Most sales teams invest a lot of time thinking about winning with their customers, yet go into each meeting totally unprepared. Then they’re surprised when things don’t work out.
Strategy expert and sales trainer Duncan Cawdell has seen it a million times and knows through experience that to come away with the outcome you want you need to put more in at the start. His background as a buyer and a supplier has given him a unique insight into both sides of the process.
His advice is to be strategic, take time and follow a few simple steps.
Here are his 3 sure fire strategies for turning each meeting into a win.
“ We’ve all winged it once or twice in our lives and we might even have got away with it. My advice is don’t do it. The number one way to get what you want out of a meeting is to plan for it.”
- Have a plan.
Back in the day in order to get a national account manager’s role most candidates would have spent time on the road with regional accounts or smaller players, learning their craft and gaining experience in countless meetings. Now with a lot of field sales outsourced, recruitment is focused on graduates who move straight into national roles and their experience of meeting face to face is much reduced. That doesn’t hold true on the other side of the fence – many buyers sit though more sales presentations in a week than most NAMs conduct in a year, so it’s important to get it right first time. Learning on the job could cost everyone dear so focus hard on clear, effective and rigorous planning.
- It’s not all about you.
If you were taking someone new out for dinner you wouldn’t order their food, tell them what to drink and then launch into a half hour monologue about yourself (I hope!) Likewise when you are in the meeting it is really important to talk about your customer not yourself. With the right preparation you will already know all about the people and the dynamics of the organisation you are selling to. By getting into the mind of the customer and thinking about what is and isn’t working for them and how their business operates then you can start to show them how you can solve their problems and meet their needs. Be clever and get their attention with your creative approach.
- Get permission to sell
If they like what you’re saying then they will want to know more and when they give you that green light you have their permission to sell. This is the magic moment when you can close the deal – when everyone is on the same side. No need for tense negotiations with each side playing the part of adversaries, instead you are working in partnership and getting things done.
So plan, play to your strengths and turn things to your own advantage in meetings that are a win not just for you but for both sides.
Duncan Cawdell has put his extensive experience of the industry behind his company Pure Blue Ocean which offers coaching for sales success to both sales teams and individuals looking to increase their skills. So if you would like to know more do call +44 7788426914 or Email:duncan@pureblueocean.com
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