With so many sales articles, sales books, and sales coaching philosophies, it sometimes can be overwhelming and hard to know where to start in terms of how to run your sales meeting effectively.
Many aspects of sales are over complicated. Keep it simple for you and for the prospective client to start seeing better results.
Here are some ways to keep your next sales meeting simple:
Set a simple agenda. Prior to the meeting, email out a very brief agenda, with 3-4 topics you will cover.
ie- current challenges, discovery about those challenges, potential ways your company can address those challenges, and set the next steps.
Be sure to ask if there is anything to add to the agenda before you get the meeting started and get their buy-in that the agenda looks good.
The agenda may read like this:
Agenda
1. Current Goals & Challenges
2. Questions & Discovery
3. Possible Solutions & How We Help
4. Next Steps
Ask simple questions, ask one question at a time and listen. Sometimes the most powerful questions you ask are the shortest and most direct ones. Questions that begin with “what” are generally a good place to start. Take your time listening. Really put your focus on the prospective client and #1 and #2 from the sample agenda above.
Be in the now and in the moment. Most people tend to sacrifice the now because they are worrying about the past or the future all the time. Are you truly listening to the person you are speaking with or are you thinking about what you need to go and do, your emails, your voice mails, or what you are going to say next? The more in the moment and present you can be with your prospect, the more effective the meeting will be. And by the way, they will feel like you listened to them and understand their challenges.
Set simple next steps. Think about how to make things easier for the prospective client by clearly setting out the next steps for partnering together. Make sure the next meeting (phone or in-person) is being set up before you leave the meeting and that you gain a commitment on the next step.
The key here is to keep forcing yourself to look for ways to simplify the meeting and the entire process for the prospect to partner with your organization. If you are not clear, they will be confused and this will only hurt your efforts. Keep looking for ways to make it simple for all parties and you will start seeing better sales results before you know it.
About The Author:
Sales Coaching Expert, Jeremy Ulmer, has helped hundreds of sales professionals, sales leaders, and business owners just like you overcome sales challenges to increase productivity and win more clients faster.
For 100’s of unbeatable, sure-fire ways to increasing your sales results, subscribe for your free sales tips or request a free sales coaching consultation at: http://www.SalesCoachingHabits.com
