I often hear from salespeople that getting an appointment with a quality prospect is one of the hardest parts of the sales process and getting them to give your 30-45 minutes is almost impossible.
It is certainly true that decision makers have more requests for their time today than ever before, which makes breaking through the clutter harder. It is easy to get lost in the sea of salespeople who are contacting them and asking for their time if you simply communicate why you want to meet with them because that is what everyone else is doing too.
Think about it this way, if someone was asking for you to take 30-45 minutes out of your day so they can tell you how great they are, who they can reach, and that you fit the profile of someone who has money to spend, would you want to meet with them? How would you respond?
Salespeople who are successful at securing appointments consistently with high potential prospects take the time to communicate why the prospect should want to meet with them. They take the time to develop a message that demonstrates they can be trusted to not waste the prospect's time and to bring value to the conversation.
Simply put, the focus is on the account and what matters to them. To stand out from the clutter, you need to give them a strong reason to want to meet with you.
If they see you as someone who can be trusted to not waste their time and that you will bring value to the conversation by sharing what they don’t already know, they will give you more time. In other words, you need to give them a valid business reason to want to meet with you.
5 Questions To Ask To Develop A Strong Valid Business Reason
There are five simple questions you can start asking today to help you develop a strong valid business reason.
1. Is there an insight into their industry or business? Did you communicate how you can help them to take advantage of a positive trend or help them minimize the impact of a negative one?
2. Did you provide a reason why they should move you up on their priority list?
3. Is it clear why they should want to meet with you, or does it center more around why you want to meet with them?
4. Do you relate to the needs they likely have?
5. How did you show your empathy, expertise, or problem-solving?
Yes, developing a strong valid business reason can take extra time but it is time well spent and, just like anything else, gets easier with discipline and practice.
By starting this discipline today, you and your clients won’t miss out on a potentially profitable partnership… which is what you want most!
