Here are some simple guidelines to ensure that your customer "face time" results in a sale
Whether you're meeting with a decision maker on the phone or in
person, you must make the most of the time you get. Here are five
excellent suggestions for doing so from Tom Black, author of
The Boxcar Millionaire.
1. Set a Reasonable Goal
There's a natural tendency to want to "close the deal" when you're
meeting with a decision maker. However, most business sales situations
require more than one meeting to close a deal, if only because there is
usually more than one decision maker. Find an appropriate goal for each
meeting and achieve that goal in order move to the next step.
2. Never Repeat Yourself
Many sellers are secretly afraid that the prospect won't believe what
they're saying, so they start repeating themselves, hoping that
repetition will add credibility. Unfortunately, repetition makes you
seem unsure and uncertain. It's better to state your main points once,
forcefully and with confidence, than repeating them like a mantra.
3. Don't Anticipate Objections
Unless you are 100 percent certain that a specific objection is going
to surface, don't surface it yourself and answer it. While prospects
almost always have objections, you don't want to provide them with a
laundry list, even if you're pretty sure that you've got the answers to
everything on the list.
4. Clarify Vague Objections
If a prospect stalls (e.g. "I need to talk this over with my staff")
or surfaces a vague objection (e.g. "I'm not exactly certain this makes
sense."), ask questions to clarify the situation so that you know how to
proceed: "What issues do you think your staff are likely to surface?"
"What particular part of this is giving you pause?"
5. Test For the Next Step, Then Ask
When you sense it's appropriate, check to see whether the prospect as
an interest in buying. (E.g. "Does all of this make sense to you?")
Once you're reasonably certain that the prospect is ready to commit to
the next step, ask for the next step. Every minute that you hesitate
past that point makes a successful close less likely. -Inc.com
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