Let’s say you’re at a networking function and you spend a good 30 minutes speaking to an individual you may be able to work with at some point down the line. You might be able to sell him your products or services or you might be able to form some sort of joint venture. Whatever the case, you are preparing to end this stunningly productive conversation by handing your new contact your business card.

BORING

Sadly, if your only plan is to hand your prospect a business card you might as well just dump all of your business cards into the nearest trash bin. Your card will likely make it into the pile of “business cards from networking events” this gentleman already has on his desk back in the office. Your card will not stand out from the rest and, as a result, you will be forgotten.

So what should you do?

Make a show out of not just giving your business card but of taking out a pen and writing something important on the card. Write your personal email address (as opposed to your business address), your home phone number, your cell phone number – something that isn’t pre-printed on the card to begin with.

Doing so will make the person you’re working with feel special – as though he or she has access to you on a level not many others share. You will have personalised the experience and, as a result, given yourself a better chance of hearing from that person again in the future.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

The five main buying roles. That sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it?

What it illustrates, though, is that in many cases more than one person will be involved in the process of purchasing the product you are trying to sell. In some cases one person may embody all five of these roles, but in others you may have to deal with 2, 3, or maybe even all 5 different people.

Are you prepared to appeal to that many different mindsets?

The five main buying roles are as follows:

1. The Initiator – the person who decides to start the buying process.
2. The Influencer – the person who tries to convince others they need the product.
3. The Decider – the person who makes the final decision to purchase.
4. The Buyer – the person who is going to write you the check.
5. The User – the person who ends up using your product, whether he had a say in the buying process or not.

If you’re smart you’ll find out who all of these people are well in advance and prepare a presentation that can be tailored to all of their interests at the same time. If you’re lucky you will only have to deal with one person, but in the event that more than one person needs to be in on the decisio you’ll need to be ready to answer all of their questions and objections.

Are you prepared?

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Prospecting and networking may not be natural to you but it’s not something you can’t learn to do. The worst feeling in the world, though, is walking into a room, realising you know no one, and then trying to figure out where to start.

Fortunately, I have good news for those who are a bit shy. Building rapport with new people is a skill that can be learned. Your conversations with new people and strangers don’t have to be strained and jilted. Besides, if you can build up a personal rapport first you’ll have an easier time discussing business later on.

So what can you do to build rapport? Try these approaches:

• Dress to impress. The first thing a person will notice about is is the way you look. As a matter of fact, they’ll look at your appearance before they even greet you. Make sure your hair is done, your clothes are clean, and that you are dressed in a style similar to what your customer wears daily.
• Be disarmingly honest. What I mean is that you shouldn’t answer the standard greeting questions with the same old “Fine – how are you?” responses all the time. Occasionally you should be honest when answering this type of question. Laugh the question off and tell them about the rough start you had that morning or relay a funny story about your children. Your answer, while honest, will be completely unexpected.
• Incorporate a sincere complement into your conversation. The next time you meet with a customer, prospect, or peer pay special attention to him and his business. Let him know if you see something that really makes a positive impression. He’ll appreciate the compliment and it will open up doors for continued conversation.

These are just three simple tips for establishing rapport but you can see from these how easy it really is to strike up a conversation with someone you know very little about. Try to make a connection on a personal leve and the rest of your prospecting experience will go much smoother.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

In sales, you’ll come across three types of people. Those who are ready to buy, those who can be convinced to buy, and those who simply don’t care about what you have to say. As a salesperson you should, obviously, seek to build relationships with people who are ready to buy, but the trick is to understand WHY they are ready to buy so that you can appeal to their wants and needs.

There are nine key factors that usually motivate a person to buy a product. They are:

1. Ambition – they want to move their businesses forward and will buy whatever it takes to help them do so.
2. Status – they believe that their social and economic statuses demand they have the latest and greatest products.
3. Ego – they take great pride in their organisations and want to have nothing but the best, fastest, and most effective products and services.
4. Greed – they simply want to collect new products, be the first to have them, and be better than the competition.
5. Security – having the newest products and services makes some business owners feel as though they are secure in their position in the marketplace.
6. Fear of loss – no one wants to be the last one to get a new product – or to be the last one able to offer it to his clients or prospects.
7. Prestige – will having your product make this organisation stand out from the rest?
8. Pride of ownership – some organisations simply take pride in owning new products, make the most out of their function, and take care of them properly. They want to add something functional to their arsenal.
9. Desire – some people care less about the product than they do about having it before their peers or competition.

As superficial as some of these motives seem, they still drive certain people to buy. Find a prospect that falls into one of these categories, act quickly, and make a great presentation. You’re almost guaranteed a sale.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker