are you on time? [Pause for an answer.] Great. I will make sure we are done before 11:30. Here’s what I would like to do. Let me kick us off and take just two or three minutes to share a bit about ABC Spellbinders, the issues we solve for HR professionals, and why they tend to bring us in for help. I will also touch briefly on how we are different and why we have been so successful in this space. Then I’d like to turn the tables and ask you questions to understand more about your situation and what you are
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Attempting to show your preoccupied customers great new products while they’re still seething about a missed shipment, unfulfilled promise,
In three enrapturing minutes of sales magnificence we deliver the prospect a succinct, compelling, client-focused understanding of why people or companies come to us, what we offer, and how we are different from, and better than, other alternatives.
There’s a time to climb, a time to cruise at altitude, and a time to land.
At this point, you are likely somewhere between seven and fifteen minutes into the call.
You’ve gained relational ground by following the prospect’s lead in building rapport for an appropriate amount of time. You’ve assessed the buyer’s style and are making slight adaptations to your delivery (e.g., the speed and volume of your voice, your body language) in order to improve communication. You’ve masterfully shared a well-thought-out plan for the call and sought the buyer’s input and buy-in. The buyer now sees you are a professional and is comfortable letting you lead. He has also been put on alert that you expect him to engage in a dialogue and that you aren’t going to present at
GOAL FOR FIRST 10-15 min
him for the next hour. If meeting with an existing account, you’ve demonstrated that the customer’s issues are a priority by doing some housekeeping to clean up outstanding items. Then, in a very compressed manner, you’ve shared your story, providing a list of reasons other people turn to you for help, what your company sells, and why you are the best choice.
You wouldn’t trust a physician who walked into the examining room, spent an hour telling you how great he was, and then wrote a prescription,
1. Personal questions 2. Strategic and directional questions 3. Specific issue-seeking and opportunity-seeking questions 4. Sales process questions
Types of questions to ask client/prospect
What are their short- and long-term goals? How are they being evaluated? What type of results are they working to achieve? How could you make their life easier?
The deepest and most successful client relationships result when there’s mutual trust and personal commitment between buyer and seller. Isn’t that the type of long-term partnership we desire?
What’s going on in your customers’ space? Who are they up against in the market?
Is there pressure to grow and expand or to reduce costs?
How are you approaching Pain No. 1? What has your experience been pursuing Opportunity No. 2?
Could you share your thoughts on capturing Opportunity No. 3? What’s worked and what hasn’t? What happens when Problem No. 4 raises its ugly head? And if the problem is not addressed, what’s the impact? Tell me about your current initiative to achieve Result No. 5.
Ask follow-up questions. Remember, we’re in search of the customer’s pains, problems, needs, and desires. If you discover some of these issues, camp out for a while. Go beyond the surface to understand more about those issues.
Where are you in the process of evaluating options?
This is a significant decision. How committed are you to making a change?
Tell me the criteria you’ll use to make your decision. How will you decide?
DISCOVERY PRECEDES PRESENTATION. Grab your literature. Review fancy charts and graphs. Wax eloquently about your samples. Share stories of how you’ve helped other clients achieve remarkable results. Describe possible solutions. Flip through a few screens on your iPad, showing off your latest and greatest whiz-bang offering. Provide customer testimonials. Take full advantage of what you’ve learned to tailor your message for this particular prospect. Show off your sales skills by showing the buyer that you actually listened. Skip over areas that are not relevant and spend extra time dwelling on
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“Based on our conversation and what we’ve shared with each other, it looks like we might be a fit to help you.”
“What do you think?”
we need to flesh out potential obstacles
The best time to learn about concerns the prospect may have about going forward is right now!
Say: “I get the feeling you have concerns or see obstacles about going forward. Tell me what you’re thinking. I’d rather hear your concerns now than pretend they don’t exist.”
One question—“What do you suggest as an appropriate next step?”—
Get action item
I’ll say, “Based on what you’re saying, how about if I do EFG, and you pull together JKL?”
Pick the date that both parties can agree to accomplish an agreed-upon task and confirm what happens next. Repeat it.
