THE INITIAL MEETING

Using Listening Skills

You never get a second chance to leave a first impression. Specifying the needs requires good questioning and listening skills.

The prospect doesn't care about what you know, until he knows you understand his need.

The first objective is to find out what the needs are, what the personal wins are for the people involved, what it will mean for the company to buy this procuct etc. Other things to be researching are the decision making criteria, process, and other things we will cover in the Qualification Process.

Sell Yourself First

Build a personal relationship. Find mutual interests which you will utilise later in the sale, and identify the prospect's personal wins. The sale will necessitate multiple conversations and the personal relationship built in the first meeting is the foundation for future conversations. The secondary conversations can refer back to the mutual interests and personal wins discovered early in the sale. If personal credibility is built with a decision maker, the salesperson's personal relationship can be used to leverage further sales even from other companies, or for other products in the future.

Sell your Company Second

Convince the prospect that the company is the most experienced at this type of product or service. Many buyers will chose products primarily on the advantages of dealing with the best company. A popular saying in the early 1990's was, "Nobody ever was fired for buying IBM"

Sell the Product or Service Third

Meeting ObjectiveThe initial meeting objective certainly includes building a personal relationship, but also identifying whether a real requirement exists. The requirement for the product you are selling, as well as, the Prospect Response Mode. This gives an indication of the probability that they will be buying something. The professional will forward a proposed agenda such as:

    1. Introductions

    2. Discuss The Prospect Requirements

    3. The Selling Company Organisation And Its Products

    4. Questions and Answers

    5. The Way Forward