Customer Engagement: Stand out from the crowd and gain trust
This is an excerpt from my book “The Corporate Sales Winners Guide”. Sales has always been a statistics-driven skill for me. Why? Because no matter how difficult the situation seemed … and no matter the excuses about the difficult circumstances …. I achieved success every time by not giving up.
Sales is a “numbers game.” By persevering and not giving up, you will always succeed in the end. For example, if you make ten cold calls, you will always grab at least one follow-up appointment. Regardless of the product and or service you are trying to sell.
As you practice even more and get better, the statistics start working more and more in your favor. That way, you’ll get better results every day. Since not all of your efforts are going to result in new orders, you should try to make as many qualified follow-up appointments as possible. You need to create and execute a continuous flow of appointments each week. By qualified, I mean there should always be a concrete reason and need from the customer.
In sales, sometimes you have to be selective and manage your time smartly
So you don’t just go around having coffee with everyone for fun! You simply don’t have the time for that, because you want to meet personal targets and make as much money as possible. OK, unless of course it is a potential top prospect with whom you would like to have a conversation. But then that’s the only exception.
Spend your time as efficiently as possible and always ask yourself these two questions:
- Can I help this client solve a problem?
- At which client can I earn the most and meet my targets the fastest?
In general, you should assume that out of all five customer appointments, you always convert one into an actual new customer. Especially in highly competitive markets, you should have no illusions, especially in the beginning. The meetings that do not immediately lead to a new customer may turn into something later. Especially if you call that group of customers up to twice a year and share new insights with them. Perhaps by then something will have changed and they will still become your customer!
The tips below for visiting potential clients first will score you points every time. Make sure you are well prepared! Read information about the company on their website.
- Who are they?
- What are their main products and services?
- What markets do they operate in?
- Who are their key customers and competitors?
Also read some recent press releases issued by the company itself. These are great starting points for starting a conversation. Show that you have prepared excellently. Something that is always greatly appreciated!
As a salesperson, good preparation is everything, bad preparation always leads to nothing!
The very worst thing for a customer is, when he gets a poorly- or unprepared salesperson to visit him. A salesperson who knows absolutely nothing about the company. It does not matter how many times you have already made a customer visit or how busy it is. You should always prepare well! Are you short on time? Then come fifteen minutes early and quickly prepare in the parking lot. Check the most important developments about the company on your phone. Find out how the main trends in the customer’s market relate to your products and services.
Presentation
Prepare a very short presentation for each visit. For example, with PowerPoint. And make sure you have it easily to hand and can start it up quickly. Think of up to five slides, in case the customer wants to know more about your company. Feel free to ask at the start of the meeting, if the client is interested in some very short informative slides. In the next chapter, I’m going to tell you more about presenting.
Planning
At the beginning of the meeting, it’s a good idea to ask exactly how much time is available. Until what time is the meeting room reserved? There is nothing more annoying than having to cancel the meeting early. Therefore, avoid unpleasant surprises. Summarize the most important items on the agenda at the start of the meeting. Check whether the client agrees with these points, or wants to add something. Common agreement on the agenda is very important for the smooth running of your meeting.
Icebreakers
Make sure you have a few topics prepared to break the ice with. And especially for those first five minutes, before the real meeting begins. For example, that period in the elevator, on the way to the meeting room, or at the coffee machine. There can be such unpleasant silences when neither of them knows what to talk about! For example, think about topics from the latest news, or compliment the office, or talk about that one press release you just read.
Listening and staying yourself: the 80/20 rule
Be yourself during the meeting. Don’t try to pretend to be anything other than who you are. Don’t come across as too pushy… Try not to focus too much on selling and closing. That will come naturally afterwards! Now it’s all about getting acquainted and discussing what you can do for the client. The most important thing is that you let the client talk as much as possible. Rule of thumb is 20% time for you and 80% for the client. While you listen, take notes for yourself. Later, when you start focusing more on closing the deal, you will be talking a lot more.
Taking notes
Take notes on things that really matter. If you are taking notes on a computer or tablet, first inform the client that you will be using a device to take notes. You don’t want him to think you are secretly checking your e-mail and coming across as uninterested, do you?
Current situation mapping
During the meeting, you naturally want to ask the client as many questions as possible. Below are some examples of questions that are going to help you identify the client’s current situation.
- Ask the client to say what he found interesting about your initial phone conversation and introduction, about the white paper he downloaded.
- Ask what he found most interesting and what is his reason for meeting with you here today.
