Mack Powers

One of the key aspects of success in sales is for the sales professional to build a professional and credible rapport with his prospect quickly when he meets with him.  This not only applies to a first meeting with a client but also for subsequent follow up meetings after the first call.  Anyone can build rapport quickly and establish a framework for success in selling.  However doing so requires some hard work and effort.  Have you thought much about how you will compete more effectively as a salesperson?  Have you considered the role of doing some hard work before meeting with your prospect?  When I was 19 years of age I had a job as a door to door salesperson and we called this pre-approach.  Pre-approach was learning as much about the customer before you knocked on their door so that you could anticipate their needs and position the product most effectively based upon what you already knew about them.  It seems so obvious that everyone would take this approach in selling, but you would be surprised how many sales “professionals” do not do their homework before their first meeting with their client.  See what Jeff Thull says about this subject in his book Mastering the Complex Sale:

“Successful salespeople take the time to prepare for the initial conversation with potential customers.  They construct external and internal profiles of the customer’s organization and ensure that those profiles match the profile of the ideal customer.  They identify the driving forces and perspectives at work in the customer’s organization and become familiar with the customer’s goals.  By completing this work, sales professionals lay the groundwork for a successful initial conversation.  They create a basis for engagement that enables them to speak with customers using the customer’s language, frame the initial conversation around issues of importance to their customers, and build a perception of professionalism in the customer’s mind that clearly differentiates them from their competition”.

Consider the following before your first meeting with a prospect:

• 1. What is the purchasing environment regarding the company that I am selling to?
• 2. What are the drivers for the decision maker/s that I will be talking with: quality, price, delivery, technical support during the sales process, all of the above?
• 3. How many decision makers will be involved in the purchasing process?
• 4. Who make the final decision about the solution being presented?
• 5. What language does my client use to describe their needs?
• 6. Will I need to bring in other members of my sales team to construct a solution for my client?

These are but a few of the many questions that you can ask yourself regarding how to build credible and professional rapport quickly with your prospect.  Doing this is a must in today’s competitive selling environment. Answer these questions before you meet with your next 10 prospects.  Measure your results during the sales cycle.  Let me know how your sales increase!  mack@mackpowers.com

Happy Selling!

I was talking today to a sales professional in the real estate industry. We were discussing how different the markets were today than they were 6-18 months ago. In the past, he said that his role was to bring a willing seller together with a willing buyer. In today’s market, he said that he now has to the difficult challenge of bringing a distressed seller, who is generally selling short, together with a buyer who is skeptical and wondering what is wrong with the deal.

As a sales professional, your value might be changing as well. In the past you probably have played the role of a facilitator. Today however, your role might be closer to the role of a mediator than you have ever experienced. Have you considered the difference? Consider that a facilitator is simply someone who makes progress easier. Therefore in the past your role was one of connecting people who were both comfortable and ready to move forward with a deal. In that environment there is little or no friction with both parties trying to get the deal done. Today as a sales mediator, you might need to position yourself differently. Why, because not everyone will be excited about having to carry out the transaction. Here are several thoughts about what mediation is. Even though buyers and sellers aren’t generally in a dispute, consider how these rules could be slightly modified and applied to you in your sales and business development role.

1. The role of the mediator is to reduce obstacles to communication, assist in identifying issues, exploring alternatives, and facilitating voluntary agreements resolving the dispute.
2. The mediator is responsible for assisting you in reaching informed and voluntary decisions while protecting your right of self-determination.
3. The mediator must maintain impartiality throughout mediation. Impartiality means freedom from favoritism or bias in word, action or appearance, and includes a commitment to assist all parties and not any one person.

Applying these rules will allow you to establish trust with any party who is not favorable towards the deal. Trust in every economy is at the heart of every deal. Try this new role out or a variation of them and let me know how they work for you.