Three Questions to Ask Yourself before a Sales Call
April 15th, 2010 - Posted by Tim Freestone
By the time you’re knotting your tie for a sales appointment, the cards should be stacked in your favor. The best indicator, of course, is that the prospect agreed to the meeting, so he must perceive some value. And, you’ve been able to review all the information that came out of the lead qualification process. You know the pain points, at least at a high level, and you have a sense of the status quo within your prospect’s datacenter. You have a willing audience and all the information you need to make a sale.
So, why do so many appointments go nowhere? It’s a fair question. If everything leading up to a sales call is so clearly beneficial, it should always go well … right?
Often, the problem isn’t with the prospect – it’s with you. You aren’t asking yourself the right questions before you sit across from your client. Below, you’ll find three questions to ask yourself before your next sales appointment. Answer them, and you’ll find your efforts to be much more fruitful.
1. What’s in it for the prospect?
The answer has to involve more than what you can pump out of an ROI calculator. That number, after all, is the benefit you can deliver post-sale. You need to be able to show how this meeting will be worth your prospects time. Review your notes and lead qualification information to determine the areas where the prospect is struggling most. Build your meeting agenda around addressing this perceived need – in addition to the other needs you sense that the organization has.
2. Who’s mind are you trying to read?
You may have seen a case like the prospect’s a thousand times, and you’re already putting together a solution. In fact, the questions you’ll ask at the meeting either won’t matter to you, or they’ll be intended to lead the prospect to a specific conclusion that you’ve already drawn. None of this takes the prospect into consideration, and you’ll find out at the meeting that the prospect will come in with his own preconceptions. Guess who loses? Exactly.
3. What are the prospect’s next steps?
Most sales coaching and training programs emphasize the importance of scheduling your next appointment before you leave the current one. While this is powerful advice, it overlooks a crucial issue – specifically, why your prospect would want to meet with you again. Be ready to have clear, direct and potent reasons for taking up more space on your prospect’s calendar, and communicate them effectively.
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