If you’re a salesperson, it’s good to be proud of what you sell and where you work. Those two factors are key to enjoying what you do for a living. Working for a great company and having a great product certainly helps with clients, but the criteria prospects will often use when deciding to give you some of their precious time, is YOU.
Where should your product and your company be in your sales strategy when talking to new prospects?
Social media has made it easier than ever for a prospect to “know who you are” before saying yes to meeting with you. They can check your profile on LinkedIn, see what public posts you’ve made on Facebook, Twitter, or your favorite new platform. They can get a sense of what is important to you and how you do business.
The prospect also wants to know if they can trust you to not waste their time. They want to see signs that you offer value and have helped clients like them. They want to know that you understand their industry and the issues they face.
When you approach a new prospect, what is the first thing you do?
- Do you call and say who you are and who you work for?
- Do you first research them, their company, and their industry?
- Do you call with a valid business reason that affects their business?
- Do you follow them on social media and connect online first?
There’s not one right answer, but generally the more you warm up a prospect before asking for the meeting, the greater your chances of success.
The next time you get ready to ask for a meeting with a new prospect, or even an active client, ask yourself, “Have I done everything necessary to make them eager to want to meet with ME? Or am I leading with my PRODUCT or COMPANY, hoping that will be enough?
Remember, most prospects are not as worried about your company or your product, as they are about whether or not they can trust and value YOU.
