As sometimes happens in our sales workshops, someone in the group tossed out a brilliant metaphor the other day. If I could remember who said it I'd give him or her the credit. (If it was you, please go ahead and raise your hand to claim it - you deserve the notoriety!) With a little embellishment and polish from me, here it is.
A sales call or meeting is like a drive on the highway. The two most critical moments - the only ones that matter, really - are the on-ramp and the off-ramp. Survive these and the rest of the trip will take care of itself.
If you want your team to be terrific, make them specific. Speaking directly to customer needs is good business, and all it takes is a plan and some discipline. A strategic digital sales workshop with Doug Weaver and Upstream Group is easier and more cost-effective than you'd imagine. Reach out now. The consult is free.
Let me explain. The opening of your meeting - the on-ramp - is when you create a strong environment, set the agenda and truly engage and involve your customer. (Or... not.) Like the act of merging onto a busy highway, this moment demands that you be alert and decisive. You must speed up and create momentum while very intentionally finding your spot. At the very moment when this kind of decisive action is called for, too many sellers dawdle and meander through the opening of the call, jjwasting time and squandering trust with meaningless small talk.
Then there's the end of the call - the off-ramp. This is the part of your journey that calls for careful braking... the part where you slow it all way down. This is the moment in the sales call where the thoughtful seller picks up most of the good information - where she truly qualifies both the buyer and the opportunity; where she identifies hidden decision makers and learns how she might get the deal done. But it's at this exact moment when slow, deliberate and careful are warranted that many sellers speed up and rush through the close. As a result, they don't ask for the sale and never get the chance to ask any of the important questions that follow - questions that could open up possibilities and close business.
The answer is surprisingly simple. Have a plan and practice it.
To hit your on-ramp at just the right speed, do some research and create one slide with a few headlines about your customer. Show the customer that slide and - before you say or do anything else - get them talking about it. You will immediately frame your meeting squarely around client needs while also immediately bringing them into a collaborative conversation.
For the off-ramp, write out and practice the question you'll ask at the end of the meeting; a question that contains a verb (e.g. budget... approve... recommend...), a number (the amount you're asking for) and a date (to activate the program, a start date, for the next commitment to be made). Role-playing the questions that follow (Tell me about how that decision will be made... Setting aside the outcome, is this something you'd personally like to see happen? ... What other budgets might contribute to something like this?) is one of the very best ways a manager can support his sellers.
Open your calls quickly and decisively. Close them slowly and thoughtfully. And watch your numbers improve.
