Websites. Software. Consulting

Offering the right solution for the right opportunity.

By Mark Truman

Added Tuesday 14/04/2009

Since my last blog post (a good couple of hours ago) I have had a strange addictive impulse to keep going, so I have chosen something in which I hold a great amount of experience - sales.

A contact of mine named Nayan asked me a good question earlier today- what are the most important factors when meeting and speaking with clients, old or new. I have decided to share with you the answer I gave to him:

There are no set rules in sales as everybody has their own unique style. However, there are still certain methods and techniques you can follow.

It is firmly believed that the first impression you make on a client can be the difference between winning and losing a piece of business. Hence when meeting with clients, you need to make sure you look like your best (if the meeting is face-to-face), and that you are firm, assertive and polite.

It is vital to have a good understanding of your product or service so that you have a solution to offer. In the case of Totally Communications there would be no point offering somebody a website who has had theirs redeveloped recently but we would use our knowledge and expertise to see if they could benefit from professional SEO or PPC management. Therefore this understanding of all our services allows us to sell to the need for a company that specialises in all business processes. However this doesn't tell us why the potential client needs this product or service!

This leads me to my next point. The most important thing, whether it be face-to-face or over the phone, is to listen.

This may sound obvious, but this is what the best sales people do. They listen. They identify/establish a need and sell to it. If the need is not there, they create one.

For example:

Salesman: How do you currently go about your advertising?
Potential Client: I advertise in the national paper.
Salesman: And what are the benefits of that? (always positive)
Potential Client: It is good because I can reach lots of different markets.
Salesman: Okay, and why is it important that you reach so many different markets?
Potential Client: Because our client base is geographically diverse.
Salesman: So what would be the benefit to you of reaching more clients?
Potential Client: Well reaching more clients would allow me to make more sales.
Salesman: What could you use the extra turnover for?
Potential Client: Well I could reinvest it into a new product.

You could go on but we will leave it there.

Now for the review:

Salesman: Taking all that information into account, I recommend that you look at advertising online. This allows you to reach lots of different markets regardless of their geographic location allowing you to make more sales and use the extra turnover to launch a new product.

You found (or in other words 'created') a need. The potential client is now thinking about the potential of investing in a new product and will consider using internet advertising to drive sales to create the turnover to do this. This allows them to start asking you the questions- therefore it becomes a conversation and not a questionnaire. The ball is now in your court.

This is an extreme example of course, but it does show the basic principle that the majority of sales is listening and selling back to what you hear. By asking open questions and always finding out why you give yourself a much better chance of making a sale.

Good luck!