101's FOR DISCOVERY MEETINGS

Picture Source

With a modern consultative selling approach, the ability to conduct a successful discovery meeting is imperative. The discovery meeting is where you get the initial information from which you will build your proposals and show how you can add value to your prospects business. Over the next 3 post I will be sharing some tips on how to run a successful discovery meeting, from preparing for the meeting to the types of question you need to ask, and even how to listen to the answers. 


So here a few 101's for setting up and framing the initial meeting 


Make sure you are dressed appropriately, greet the client with a smile, be professional, and be confident.  

·      Plan your meeting – YES that’s right, plan your meeting. Before you walk into a meeting, you need to have done some research on the client. You should have a clear goal as to what you want, at a minimum, to get from the meeting and you should also have a good idea on how you can add value to their business.

·     Introduce yourself, what your job is (if your title does not clearly represent what you do – explain it briefly), who you work for, and what your company does (ensure this is within the context of your UPB* and VBR);

·       From the outset, take control of the meeting by setting the agenda –

• Explain the purpose of your visit, again orientate around your VBR,
• Establish how much time your prospect has and agree a time to finish
• Ask if it's okay to take notes (some business information may be sensitive,)

·    Try to focus on their business from the outset by asking if it's okay to start by asking a few questions or if they would prefer a quick overview of your own company first. If the later is the case, plan to give a quick, concise and honest overview that establishes credibility, and allows you to return the focus to their business as soon as possible.

E.g. "I'd like to learn about your business and what your key challenges and goals are, and then if appropriate, to explain how we might be able to approach these issues. Then if we feel there are some opportunities for us both, we can agree on the next steps"

·   Use questioning to establish rapport, learn about their business, including key challenges, issues, concerns, and their objectives, or goals moving forward. 

In my next blog I'll give you some tips on what questions you should ask and  how to ask them. 

* UPB acronym and concept was originated by The Marketing Guild

OBJECTION HANDLING

Picture Source 

I only really use the term "Objection" within the initial stages of the sales process. Like many of the more modern consultative selling approaches, once the sale moves through to the presentation and negotiation stage I consider what would be traditionally thought of as an “objections” as “Concerns”. 

When you do come across objections don't panic, remember an objection is not necessarily a NO, it's generally a "Not Yet" (you have not sold me), or "I need more information" (I don't fully understand, appreciate or agree with the benefits). So take a step back and consider these five steps to help deal with and overcome objections. 

1. Listen

To handle any objection, you really need to understand the objection, so LISTEN to what the prospect is saying – resist the urge to jump in and respond until they are done, instead use active listening methods, including both verbal, and non verbal (when appropriate) encouragement to learn as much about their objection as possible.  

2. Clarify

Clarify your understanding of their objection though questioning. This not only allows you to get more information, it gives you a little more time to think about the appropriate response.

In the response listen for tone, observe body language (when appropriate), and consistency in the body of the objections. (If the objection is not what it appeared to be initially, the prospect may either not entirely understand what they are objecting to or may well be just trying to get rid of you – it’s important to know which it is, as they require different responses)

3. Think

Think about your response, even if it’s a common objection that you deal with regularly, think about how you can tailor your response to this specific situation and client.

4. Respond

Deliver your response to the client, (be wary of your tone, body language)

5. Check

Finally, check to ensure you have handled their objection.

This is also a good opportunity to delve deeper and ask if they have any other objections as it is better to deal with all of them now then find out later they had un-resolved objections.  

Planning the Ideal sales week

Picture Source

I recently posted a blog about the power of allocating “Hour of powers” throughout your day to improve your effectiveness. Today I want to touch on how to plan your ideal sale week.

Firstly, why we plan. Selling is fundamentally a numbers game with a very basic principle behind the math:

 Greater the # of prospects in the pipeline = greater  # sales. 

This holds true for all levels of experience and expertise, the only thing that changes is your conversation rate, i.e. the better you get, the fewer clients your need to convert sales.  

Setting your ideal sales week essentially revolves around allocating dedicated time to focus on core functions in order to maximise selling time, and by scheduling your weekly work load around these key selling functions.

These core activities are:

1. Planning

2. Prospecting

3. Cold Calling

4. Building Proposals

5. Sales Presentations

6. Client Service

7. Forecasting

Always prioritize client facing work within key business trading times and admin tasks outside of key trading hours.

I know what you’re thinking, “Never going to happen, too many distractions etc. in the real world!”

I agree it’s extremely hard to actually execute this plan on a daily basis, BUT it’s still better to have a plan then not, and anything that helps you be more efficient, more often is a good thing.

 Example Week: