Very few things are as effective as getting in front of your prospect so that you can pitch face-to-face. The system of sales meetings is simple. The more meetings you schedule, the more money you make. Unfortunately, scheduling more than a few meetings a month can be a difficult and time consuming process. How many sales meetings do you get scheduled in a month? More importantly, what are you doing to schedule those meetings, and is there anything you could be doing better? If you aren’t on the selling end of at least ten sales meetings a month, I suggest adjusting your system, and focusing more on your initial prospecting campaign.
Entrepreneur magazine recently published a guest article by Marc Wayshak detailing seven ways sales professionals can start scheduling more meetings.
- Organized prospecting campaigns. If you are selling something, it is important that your prospect at least knows who you are. Before you make that first call, or send that first email, consider sending over a dozen glazed, a branded mug, and a business card. If someone sent you a surprise breakfast, I guarantee you’d be a little more inclined to speak to them. If donuts are involved, I sure as hell would be.
- Book public speaking engagements. In the beginning, this may be difficult, but by offering to speak for free you should accelerate the process. Don’t think about it as if you aren’t gaining any compensation from a speaking engagement, think about it like you’re walking into a conference room with 100 people who are ready to buy. They lined up because they are interested in what you have to offer. Be engaging, give them what they came for, and they will view you as an expert. This is the important part because people like to buy stuff from people they view as experts. Think of your product as if it is advice. Would you be more receptive to advice from the speaker of a seminar, or someone eating sugar packets in the hall way? It’s easy.
- Ask for introductions. According to the article from Entrepreneur, you should spend 15 minutes a day to ask someone in your network if they know anyone that could potentially benefit from your service. Do not get me wrong, I am all for word of mouth, but this seems excessive. Grilling your prospects, customers, family or friends on a daily basis would get old fast. However, by mastering your craft, and providing superior service before and after the transaction has occurred, your network will do this stuff for you. Provide people with positive experiences and they will most definitely spread the word.
- Write articles. The best way to position yourself as an expert in your field is to… Share your knowledge with others. Not only will this drive significant traffic to your website, it makes you appear knowledgeable and brings potential customers right to you. Also, by being strategic with the keywords in the articles you publish, you can get a better idea as to what subjects your customers are more interested in and the subjects they wish to learn more about.
- Create special reports. Prospects aren’t going to buy anything from you if you cannot properly communicate the value of what you’re selling. The only thing on their minds during your pitch is “What can this do for me?”, and as a salesperson, it’s your job to explain this to them. Research industry trends and illustrate the many ways your product or service can benefit them.
- Host an event. This is a great strategy. Especially when volunteering to speak at events isn’t an option. Simply book a venue that is the right setting for the product or service you are selling, and offer something of value to your attendees. I would suggest inviting other people to speak as well. Hopefully they will return the favor and invite you to speak at one of their engagements, but most importantly, think about your guests. Two or three speakers in a two hour period is a lot more engaging than one.
- Conduct a small study. You do not have to spend three years and a million dollars on this. Come up with a set of questions, share them on social media, and ask your prospects to participate over the phone or via email. Not only will the finished study benefit your sales process, but the fact that your prospects know you are conducting a survey, will most definitely help your credibility.
Read the full article from Entrepreneur.com here
7 Tips for Getting More Sales Meetings With Prospects
The concept is simple — more meetings equals more sales, which equals more income. Most salespeople understand the importance of setting meetings in order to crush their sales goals, but very few are doing the necessary work to make those meetings happen. Setting meetings doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming.