Sales: Engage the Prospect First

Engage the prospect first?  Absolutely!

If you lead the sales presentation by telling Mr. Prospect how wonderful your company is; that your products/services are so superior to the competition; and start trying to close without identifying his needs, you have lost any opportunity to move the sale forward.  You have yet to focus on him or his needs.

What is wrong with this picture?  You know the saying that when you meet someone for the first time, within 5 minutes you have made your lasting impression on the other party.  Well, within those first 5 minutes, Mr. Prospect has already tuned you out because you have not made any attempt to include him in this sales process.

How do you engage, include or elicit participation from a first time prospect?

  1. Ask probing questions.  Get him to tell you about how his company operates, what they do, and how they do that.  Don’t be afraid to ask anything that you believe will help you understand their needs.
  2. Decipher the problems.  Again, you must ask.  You cannot assume anything even though you might have some prior experience in the industry, don’t get caught categorizing what you are hearing into a pat solution.  Be open-minded.
  3. Figure out why the issues are important.  You absolutely must get details here so that you understand exactly what is going on within this organization.

I learned in my senior Marketing Problems class in college, first you must identify the facts and determine the issues had hand.  As professional salesmen, you must engage the client first and foremost.

Only after you have accomplished this investigative portion of your visit, then you can move forward to the next steps:

  1. Conceive possible solutions  (figuring out what products/services will be the best fit for the application)
  2. Make suggestions that are client based–not what you want to sell them today (Forget that you are going to make a $100 bonus to sell the newest widget right off the production line)
  3. Create recommendations (if these do not match the problems, you do not have a potential solution)
  4. Justify each recommendation for each solution proposed. (This is a requirement…each recommendation must have a corresponding justification.)

In that marketing class, the groundwork was laid with us as potential salesmen–before you can expect to be successful in sales, you must always apply one of the Rules of Sales–Engage the Prospect!

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2014

 


Business Networking: What is it exactly?

What exactly does the term Business Networking mean?  Over the many years that I’ve been involved in a B2B networking organization, I have been able to narrow the definition down to 5 Key pointers:

–It is:  Being Passionate about Giving First.

–It is:  Building and Developing Synergy Partners.

–It is:  Sharing your expertise and talents.

–It is:  Being a resource and connector of people.

–It is:  You’re EDGE over your Competition!

When you can incorporate and accomplish all of these elements in your sales activities, you will not have to cold call again.  For 15 years that I have owned my packaging company, I have worked strictly off of referrals.

Networking is not about selling at all.  It is about making connections and developing those relationships so that you create your own sales advocates in the marketplace.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2014


Peggy’s Pointers – GateKeepers and How to get Past

How do you to Get Past the GateKeeper?

Gatekeeper - picture

Being in sales for over 30 years I’ve had my fair share of cold calling and furthermore my fair share of trying to get past the GateKeeper…that person who holds the keys to the door to the most important person on my call list for the day.

The most interesting conversation with a GateKeeper I’ve ever had involved me walking into a company one day and asking the receptionist who I would need to talk to who purchased their packaging products.  The lady said, “Well that would be Joe Bob.”  So I asked, “Would it be possible to visit with him today?”  Her response was, “Do you have an appointment?”

Now I had just walked in cold off of the street and asked her who I would need to speak with regarding my products.  She had told me who it was.  I know I must have been speechless and had a “deer-in-the-headlight” look about me as well as the question mark on my face as to “duh” if I don’t who I need to talk to, then how on earth would I possibly already have an appointment with them?

Bless her little heart, she was so programmed to give that “canned” answer that she had no clue what she had said.  But being the wild crazy redhead that I am, I said, “I’m not sure but I don’t think so!  Would you check for me?”

Here are just a few pointers on getting thru:

*  Remember it is their job to keep the gate closed.

*  Act like you are senior to them….not superior to them.  For example, if they think you are someone of importance or someone who the boss would want to see then there is more likely of a chance you will get into to see him.  This doesn’t mean that you should ever act as if you are above them.  There is a fine line in the difference.

*  They have a wealth of knowledge about the person you are trying to see.  Your job is to use your wits and charm to find out what you need to know that they know.

*  Never, ever pre-sell to them.  In other words, if they ask what it is that you want to speak to Joe Bob about, keep it brief.  Do not go into sales pitch mode.

*  Learn to ask for folks on a first name basis.  Don’t ask for Mr. Jones, ask for Joe Bob.

*  If Joe Bob is on the phone, just say, I’ll wait a few minutes to see if he is available.  Quite often people will see you if they know you have had to wait on them for some reason.  This tip works for either an in-person cold call or a phone call.

*  Always, always, always, be thankful before and after.  Most especially after you have met with Joe Bob as you are leaving the premises, make sure that you find Lucy Jane and thank her for helping you today.

These are just a few techniques that I’ve used over the years.  By all means they are not all inclusive but you might be able to use one or two of these tips to help you get your “Edge Over Your Competition.”

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2013.  All rights reserved.