The Appointment: Scheduling
Do you remember the first time you sat down and talked to a potential customer? Perhaps it has yet to happen. Either way you know it is an exciting and nerve-wracking prospect. You want the business. You’re sure of yourself and unsure of yourself. You don’t know a lot about what they want or why they asked you to meet with them. These questions probably roll around in your head from the time you agree upon a meeting until you’re actually face to face with a time period specifically set aside to discuss your relationship. Let’s look at your mental preparation and why getting the ground rules right, before you meet, is vital, even if you’re the only player who knows them.
A Designated Time Slot
If you’re a good time manager you know the power of setting aside certain time periods for specific tasks. You mark an event in your calendar and when it arrives you focus your undivided attention on that event. This focus and attentiveness make it possible to get a lot more effective things accomplished because you can bring your full faculties to bear on them.
When you set up an appointment or meeting to start the sales process, try to have that time dedicated solely to the business at hand. Tell the prospect that you’re doing so. Say: ‘We’ll need 30 minutes to cover what we both need to know to decide whether to go further.’ or ‘Can we block out a half hour to go over how I can help you out?’ The important thing is to try to make clear that this time period is dedicated to your business together and nothing else.
The sales process is a fluid exchange of information and requires continuity and attention to keep flowing. Frequent interruptions, no matter how trivial, disrupt the process and break down the communications flow. For this reason you may want to schedule meetings at the beginning or end of the business day and/or away from the ebb and flow of the prospect’s daily work. If the prospect is coming to you at your office, shop or workplace, set aside an uninterrupted period of time for that meeting. Turn on the voice mail, don’t schedule any other meetings and give them the gift of your undivided attention.
Your Undivided Attention
This gift of undivided attention represents a measurable personal investment on your behalf and will often be rewarded. We all like to feel important and nothing helps the sales process more than to walk away from a sales meeting with the feeling that the other party is really interested in helping us resolve our problems. This investment on your part builds the esteem of your customer and there are few more valuable gifts you can offer them.
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