Develop an Unstoppable Momentum -- Part 2A

By Jill Konrath

Don't Take Too Long in Establishing the Meeting Plan
[To be most successful, it's imperative for you to think like your prospective customers. In most cases, they want to know if you understand their industry, company, issues and challenges. They want to feel like you care about helping them achieve their goals or solve their problems. You never, ever convince people of this by talking at them. Only intelligent business-oriented discussions lead to this result. This type of dialogue doesn't just occur spontaneously. It requires a great deal of thinking before you go in. Every single top seller I know invests a great deal of time in the preparation stage. They know that "winging it" doesn't work with today's corporate buyer.]

Completing the Sales Call Planning Guide

[Effective meetings with corporate decision-makers follow a simple, proven process. Here are the steps to follow to ensure you have a productive first sales call. Please use them as guidelines, not absolutes. The following time frames assume a one-hour meeting. And remember, good meetings focus on your prospective customers and what's important to them -- not your product, service or solution. (Note: It's more likely that your meeting will occur in person, but this plan works well for phone meetings as well.)]

I. Open the Conversation (5-10 minutes)
Customers from big companies don't have a lot of time for meaningless chitchat and relationship building these days. Be cordial and friendly, but business-focused at all times.

A. Make the introductions
Take a few minutes to learn about the decision-maker's job and responsibilities. If the decision-maker invites others to the meeting, make sure you introduce yourself and learn their names. Find out why they're attending and what interests they have relative to the business issue.

B. Confirm times and agenda
Before you get started, double check to see if times have changed since you set up the meeting. If your customer has to run to an urgent meeting in 30 minutes, you need to adjust your game plan or come back later. Reconfirm the purpose of the meeting also to ensure there are no misunderstandings.

You might say, "As I explained earlier, we work with high tech firms to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In our time together today, I'd like to give you a little background on how we address these issues, find out what your company is doing in these areas and see if we have grounds for further discussions. How does that sound?"

Notice the professionalism and leadership in this overview. It shows that you have a clear plan for the meeting. Decision-makers feel better immediately; they know their precious time won't be wasted.

From: Selling to Big Companies
© 2006 Jill Konrath
CJW-024-014098