1. Research! Know your customer – get a clear understanding of their business and industry as a whole. What are their needs? What are their goals? How can your project match these and improve their business opportunities? Be prepared and do this ahead of your calls as it will give you a good idea of what USPs will interest the lead the most.
2. Find the decision maker – in large corporate companies, you can often find yourself on the ‘call transfer carousel’... being passed from gatekeeper to gatekeeper and no closer to getting the sale. It is critical that you know who the decision maker is and get through to that individual as quickly as possible. Research on LinkedIn, ask your leads, etc.
3. Equality mindset – C-Suite can be a little daunting. Improve your confidence by seeing yourself as an equal to the prospect. Match their tone, gain their respect and their attention and ultimately their sale. Do not see yourself as a subservient, because they will too!
4. Open questions! The last word you want to hear is ‘no’, so by asking open questions not only do you get more information about the prospect, their interests and business needs, you also make it hard to say those dreaded 2 letters and keep the sale opportunity open for negotiation.
5. Drum-up interest – find those within the company that are familiar with your product (trialists, subscribers, newsletter readers, etc) or are in a relevant job role and reach out to them. The more interested parties you can take to the decision maker – the bigger the sale will be.
6. Be ready to handle objection! People say no for a limited number of reasons – ensure that you know your product well enough to turn these around. Explain the value of your product to their specific circumstances. If the matter is out of your hands and theirs, then ensure you get a referral to another colleague.
7. Push up/cross sell opportunities – every sale is 'good' but make your sales great by looking to up and cross sell every time. Push for extra users, premium or higher-priced versions, sister publications, ensure all delegates bring colleagues, etc. This will maximise your revenue potential.
8. Get a timescale/create a sense of urgency – get the prospect to confirm a date and time at which they are available to speak again and send them a meeting request so they have it in their calendar. Use discounts, deadlines and the number of available spaces to your advantage, it will get the sale closed quicker.
9. Be patient, yet persistent – keep on top of re-calls and your inbox. Never leave a customer waiting too long for a response or a follow up – you will miss out! Typically, it takes 6-8 calls to close the sale, so don’t be disheartened if you are having to chase them a little.
10. ‘Theatre Ticket Close’ – ready to close? Ask your leads “what credit card are we using?” as opposed to, “how would you like to pay?”. If possible, always get a card payment for your product. Outstanding invoices mean less money for the client and less commission for the sales rep – card payments are instant.
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