“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” —Vince Lombardi

The process of selling requires preparation. In order to be successful, it’s important to build a plan.

This starts with your weekly plan for sales activity. Hold yourself accountable for the year with 52 weekly targets. The farther ahead you are with planning, the easier it will be to secure appointments with customers and prospects. Perhaps the most important component of these appointments other than preparation is being able to execute an effective sales meeting.

Here are five steps for making sure your sales meetings are productive:

  1. Build rapport
    • Talk to people in their terms
    • Ask questions to understand the business — know why they buy
    • Confirm who makes the decision to buy
    • Uncover the actual budget
  2. Qualify early to find out how they buy 
    • Use open-ended questions that help uncover what’s important to the customer/prospect. Ask questions starting with who, what, where, when, why or how. You can also start with, “Help me understand…”
    • When asking questions to understand the business needs, remember that they should be talking more than you
    • Ask follow-up questions to find unresolved issues
    • Solve those issues to be effective at selling
  3. Ask for the commitment to consider
    • If you can deliver what works for them, can you get the business?
    • Tell the truth about products and how they benefit them
    • Explain the difference and the value you bring to the transaction
  4. Offer a solution
    • Recap what you heard they want and need: What is it? How does it work? What’s in it for them? How much?
    • Share successes with other customers and share testimonials
    • Be pleasant and likable — people buy from who they like
  5. Decide on what’s next
    • Set up next steps before ending the meeting
    • Confirm what you will do (and do what you say you will do) 
    • Hold both yourself and the customer accountable
    • Reconfirm what makes you different from the competition

Great salespeople are experts in their field and hold themselves accountable for all parts of the sales outcome. They have a strong sense of urgency and are willing to help others. Expertise leads to self-assurance, which leads to trust, and trust leads to more sales. Happy selling!