Making the most of your Meet the Buyer appointments Closing the Deal Making the most of your Meet the Buyer appointments Seamus McAdams i2 TOTAL MARKETING #DCCBOP @DCCBOP www.twitter.com/DCCBOP

Areas to be covered What is Selling? Your Sales Presentation – creating a positive impression with buyers Closing the Meeting & Following Up

Event Format Pre arranged, private meetings Meetings last for 15 minutes only, Move on to your next appointment. So, Focus, punctuality and precision is the key!

Purpose of the Day To make Buyers better aware of your work. To develop new business relationships. To increase your sales.

What is Selling? + Understanding what customers are trying to do Helping them to make buying decisions they consider sensible

Unawareness  Awareness Interest Active Interest Purchase The Buying Process Unawareness  Awareness Interest Active Interest Purchase

Meet the Buyer – What the buyers say! Listen to us Have your research done Know what you want to know Practice your questions Avoid “war stories” Follow up with any contact as discussed Try to be as quick as you can

What’s preventing you from winning sales with corporate / public sector? Discuss amongst yourselves in groups of 2-3 what you think is stopping you sell more to the public sector?

It’s all about: Knowledge Skills Attitude Is your attitude in good shape?

Knowledge What do you need to know? About the buyer (the actual end user as well as the buyer you meet today) The contracts out there and renewal dates Who is currently delivering them? How strong is the competition? What changes are taking place?

Skills You need to know how: To research the buyer, the competition and the market To be able to match suitable products and services to different markets The buying process works for each buyer

Attitude You need to be: Positive Determined Self Motivated Able to get along with people Open minded & Flexible Confident Fearless

Effective Sales Presentations

1. Preparing for the Sale Who am I going to meet? Get the buyer name and organisation right! 2. What message do I want to deliver? What products/services am I selling today? Are they relevant to the buyer? What Questions do I need answered What support material will I need? Prices? Remember - 20 minute meeting!

Purpose of the Meeting - AGENDA? To inform them about my company. To introduce and gain feedback on products & services. To find out what/who is involved in the buying process. To find out what next stage is. To close the sale?

By the end of the meeting, the buyer needs to know: Who You Are What You Do Why They Should Use You (benefits) What follow up to expect, if any

2. Approach - First Impressions Count Personal Presentation – Well Groomed Manner – Relaxed, Confident Be organised – Visuals Aids/Samples/Prices Be clear and succinct Set the agenda Control the meeting with questions

2. Approach (contd) Use active listening – listen twice as much as you speak!

3. Identify Customer Needs Why? Knowing more about your customer than your competitor, will mean that everything you do will be better directed to meet the customer’s needs and result in a successful sale.

Identify Customer Needs How? Do research on each buyer before the event. Visit their website to get a good idea of their customer needs. Read the Buyer Profile. Prepare questions in advance of meetings.

Ask Open Ended Questions During the meeting, probe with open ended questions i.e. ones that don’t require a yes/no answer. Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?

4. The Persuasive Presentation Aim to make what you say Understandable Attractive Credible

Make it Understandable Think about explanations and descriptions - try them out. Make explanations thorough and precise, providing only appropriate level of detail Match the level of technicality to individual buyers’ knowledge and experience Avoid excessive use of jargon

Make it Attractive “People don’t buy products or services, but what they do for them” Explain the features - Sell the benefit Benefits must be matched to the individual needs of the customer Benefits must be clearly described and illustrated to add power to the case Sell the price (don’t defend the price)

Make it Credible By Indicating: Who you supply, customer reference lists can inspire confidence. How long you have been in business. Where you trained/worked before. Awards you have won/special commissions. Why you think your product/service is suitable to the buyer

The Persuasive Presentation - Samples Use good, clean, presentable samples (no defects, scratches or fingerprints) Let the customer look at them uninterrupted. How you hold and present your product will speak volumes to the customer about how you feel about it. Only move on in the discussion when their attention returns to you. Remove the sales aid so that it does not distract.

Active listening When buyer is answering your questions: Demonstrate you are interested in what buyers say. Maintain eye contact, take notes. “Mirroring!!!” Think about what your customer is saying and what products/services you offer that are relevant to them.

5. Handling Objections Objections occur in every sales meeting Don’t be surprised, be prepared!

Handling Objections Buyers use objections to: Consider both the positive and negative aspects of the offer Take a considered view Get you to talk about specifics (that are not necessarily part of the planned presentation) Clarify points not fully understood or adequately covered Assess you and what is being offered

Handling Objections Regard them as a sign of interest, an opportunity List previous objections and anticipate new ones Prepare clear, succinct and persuasive answers Don’t let objections deteriorate into arguments

Handling Objections Establish the real objection and clearly acknowledge it Deal with the objection immediately Answer the objection completely Check that the customer is satisfied with the answer Move on

Handling Objections Dealing with the Price Objection Know your product and why it is more or less expensive Know your competitor’s product and price and why it differs Focus on quality, performance and “enhanced” benefits of your product Sell “Value for Money”

6. Methods for Closing Direct request -¨    Shall we go ahead?’ ‘How much would you like?’ ‘When shall we start?’ Command - ‘Lets get this organised;’ ‘let me have written confirmation and I will put matters in hand’ Immediate gain - ‘If you give me the go ahead now, then I can have it up and running by the end of the month’ Fear close - ‘If you are not able to give me the go-ahead today, that deadline is really going to cause problems’

Methods for Closing Alternatives - ‘Would you like 10 or 20?’ ‘Do you want to schedule this for this month? Summary - ‘So, you are happy with twenty of these and twenty of those in different colours. When would you like them delivered? Assumption - ‘Right, we seem to be agreed. Let me get the documentation sorted and we can go on from there’

Always close and always do it confidently and positively

Keep Good Records Do up a "lead card" which contains: the person's name, title, address, phone number, e-mail address (all these can come from a business card) needs/interests budget and timing Use this info for your follow-up

FOLLOW UP Remember It takes up to 14 separate contacts to secure an order.

Don't let your leads get cold! Devote MORE time and effort following up your leads as you did for the MTB event. Generally the first contact should be in writing/email within the first week. Your letter/email should be an acknowledgement of your meeting and the subjects discussed

Your prompt handling of requests for additional information will show potential clients you value their time and provide quality customer service.

Good Luck! Thank you for Listening Seamus McAdams i2 Total Marketing #DCCBOP @DCCBOP www.twitter.com/DCCBOP