How you present yourself and your company in your first meeting might allow you to get to the point where you can talk price! Don’t waste your buyers’ time by holding a non-productive meeting. While you cannot always predict if a meeting will be productive or not, there are definite steps you can take to increase the chance that the meeting is beneficial to all involved.
Follow these five steps to make the most out of your meetings, and endear yourself to your audience.
Ensure your meeting is structured
If your appointment came from making a telephone call then stick to the topic that first got them interested. Do not make the mistake of trying to cover thirty subjects in one meeting. Everyone is busy! Talk about too many topics and they will forget the important ones. Make it short, sweet, and to the point. If they have questions, they will ask.
Give yourself a time limit
Too many sales people make the mistake of thinking it is okay to talk for an hour with no breaks. If you have thirty minutes of information to share, break it into two fifteen minute segments, with a question and answer session in between. Another option is to pass out relevant papers, brochures or other items during this interval. In other words, give the people who are in your meeting a break. They will be more willing to listen to the rest of your speech if you do this.
Provide relevant information before the meeting
If it is possible, send out relevant information before the actual meeting takes place. This ensures that everyone is prepared and there will not be time lost by having to explain everything. This doesn’t mean you have to provide a copy of what you will be saying. Rather, you should give a basic outline of the information you are going to share, and encourage the people who are coming to the meeting to think of questions and ideas before the meeting time.
Don’t single anyone out before the meeting
If you know and are familiar with a few of the people you will be talking to, do not try to approach them before the meeting with your agenda. Be fair. Use the meeting as an opportunity to address everyone as equals. A few half-hearted supporters are not going to do anything for you except make those singled out feel uncomfortable.
Listen
This is the most important rule to remember. Do not be so set on what you are going to say and how you are going to say it that you do not listen to the people who are there. If someone asks a question and you move along without answering, you risk damaging your reputation and turning your audience against you. Be a listener first and your audience will respect you.
Follow these steps to ensure the most productivity out of your next meeting with potential buyers.
What is your best tip for keeping your audience engaged? Are you a buyer than could give out some tips related to this? Please leave a comment or share this article with your friends and followers by using the social buttons!
