I am relatively new to sales, and I need to improve my communication skills when meeting with potential new clients. I don’t want to come off as overbearing, but I also don’t want to be too humble. I would love to get some feedback on finding the right balance of persuasiveness and attentiveness. How do you do it to avoid sounding too pushy or desperate?
Advice on meetings with potential clients
Hi Georgia,
Good question. I always tell people, to grow into a great sales person don’t act like a sales person. Treat your meetings as if you are meeting with a friend. Remember people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.
One of my recent sales people would always walk into a room and talk about himself for 10 minutes before he asked a single question. Show that you care by asking questions. Know who your customer is so you can ask questions that lead them to an easy decision. If they tell you something of concern then ask about previous experiences.
Be confident in what you are selling and start presenting when you spot the customer needs through asking your questions. Make it very simple, complexity will loose them.
Your value is the solution you bring to the table in the service or product you sell and your personal service. The tipping point will always be your personal service, make yourself the point person for everything and that you are only one phone call away. Be confidant in that and hammer it home.
Good luck.
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Georgia,
Job Site Safety nailed it! Ask questions. If you don’t know what to ask, go to the successful sales people at your company and learn what they like to ask their customers.
Expect that you’ll make some mistakes. Just be sure to learn from them. Good luck & have fun!
I love the advice @JobSiteSafety and @shosie gave, but let me offer some more insight to your question, Georgia. Sometimes salespeople are stereotyped as pushy or aggressive, but if you work on your communication skills you can put these stereotypes to rest. To avoid pushing your product on prospects, understand the value of it. You won’t have to be pushy, if you truly believe your prodcut will benefit your customer. Never come off as aggressive. Understand that your prospects are in a delicate situation – should they choose you or a competitor? Understand their business, their point of view, their concerns. In short, Georgia – make it more about them and less about you.
Hey Georgia! Everyone’s giving great advice. I’d add that if you don’t want to come across as pushy but still want to be persuasive, try selling your product’s benefits instead of its features. That way, you’re still briefing your prospect on your product’s functionality, but through the perspective of how it will help solve their problems, which is way more convincing that just telling them about how great your product is. Plus, you’ll be presenting yourself as more of a consultant/advisor this way, instead of just a salesperson!