Preparation Is The Key To Sales Success
After another failed attempt to connect with a certain corporate blog prospect, I’m starting to rethink my desire to work with him.
I drove 2+ hours, spent another night adding Hilton Honors points to my enormous cache, building towards an all-inclusive somewhere warm, sandy and golfy.
The net result was a cancelled dinner and an aborted lunch.
It’s not my preparation that’s in question, it’s his.
He hits the ground in a panic every day and then builds on it.
He’s late to every meeting, he never answers his cellphone without saying, “Can I call you right back ?”
Note to all who do this : That’s what the freakin’ voicemail is for. I’ll leave you the details of what I need and then you can get the info and call me back. Don’t switch over every time you get a beep. Finish your conversation and pay full attention to that particular issue. Finish it before you start on mine.
It brings to mind the story of an old-time salesman I read about who said, ” I’d rather walk the pavement in front of a man’s office for an hour before a presentation than step into his office unprepared as to what I’m going to say and not knowing how he’ll answer. “
You not only have to be perfectly clear as to what you’ll present, you must know what he’ll say when you do.
You have to know his business and his motives before you meet with him or you’ll be operating at a disadvantage.
You will never be as successful as you were meant to be if you don’t prepare properly for every visit to a prospects office.
Has his market share chnged for the better or worse since you last sat down with him ?
Has the company issued any news releases ?
Any new products ?
Any new acquisitions ?
Has your company developed any new ways to make his business more efficient, effective or economical ?
Don’t go in without a plan that you can use to control the conversation and the outcome.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Mike - If this were a date and a girl stood you up… What would you do? The answer is pretty clear. Unless you are desparate… - Mike
Terrific post Mike. And great comment Mike. Man, I never wished my name was Mike more… a hat trick would be just plain funny.
Anyway, the idea of it being like a date is a great one. It’s unfortunate that a lot of folks tend to treat business relationships entirety different from their personal ones – when in reality they’re ALL personal. Someone who wouldn’t think of standing up a friend or a date may not give the same consideration to a business contact.
Mike Sigers’ point about being prepared really captures this thought well. How can we expect to develop a relationship if we don’t take the time to understand the other person, or company? In this day, we as customers are much more discerning about who we choose to do business with. And because of that, as business owners, we will live or die by the relationships we choose to develop.
Mike & Tony - You guys have done all the hard work for me on this one.
Mike’s analogy was better than great, it was edutaining !
And Tony’s additions were what comments are all about - he added to the info, gave us his opinion as a customer and owner.
Thanks guys !
Fantastic post, and a perfect illustration of why I would much rather sell in writing.
Thanks Brian. And if anybody knows about “selling in writing”, you’d be him.
Maybe we should think about a ‘Selling w/ Writing’ audio-interview-product or eproduct ?
Leave a Comment