Planning and preparation (the seven steps of the sale - 1)

Generally, the larger the prospect organization, the more research you should do before any sales call at which you will be expected, or are likely, to present you company's products or services.

· ensure know your own product/service extremely well - especially features, advantages and benefits that will be relevant to the prospect you will be meeting

· ascertain as far as you can the main or unique perceived organizational benefit that your product or service would give to your prospect

· discover what current supply arrangements exist or are likely to exist for the product/service in question, and assess what the present supplier's reaction is likely to be if their business is at threat

· understand what other competitors are able and likely to offer, and which ones are being considered if any

· identify as many of the prospect organization's decision-makers and influencers as you can, and assess as much as far as you can what their needs, motives and relationships are

· try to get a feel for what the organizational politics are

· what are the prospect's organizational decision-making process and financial parameters (eg., budgets, year-end date)

· what are your prospect's strategic issues, aims, priorities and problems, or if you can't discover these pre-meeting, what are they generally for the market sector in which the prospect operates?

· prepare your opening statements and practice your sales presentation

· prepare your presentation in the format in which you are to give it (e.g., MS Powerpoint slides for laptop or projected presentation) plus all materials, samples, hand-outs, brochures, etc., and always have spares - allow for more than the planned numbers as extra people often appear at the last minute - see the presentation section for more detailed guidance on designing formal sales presentations

· prepare a checklist of questions or headings that will ensure you gather all the information you need from the meeting

· think carefully about what you want to get from the meeting and organise your planning to achieve it

· understand and make the most of cold calling: despite the tendency for some organizations to position cold calling as a lowly de-skilled canvassing or enquiry-generation activity, cold calling increasingly enables sales people to become more strategic and significant in the sales function

2. introduction/opening (the seven steps of the sale - 2)

· smile - be professional, and take confidence from the fact that you are well-prepared

· introduce yourself - first and last name, what your job is and the company you represent, and what the your company does (ensure this is orientated to appeal to the prospect's strategic issues)

· set the scene - explain the purpose of your visit, again orientate around your prospect not yourself, eg "I'd like to learn about your situation and priorities in this area, and then if appropriate, to explain how we (your own company) approach these issues. Then if there looks as though there might be some common ground, to agree how we could move to the next stage."

· ask how much time your prospect has and agree a time to finish

· ask if it's okay to take notes (it's polite to ask - also, all business information is potentially sensitive, and asking shows you realise this)

· ask if it's okay to start by asking a few questions or whether your prospect would prefer a quick overview of your own company first (this will depend on how strongly know and credible your own company is - if only a little you should plan to give a quick credibility-building overview in your introduction)

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1013