Relationship Selling – Interview Your Prospects – Yes You Can
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Thesis : You need to know your prospects on a much greater professional and personal level then knowing that they have the authority to place an order.
Begin by openly telling them you try to gather information on their company and the company needs in order to meet those needs.Tell them, ” Frankly I don’t want to waste my time and yours if those needs and our services don’t make a great fit” .
That makes sense for both of you. You can’t afford the time and expense of presentations and calls when there is little or no possibility of a connection. The exception is the early interview stage where you are exchanging information to determine where their interests and yours connect.
Do Your Homework – before that first meeting:
I have been discussing my marketing and publishing needs for my new book with a number of potential suppliers.Before meeting with them I ask them to review my company website to learn what I do . I ‘d say at least half of the persons seeking a portion of my budget don’t bother. That makes a poor impression ( on me) of how diligent they’d be in doing any work.
More Than Enough Information Is Available To The Deligent
All public companies have a wealth of basic information available on their and on sites such as Dun and Bradstreet . Dun’s is a credit reporting company that collects and publishes data on public and private companies. Trade magazines at a minimum will tell you the latest trends in various sectors . State or provincial departments collect and publish data on all manner of economic trends . You can google the name of the company , industry and individuals in the management chain for more information than you can reasonably use . Think of the positive impression you make when you appear so knowledgeable and up to date in your meeting. Your competition is going to be asking how they spell their company name – when you can discuss the latest trends in the business that occupies their waking hours.
Even though they may not acknowledge the preparation you’ve done you will stand out from your competition. That impression carries over to your produsts and services.
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