Have you been conducting sales calls with a logical progression—a beginning, a middle, and an end?
“Francine, Steven, Joyce, Joe, could you tell us why you were selected to lead the search for a learning management system?”
“What business issues are driving this initiative?”
No matter how senior or entrenched my selling partners, managers, or coworkers, I will never again cede control of the selling process to someone else. I am responsible for executing a solid sales process, regardless of who owns the account relationship. When something doesn’t feel right that’s because it’s not right. Don’t go along for the ride, even in the name of education or training. Speak up. Ask hard questions. I have a good sales gut and need to trust it. By sales law, a first meeting cannot be a presentation. Ever. Even when asked to do a presentation, turn it into a dialogue by
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I propose a simple four-slide recipe that ensures the early focus of your presentation is where it belongs: Slide 1: Title Slide Slide 2: Suggested Agenda Slide 3: Companies Turn to (Insert Your Company Name) When . . . (Here you’ll want to grab three to five relevant bullets from the “client issues” section of your power statement.) Slide 4: Our Understanding of Your Situation . . . (List several items you have learned from discovery work up to this point.)
Slide 4 is absolutely critical because this is where we transition from the generic, broad statements in slide 3 to the prospect-specific issues we have uncovered prior to making the presentation. It’s our opportunity to show off the thorough discovery work we have completed thus far.
Tell the audience that you think it would be beneficial to stop at this slide for a while. Ask your audience for input. Where did you nail it right on the head? What issues did you misunderstand or not properly grasp? Even better, ask the most senior person in the room to rank or prioritize the items on that slide. Make every effort to confirm the assumptions you’re sharing. If time allows and the prospect seems willing, dig deeper with specific probing questions.
Remember, presenting is not a synonym for selling. The goal is to win business, not simply to follow the directions of a prospect.
Honestly, we probably have four hours of content we could share. So, in order for us to present the most relevant and valuable information to you, we’d like to take the first fifteen minutes to get a handle on why you invited us in and what you’re facing in your business today—including threats, opportunities, shifts in the marketplace. And if you’re willing, we wouldn’t mind hearing about your experience with the current or previous agency. We understand if you may not want to “go there,” but sometimes clients like to share on that point, so we can incorporate the pieces you like and stay far
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our best chance of winning occurs when we understand as much as possible about the prospect’s situation before rushing into a presentation. It’s even better if we can set ourselves apart and pique the prospect’s interest by deploying a smarter sales methodology.
“What is your vision for this room?” Without pausing, Katie points to where she imagines an island with stools. “I see my kids sitting here after school, eating cookies, and telling me about their day.” Need I go on? Jerry won our business. Slam dunk. Not even close.
Why did you invite us in today? Why were you selected for the committee, and which business issues are you hoping to address with a learning management system? What does success look like a year after installing the new system? How about three years? If there was one thing you would like to come away with today, what would that be?
Have you noticed how many salespeople excel at talking about what they’re going to do? And how few actually do what they say?
We tend to be more effective and more confident when we get on a roll. It takes time to settle in and find the groove, so I’d suggest a minimum of ninety minutes per time block.
Most top-performing salespeople are the most active salespeople. Particularly when it comes to developing new business, the most effective attack is a high-frequency attack.
1. Prospect targeted. 2. Initial conversation. 3. Meaningful dialogue/first meeting. 4. Prospect needs identified; fit established; mutual agreement to move forward. 5. Second meeting/key data received. 6. Presentation and/or proposal delivered.
7. Deal closed and won!
averages). Three out of four prospects where we have identified needs and believe there’s a fit agree to review a formal proposal. Continuing to work backward, history shows that two-thirds of the prospects with whom we conduct initial meetings or have meaningful conversations move to the next step. And finally, our data show that half the prospects we have a first conversation with agree to an initial meeting. For grins, let’s say our sales goal this season is to close twelve new deals. Playing out the sales math from the end and working backward, this is what we should expect in terms of
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stage). 48 prospects with needs identified requires 72 initial meetings (two-thirds from first meetings move to the next stage). 72 initial meetings requires 144 initial proactive conversations (half of those turn into initial meetings).
