You are meeting with a prospective client this week. You want to land this deal and, at the same time, have the now-new client walking away happy and satisfied. In order to do that, take a look at these 10 effective ways to make face-to-face sales meetings that much more successful.
1. Make Sure All Electronic Devices are on Silent
This is may seem like a no-brainer, but, this step is easily forgotten when you’re preparing for a sales meeting. Take a minute to make sure you cell phone is on silent (or off), as well as any other electronic devices in meeting environment. At the end of the day, you don’t want to make a bad first impression, and a ringing cell phone or an email notification beep on your laptop could set you in the wrong direction.
2. Be Personable, Not Sales-y
While you may have your sales hat on, you’re still a human being. Clients don’t just go with products and services that meet convenience needs; they need to know that the person on the other end is trustworthy and has their best interests at heart. So, downplay the sales marketing pitches, and simply talk to the client as you would anyone else.
This means asking a couple non-salesy questions up front (such as how the drive was, did they watch the football game, etc.) and avoid using jargon. In other words, talk to them on a human level.
3. Take Advantage of Technology
Utilize technology—such as PowerPoint—to bring a visual experience to the face-to-face meeting. You want to make sure the client not only hears what you have to say but sees it. Besides, people are either visual, auditory, or tactile learners. Providing them not just auditory but visual means to explain the product or service will increase the chances of a more mutually beneficial and productive face-to-face sales meeting.
4. Don’t Come with a Marketing Pitch
This relates to Point #2, but it needs to be mentioned by itself—it’s that important. While, overall, you need to prepare for the meeting, having a memorized pitch isn’t going to cut it. It will come across as not genuine, possibly even too restrictive.
5. Don’t Wait Until the Night Before to Prepare
Preparation is necessary, but procrastinating until the last minute may make the meeting take a turn for the worst. You could have spent the night before preparing graphs and rehearsing talking points, however, because you didn’t get enough sleep, those points could fall flat. You could even risk losing the prospective account simply because it comes across like you are not prepared.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Just because you are the only member from your company meeting up with the client does not mean you have to shovel all of the hard work. If you are overwhelmed or want some presenting pointers, ask a trusted co-worker (or your boss) for some advice. Perhaps, they can help create the PowerPoint while you are going over what you will say?
7. Give the Prospective Client a Company Memento
Maybe you have a company pen or company binder with the logo on it? Give the prospective client these as a token of gratitude as well as a reminder to help them remember the company. That way, several weeks after the meeting when the client isn’t thinking about it, pulling out the memento will serve as a reminder and could result in a call-back. For example learn here about logos.
8. Start and End with a Firm Handshake
While it is polite, a handshake also demonstrates professionalism and assertiveness. That said, make sure you start and end the meeting with one.
Final Thoughts
Face-to-Face sales meetings don’t have to be a drag. In fact, with some slight moderations—such as a firm handshake, asking for help, and utilizing technology for more visual learning stimulation—you can gain the prospective client’s trust and begin the start of a great partnership.
Have any more pointers? How has your face-to-face sales meetings gone? Do you agree or disagree with our pointers? Have any other thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below.
