Tell them what you're going to tell them
19 May 2010
Sales Tip Monday 19th May 2010
Time Expectations
Time to read this section about 50 seconds, time well spent.
Time is a precious commodity for both you and your customer, so of course you need to make the most out of your time with them. A very successful tactic that I've used for a long time now is setting time expectations along with my call plan.
Plan your call - this should go without saying, however make sure you write down what sale you want to achieve out of this meeting and plan around that.
Here's a few tips to help maximise the precious minutes you have with your customers to get that sale. When I'm in a call I stick to this basic plan to prevent my customer losing focus:
Set time expectations - Firstly I tell how long the call with take. People love to know how much of their time you will take up. If you leave this open ended, then their mind will wander over all the things they have to do.
Tell them what you're going to tell them - Again, people love to know what you plan to tell them. You can use this time to set you own expectations with your customer (eg. "I have 2 new products to show you, 1 is revolutionary and the other is an improvement on what's available now. And 2 deals, 1 is a buying for the new products, and the other is a no brainer for getting large volume sales. All up taking 7 minutes of your time.")
Tell them - Now is the time where most Sales Professionals start the selling process. This is the part you interact with them around the new products and deals, going into the details that will benefit your customer the most.
Tell them what you told them - Sum up what you discussed, where they agreed with you and the benefits for them (eg. "As you see the new products will cater to the gaps in your product range you identified where you are missing sales, and these deals really are going to establish the new products as well as drive some volume sales.")
My last tip is when you are setting an appointment for next time, again set the time expectations here, even if you are on a regular call cycle (eg. "See you in 4 weeks time, we'll have a look how the deals are working and I'd like to get your opinion on where the market is heading from where you see it.")
It really is that simple and my customers loved it.
Set time expectations.
Tell them what you're going to tell them.
Tell them.
Tell them what you told them.
Set time and agenda for next visit.
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