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How To Get Any Selling Meeting Off To A Flying Start

By Bob Malloney

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 13Mar2010 Word count: 664 Viewed: 209 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Before any meeting where you are trying to sell something, you should do whatever preparation you can. Find out about the company. How big is it, where is it located, what are its products, its competitors, its market place, its past performance and anything else you can think of. Find out whatever you can about the person or people you are going to see. You will make a much better impression with a few facts at your fingertips and if you can quickly empathise with the person you are meeting.

A very useful exercise for everyone to carry out is to list out the features of their product and then to make sure that they understand how those features are going to benefit their customers. You are now more likely to sell benefits rather than just features.

Similarly, think what objections customers could raise about your product or service and what your response to those objections might be. Forewarned is forearmed! If you can answer questions and objections fluently, you will come across with much more authority and credibility than if you hesitate and stumble over your words.

First impressions count. People make their minds up about us very quickly indeed. It takes just a few seconds. You could blow the whole thing before you've even said hello. Personally, we reckon that you're 'on duty' from the moment you park your car in the car park...big brother may be watching you!

Beware of sitting down in reception. Reception furniture is always very low to the ground. Don't let your contacts first impression of you be the sight of you struggling to your feet looking for all the world like you've left your Zimmer Frame at home! Instead spend the time looking around.

Companies leave lots of information about themselves littered about their reception area. Things like brochures about their products or services (put into briefcase); awards (Queens Award to Industry; Investors in People); photographs of corporate events; photos of Royalty opening their new offices; samples of products (best not put in briefcase); old uncle Tom Cobbley and all (do with as you will)...loads of useful information for you to use later. Do not sit down and read the paper and drink that cup of coffee...what a waste of an opportunity.

Be nice to receptionists. They are experts as assessing people. They watch visitors. They report back to bosses. When the police state comes, they are the ones who will get the top jobs!

And finally, when your contact comes to greet you, approach them with confidence, look in their eyes, shake their hand and say your name. All of this helps to create a positive first impression.

And now you've got that journey from reception to the meeting room. What are you going to talk about? Don't you just hate all of that small talk? Well so do most people. But you have picked up all of those clues in reception, haven't you? You've got a whole load of things to talk about...and they are all relevant to the person you are meeting. They'll really thank you for taking the burden of small talk from their shoulders. This may have started on your journey from reception to the meeting room and now just needs bringing to a close. Or maybe a secretary took you to the meeting room. Generalising people don't like getting straight down to business; they need an initial sparring phase to weigh each other up first.

Do take the hint from your contact when it is time to call a halt to the rapport stage. Too much small talk is just as bad as too little. You have met to do business after all. So bring the rapport stage to a close by a link phrase, something like, 'Thank you for taking the time to meet me today Mr Jones, what I'd like to do is...'

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