For all the salespeople I hired over the years, I abided by one important principle. All the job applicants that arrived without pen and paper, were dismissed on the spot. Either they were to arrogant and thought they could remember everything I had to say in detail, or they thought beforehand that whatever I had to say or ask wasn’t interesting enough for them to write down. By taking pen and paper with you, you show respect towards the person sitting opposite you. That shows that what they tell or ask you is apparently worth while taking note of. At the same time it’s a good reason to give when asking your prospects whether they mind if you take notes during the conversation...
(29) Ask clients and prospects if you may take notes on the conversation. That makes what they say important and more reliable. ⇐
I always divided my notes into two columns. One column was for the prospect’s questions that were still to be answered, plus other important items. The other column was strictly for noting the prospect’s important purchase motives. One of my standard questions was: “Mr. Johnson, what do you find most important when choosing a supplier?” I then wrote down the answers in the second column. As soon as the prospect had named say one or two motives, I would repeat the motives and ask the next question: “Are there any other important motives when choosing a supplier?” Usually a lot of motives followed and these also I noted in the second column. In most cases the most important purchase motive could be found at the top and I knew exactly how and in which order I could interpret my proposition into the prospect’s demands. This often resulted in the prospect saying he wanted to do business with me. Of course I refrained from mentioning the other motives if the prospect didn’t either...
(39) Stop trying to interest your prospects once they’re prepared to purchase. Otherwise you may blow the deal yet. ⇐
The prospect is bound to mention his present supplier. Actually the order in which he mentions his purchase motives is probably dictated by his dissatisfaction with this supplier. You may then be tempted to shove your competitor through the exit. For example by giving some spicy, sordid details about his failures. Don’t! Concentrate on your own USPs and explain to your prospect what you and your firm are good at. You don’t need to tell him that your competitor’s shortcomings form the basis of all this...
(40) Let your prospect do the slandering of your competitor i.e. his current supplier. The fact he wants to talk to you says enough! ⇐
The so called inverted indirect question, is a fine way of finding out your prospect’s purchase motives. At the start of a conversation with a long-wanted prospect, you ask why he hasn’t bought from you yet. Because undoubtedly this prospect didn’t choose you when he had to choose a supplier in the past. Perhaps you weren’t around then or another supplier was more convincing. The prospect’s answer to this question will at least give you the opportunity of giving the prospect’s possible misunderstanding of your firm a positive edge. This without you being caught in the act of recommending your products...
(31) Ask your prospect why he hasn’t bought from you before at the start of the conversation and use the answer as a topic! ⇐
One of my most important pieces of advice is to combine written or spoken words with images. Most probably you’re well acquainted with the saying: A picture is worth a thousand words. This is a valuable saying. The days of salespeople visiting prospects carrying big sales books are long gone. Nowadays you’ll often use a laptop or tablet to show products to your prospect. Firms aren’t spending all that money on their websites and software applications for nothing. Beware! Your prospect can’t see what you’re doing behind your laptop. What’s worse, you are less visible too. This means the prospect will lose interest and due to your continual staring at your screen to find what you’re looking for, you won’t even notice this change in your prospect. So, involve the prospect when you need to use a laptop or a tablet and make sure what you want to show is ready...
(41) Only use your laptop to show clients or prospects things you can only show with a laptop and when they are sitting next to you. ⇐
Many organisations choose to confirm appointments with prospects by letter or by email. They then seize the opportunity of attaching some documents so that the prospect can prepare for the conversation. Well, it saves you time and time saves you money, right? Forget about it. 80% of all prospects note their appointment and don’t make time for you until the moment you arrive. Documents? Which documents?
Isn’t it wise to send information in advance then? Of course! After all, 20% of all prospects do read the information and prepare themselves. For the 80% that don’t you need to take the information along with you. Not for leaving behind, because it will end up in the KIV tray (Keep In View) but for reading together so that you will recognise the topics relevant to your prospect during the conversation...
(42) Your prospects seldom read documentation left behind or sent in advance. It’s better to read with them during the conversation. ⇐
Don’t be surprised if your prospect gives you a long list of demands. Compare it to the list you made for Christmas when you were a child. It’s all a matter of: nothing ventured, nothing gained. And don’t count your eggs before they’ve hatched, even if you’re able to meet every demand! Because there will undoubtedly be a reason for the prospect not already meeting all those demands. I’ll wager a fine bottle of wine that it’s all due to an insufficient budget. I’ve seen many salespeople forecasting huge sums with score rates of up 80%. Some time later they shamefully told about their proposal being declined because we were to expensive or about the forecast having to be altered considerably. While it’s such a simple question: “Well Mr. Johnson, what’s your budget for meeting all these demands?”...
(54) When you know the prospect’s budget before making a proposal, you’ll end up discussing less about prices. So ask about it! ⇐
The chances of prospects giving ‘continuity’ as the answer to your question what they expect from a supplier, are high. That’s not very strange considering the fact that many firms depend on suppliers for conducting business. This is clearly visible in the retail sector, but also applies to the software sector and to the service sector. What’s more, prospects don’t feel like having to go through the whole process again in a month’s time all because you happen to drop out. Not that many prospects will ask you straight off, but...
(43) Tell prospects who your back-up is and what will happen should something happen to you. This creates trust in your organisation. ⇐