Preparation Makes Selling Easier
Updated: Feb 1
Want to start business relationships faster and easier? Good preparation will help you kick off your relationship and grow your business quicker.
Remember selling is not intuitive or something people are “just good at”. It is a multi-step process that anybody can master:
Preparation
Approach
Presentation
Handing objections
Closing the sale
Follow-up
You now have a good list of prospects – so what is next?
Preparation is all about researching your prospect. Preparation will help you to customize your presentation of your business in a way that resonates with the prospect and focuses on the value that your business will provide. In addition, integrating the needs and wants of your prospect demonstrates that you are respectful of their time – who doesn’t like that? Good preparation will increase your success rate dramatically leading to business growth.
Check out easy tips below to help you become great at preparation:
Google it
Of course this is the first step! See what you can learn by googling their name. You may find links to their social pages, community events they are involved in or learn more about their background. This only takes a few minutes and you can do it anywhere from your phone.
If you are selling to a prospect in a business, Google the business name as well and really read their website. What are their key products or services? Who is their target market? What is their value proposition? Click through all the pages and understand what they do. You get bonus points if you look at their competitor's websites as well!
Check social (and connect)
Depending on how the prospect has set their privacy settings, you may be able to see their social profiles. If you know the person reasonably well, you can request to connect with them. If you do not know them, do not request to connect until after you have met them. Once you are connected to them feel free to like and interact with their posts.
If your prospect is a business, find their business social pages and follow them. Like and interact with their business posts. It will help boost their posts which they will appreciate!
Consider their interests
After you have done some initial research think a bit about what interests them. Is it family? Community? Technology? Sports? Think about how their interests match up with yours – this will help you connect with them on a personal level. It will make conversation more natural and enjoyable.
For some people initiating a conversation with somebody they don’t know is pretty difficult. They don’t know what to say and are afraid of making a mistake. Starting a conversation with mutual interests makes this task so much easier. Get to know each other personally before getting into the business!
Note that many people skip this step and go straight into presenting their products and services. As you move through the selling process this preparation will become evident to your prospect and make you stand out. They will really appreciate the effort that you took to understand them!
Want to learn how to increase revenues, expand profitability, improve quality, invest wisely and develop personally? Let’s connect! Book a complimentary meeting with me today and be well on your way to growing your business this year!