Now that we have looked at real-time interaction on the phone, let’s review some techniques used to manage the face-to-face sales meeting.
T|me out!
Managing the sales meeting: S: start the interaction positively
E: engage the client: ask open-ended questions, listen, and paraphrase L: list features and bene¢ts that relate to the client’s needs
L: leave with the next step planned.
S: start the interaction positively
Let’s look at these steps in a little more detail.
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Remember, when you meet prospects for the ¢rst time, the factors that in£uence your communication are:
X body language (55%) (includes eye contact, gestures, facial expression, etc) X the way you say the words (38%) (includes tone, delivery, enunciation, pausing, ¢ller
words, etc)
X the word choice (7%) (includes vocabulary and word choice),
Step Guidelines
S: Start the interaction X Positively provide a professional greeting: handshake and eye contact.
X Build rapport by small-talk and mirroring body language and delivery.
X Establish credibility by talking about the company/ current events.
X Exchange business cards.
X Can last any time from one minute to ten depending on the client.
X The client will let you know when they are ready to move on by providing some type of body language cue e.g. they will pick up a pen, sit forward, or move somehow. X The need for this stage is larger at the beginning of the
relationship because it takes time to build trust.
Foul!
If you miss the body language clue that the client is ready to move on to the next stage of the interaction, the prospective client may then ask you to describe your services and you will not know the speci¢c needs that the client wishes to be addressed.
E: engage the client
The critical point in selling a service is to identify client needs and objectives before you begin to describe your products or services. Clients will only commit to purchasing services when they are convinced that the consultant’s support will help them meet their business objectives. The chances for closing a sale are greater if you actively search out the customer’s needs. But more importantly, clients will feel more valued if the consultant takes an active interest in their business.
T|me out!
There are two ways of uncovering client needs: making assumptions, and asking questions.
Making assumptions: can be risky ^ makes an ASS out of U and ME.
Asking questions: should be primarily open-ended questions. Open-ended questions cannot
be answered ‘yes’or ‘no’.
E: engage the client Guidelines
Asking open-ended X This part of the sales interaction can last over 20 questions minutes, with many open-ended questions being asked.
X Use phrases such as ‘tell me about, describe and explain’ to act as excellent topic-opener statements to begin a subject area.
X Use ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’ as open- ended questions to probe and gather more information. X Use closed questions to gather specific data or move to 130/ Be a Successful Consultant
Selling your Service / 131
the next stage of the interaction.
X Think about the client’s current business situation, overall business goals and specific challenges in the area where you can provide help.
X Begin with general questions, in terms of business challenges, and become more specific, focusing on the areas in which you can provide a service.
X Ask as many questions as you can, until you have gathered enough information or until the client is ready to move on to finding out about you and your services. X At the end of this chapter is a general list of questions
that can be used to gather information about the business.
Listen actively X Take notes to help you listen.
X Concentrate on the other person and pay attention to what they are saying and what else might be going on. X Be patient with the silence of if they do not talk as
quickly as you do!
X Remember the influence in a sales interaction goes to the listener not the speaker.
X Make sure you listen by observing body language clues – that blank look is a good indicator that the client has no idea what you are talking about.
X Don’t rehearse what you will say as the other person is talking. Make sure you stay focused on the other person. X Don’t prematurely jump to conclusions – let the person
finish talking and keep listening.
Paraphrasing X Paraphrasing involves repeating back to the client in your own words, what they have just told you.
X Don’t repeat word for word – that’s parroting and can be viewed as patronizing.
X Don’t provide your judgment or opinion, just a neutral restatement of what they said to you.
X Paraphrasing has many benefits, which include: – validating the client
– checking for understanding between what you heard and they said
When the prospective client’s posture changes, this is the time to begin to describe the products and services that you can offer that will meet their needs.
Case study: engaging the client ^ questioning is key
Marie was meeting with a client and at the beginning of the meeting the client asked, ‘Do you do cultural diversity training?’ Marie did not, but she said, ‘That’s an interesting question, why is this subject important?’ To her surprise, the client began to describe the environment and the training needs, which encompassed entry level management training for a supervisory group who mainly originated from Vietnam. By understanding the broader business context by asking questions, listening and paraphrasing, Marie was able to define a service that she offered, management training with some emphasis on dealing with different cultures. The client did not want intense cultural training.
L: list features and benefits that relate to the client’s needs
Step: L Guidelines
List features relating to X Position the services you offer in terms of the features client needs and benefits you determined in Chapter 5. The benefits
will relate directly to the needs you have identified in the sales meeting.
Ask for status X If you are not sure where you are in the process and you observe a change in posture, the best thing you can do is to ask the client one of the following four questions: how does that sound?
how does this information look? what do you think?
how do you feel about this information?
Foul!
This is the step in the sales interaction when the business can be sold or lost. Many consultants fail to watch the body language clues from the client as they describe their service’s features and bene¢ts. As a result they continue to talk and walk straight into and out of the sale. If we miss that critical moment when the client wishes to buy, then we may not be able to close the sale. Over half of sales are lost because the critical cues from the customer are missed.
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L: leave with the next step
Often the end of the interaction does not mean the closing of the sale. When selling services, on average, it takes two to three appointments to close the sale. However, it is necessary to ensure that when you leave you have the critical next steps identified so that you do not have to revisit the voicemail endless cycle! The next steps could include:
X a further meeting with other decision makers and influencers X sending a proposal
X a formal presentation to senior management.
Exercise 6.8 Evaluating your person-to-person e¡ectiveness
X Complete a visit with a prospective client with a colleague. Brief him/her on the steps you will be trying to adhere to in the sales cycle.
X Make sure you position the additional person in the meeting with the client as a colleague from your consulting team.
X After the meeting, discuss the following questionnaire with him/her to identify what went well and what else could have increased the success of the meeting.
Step in the sales meeting Questions
S: start the interaction X How long did this step in the interaction take? X How well did the consultant greet the client? X How did the consultant build rapport?
X To what extent did the consultant talk about the client’s business in the introduction?
X To what extent did the consultant pay attention to the client’s body language and transition into gathering information about needs?
E: engage the client X How long did this stage of the interaction last?
X How many open-ended questions did the consultant ask? X How many closed questions?
X How well did the consultant listen to the client’s needs? X How did you know that he/she was listening?
X How well, if at all, did the consultant paraphrase the information gathered?
X What other information could the consultant have obtained which would have aided in the sales process? L: list features and benefits X How long did this stage in the interaction last?
X How clear was the consultant about the benefits of his/ her services?
X To what extent were these services linked to client needs? X How alert was the consultant to changes in posture? X Did the consultant ask for status: How does that sound?
Look? Feel? What do you think?
X How effectively did the consultant manage any concerns expressed?
L: leave with the next step X How long did this stage of the interaction last? planned X To what extent did the consultant confirm next steps?
X What else could the consultant have done to increase the chances of a sale?
X Based on this discussion, what can you do to improve your sales effectiveness in a meeting?
Coaching point
The more you can adhere to these steps and get feedback, the greater the chance of building a successful consulting business. Don’t be afraid to use a coach to guide you in this process.