Starter Pack Before a Sales Conversation.

For a sale to be made, especially a high ticket sale, a conversation is somewhat inevitable.

Selling is both a science and an art. It requires a set of skills to be successful and make maximum impact. And just as with everything, preparation is important.

For sales, there are things you should arm yourself with before you head into a sales meeting, or even pick up the phone to engage a prospect in a conversation. That’s what this is all about.

In every conversation, perspective is important.

The way two different people will see a particular situation could vary tremendously. To present a matter in the way that a person will get the desired perspective, you must know the person to some extent.

That brings us to the first step to a successful sales conversation.

Research your audience.

To know a person, you have to put in some effort to get valuable information about who the person is, the interests, etc. to know your prospect, you have to learn about the person, the company s/he works for, their role there, their personal goals, their company’s goals, their pain points, people they have relationships with, even things they do for fun.

Just try to learn as much as you can about your prospect. Those information can serve as conversation starters to help your engagement with the prospect.

The next thing you have to do is to have a specific goal for the meeting. Don’t just go to the meeting without having a desired outcome.

Try to tie your goals with the prospect’s perceived goals. See if they align. Look for the point of mutual agreement and note it down. It will surely be necessary during the actual conversation.

Get a couple of questions that will confirm that your goal and that of the prospect align. They will help you show the prospect that your proposition is of benefit to them. As often said, “the person who asks questions is always in control of the conversation”.

When you have decided that you and your prospect have a mutual benefit, it’s time to decide the value of this benefit. The price of the value you have to offer your prospect should be decided upon. You can’t wait for the client to determine what your value is worth for you.

Set your price, and also determine whether or not you want to leave it open for negotiation.

There are usually objections in every sales call.

Determine the things that can make your prospect decline your offer or state a lower price to what you have declared. Also determine what your competitors are doing better that could make the prospect choose them over you.

When you have done so, you can go on to respond to the objections. These responses will determine whether or not your sales call will be successful. You should use the information you got about your prospect to answer the objections.

Sales calls are not anything scary.

They are simply meetings to offer the value you have to the customers in the best possible way. With the right knowledge and skills, you will be able to go have effective sales conversations.