FGHI.info

1. Prepare for face-to-face meetings.
- If appropriate, send a proposed agenda and ask if there is anything in particular the customer would like you to cover.
- Always confirm the time and venue for the meeting in writing.
But do not ring on the day to confirm a meeting is taking place. Given the option, customers often cancel.
- Make sure you arrive in plenty of time.

2. Use effective presentation techniques .
- Find out about your audience.
For example, if you are presenting the benefits of your contact management software to a sales team, you do not need to focus on how easy it is to install.
- Structure the presentation carefully.
In your introduction, tell the audience what the key points of the presentation will be. Deal with these in the main part of the presentation. Then, at the end, summarise again the points you have covered.
- Keep your audience involved.
Never read from a typed script. Use appropriate visual aids. If your audience seem bored or distracted, invite questions to get their interest back.

3. A face-to-face meeting is your best opportunity to build a lasting rapport with the customer.
- Be interested. Encourage customers to talk about themselves and ask them questions about things that concern them.
- Show interest in the customer as a person. Remember personal information about family and out-of-office interests.
- Adapt to the character of the customer.
Make your style positive and confident, and discuss your product or service with enthusiasm.

1. Create a sense of urgency.
Try to convince the customer that he or she needs your product now.
- Link a quick sale to meeting the customer’s own needs and deadlines.
For example, ‘If you book the holiday now, we can get you the best rooms in the hotel.’ Or, ‘It’s in stock now, but I cannot guarantee it will still be available in a week’s time.’

2. Look for buying signals from the customer.
For example:
- ‘When would you be able to deliver?’
- ‘What other colours do you have?’
- ‘That would be really useful.’
- ‘This is just what we need.’
Once you have spotted a buying signal, be ready to close the deal.

3. Take responsibility for closing the sale. Be positive and upbeat.
The simplest way may be just to ask, ‘Can
I take your order now?’
- Take your cue from the customer.
For example, if he or she asks about the price of a product, say ‘So is that the product you would like to buy?’
- Propose alternatives. This makes it more difficult for the customer to say no. Ask, ‘Would you prefer it in green or blue?’
- When only one objection remains, make closing the sale conditional upon removing this obstacle.
For example, ‘If I can guarantee to bring the delivery date forward to meet your schedule, will you place the order now?’
Once you have asked for the sale, stop talking.
Your silence encourages the customer to think things through and reach a decision.

4. Agree actions and confirm these in writing, including timescales.
- Confirm that you have understood correctly what the customer wants.
Give your customers good after-sales service, so that they will want to buy from you again.

Do not be put off by objections —?they can be a sign that the customer is interested.
But make sure that you handle them in a direct and positive way.

1. Show the customer that you take the objection seriously.
- Listen carefully to find out what the customer really means.
For example, ‘The price is too high’ could mean ‘It’s over my budget sign off’ or ‘I’d buy it if you gave me a discount.’
- Summarise what you understand the objection to be.

2. Isolate, test and address objections.
- If there are several, clarify what each one is before tackling them all, one at a time.
- Test each objection. For example, ask ‘So, if I could satisfy you that delivery would be reliable, would you place an order?’
- If an objection is valid, address it and then ask if you have satisfied the customer’s concerns.

3. The most common objection to making a purchase is price.
Try to find out exactly what aspect of price the customer is unhappy with before deciding how to respond.
- Demonstrate the savings your product or service would bring.
- Sell the full package you offer, including your reliable after-sales service and the fact that there are no hidden costs.
- Explain how payment terms, credit or financing could make a deal possible.
- If the individual you are negotiating with does not have budget authority for the level of spending you propose, consider breaking the sale up into several smaller deals.