- Then ask what he already knows about your company, whether he needs a short presentation as an impression.
- Ask the client to explain their current business situation and challenges. Ask how they currently have their IT set up and which vendors they are already working with.
It is important that you get as complete a picture of the current situation as possible.
Consequences and risks if no change
Once you have a good idea about the overall current situation, it is important to find out the consequences. The consequences, if the client decides not to change the current situation. That is, that he does nothing about the potential risks he has previously identified.
- What are the consequences if they don’t change?
- Does this create new risks or exacerbate an existing problem?
- What are the risks to the company and to your interlocutor?
Try to find out more information about the client’s main competitors. Who are they and what do they do differently? Ask the client what are the main opportunities and threats they face as a business. Now and in the future.
Deadlines and causing turmoil
Once you have a good idea of the risks and consequences of if one does not change in time, now is a good time to ask if there is a critical timeline. A period of time, during which a final decision for a new service or product must be made at the latest. Is there a critical deadline, for which the new solution must be implemented at the latest?
The following questions are very powerful, because they are going to cause anxiety in the client. His reaction to these questions is going to tell you a lot about how critical the situation really is. Both for the company and for your interlocutor himself!
- Ask what happens if the deadline is not met.
- How does this affect the company and the achievement of its business goals?
- How does failure to meet the deadline affect your client’s personal situation?
Decision Making Unit (DMU).
Of course, you also want to find out who all are involved in the decision process. What influence and role they have in making a decision. We call this group of people the “Decision Making Unit,” or DMU for short.
- Who are the actual end users of the service or product?
- Who can have the greatest influence on the final decision?
- Who will sign the order (person authorized to sign)?
- Who should give financial approval for placing that order?
- Who has the greatest influence on this signatory?
- Who can stop the order at the last minute and why?
- Still, why could the decision possibly be delayed?
Without that information, we have no idea what the decision path looks like. Thus, we cannot influence key people at critical moments during the sales process.
Budget
Imagine … you work extremely hard. In the end you are the lucky winner of a complicated long tender and yet the project does not go ahead, because suddenly there is no budget left. You can’t explain that to your boss and to the director! Therefore… double check and check during the sales process that there is actually (and still) budget.
Selection Criteria
Try to find out at least three to four criteria that weigh heavily in making a decision. Then ask in order which of these factors weighs most heavily.
- What are the most important factors considered when making a decision?
- Which reason is most important when isolating price and not including it in the consideration?
It often happens that the customer says that price is very important. However, some customers will not want to acknowledge that price is the most important reason. You should still try to find this out in subtle ways, as this will determine your chances of success and strategy for closing the deal.
Reaching agreement
Now comes one of the most important moments of the meeting, which is reaching an agreement with the customer. You should briefly summarize everything the customer has just told you.
- Ask, if you can make a deal and become their preferred supplier, if you can meet all the points and requirements.
The answer you get to this question and the commitment are going to help you determine the next step. Also the likelihood that it will actually come to a deal. You can confront the customer with this later, if he threatens not to choose you after all. Say, you had agreed that it would come to a deal if you matched all the points the client had asked for.
Next steps and conclusion of the meeting
Before finalizing the meeting, it’s best to check what requirements the commercial offer should meet. What should you pay extra attention to if you are going to make an offer to the client?
Re-agree on the next steps. Record when the next contact between the two of you will take place again. Make sure that you remain in control each time. That you contact them yourself at the times you have agreed. Then it is also more compelling and much more difficult for the client to cancel … without a really valid reason.
Close the meeting and briefly reiterate the main points you discussed together. Also repeat the “pay-off” for the client (reward), if you are actually going to work together in the future. Thank for the meeting and the pleasant acquaintance and emphasize when you will get back to the client by mail or phone with the offer.
Every meeting and every encounter with a customer is different. And that’s one of the reasons why working in sales continues to be so much fun. If you keep applying these principles during your appointments, you create more certainty and eliminate surprises and mistakes. You are always maximally prepared and you can very well predict what the success rate will be that it will come to a deal. We will cover this in detail in a later chapter.
Thanks to the structured information you have gathered so far, you will start closing more deals. This is how you will earn the respect of both your client and your boss.
You are going to win fantastic new clients for the company and earn thousands of dollars in bonus on top of your regular salary every time!
Book Source
The corporate sales winners guide: Transform your life and become a top sales performer – by Gerrit Jan de Vries. Available on Amazon, Google Play Books and Bol.com.