Sales meetings are crucial for building relationships with potential buyers and closing deals. The key to a successful sales meeting is to make sure that everyone comes away with a clear understanding of the product or service being offered, how it meets their needs and what actions they are going to take to move the relationship forward.
We will explore some key strategies for running a successful sales meeting that creates a contract with your buyer to ensure that the crucial next step in the sales process is secured. By approaching sales meetings in this way, we ensure that we are able to build trust, secure buyer engagement and ultimately, increase sales.
In our recent training video ‘How to smash your next sales meeting’, Corinne our MD chatted to Chris Watts, Senior Business Development Consultant from Ethical Sales to find out his top tips to holding successful sales meetings. You can watch the full video here (8 min watch time) or simply read on to find out the advice that Chris Watts shared with us.
Get into your buyer’s head and find out what their needs are
Chris’s advice here is: ‘Don’t be scared to ask and don’t be scared to tell.’
Before you kick off any sales meeting and start presenting your product or service, find out what the buyer wants to know. Why have they arranged the meeting? What were their motivations? What do they need to know by the end of the meeting?
The first very important step to a successful sales meeting is to understand your buyer’s needs. Take the time to research the company and individual before the meeting. Look at their website, social media accounts and any other online resources that might give you insight into their business goals, challenges and pain points. Then be sure to ask the right questions at the beginning of the meeting to delve a bit deeper into their possible challenges.
When you are in the meeting, ask open-ended questions that encourage your buyer to share their thoughts and concerns. Listen carefully to their responses and try to identify opportunities to position your product or service as a solution to their problems. The more you understand your buyer’s needs, the easier it will be to make a compelling case for your product or service.
Find out more from Chris in our video on how to secure a licence in the sales meeting itself to ensure that as the seller, you are being given permission to explore your objectives, in return for giving the buyer what they need.
Make sure everyone comes away with an action
It’s important to avoid the ‘nice meeting’ scenario where everyone had a good discussion but no concrete decisions were made to progress the relationship further. We’ve all been there and it’s a common issue for salespeople when leads get ‘stuck’ in their pipeline, unable to progress any further through the process.
A successful sales meeting is one where everyone comes away with an action to take. This could be anything from setting up a follow-up call or meeting to signing a contract. Whatever the action is, make sure that it is clear and specific, and that everyone understands what they need to do next.
Before the meeting ends, recap the key points of the discussion and confirm the next steps. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications.
Watch Chris and Corinne’s short training video to find out how to do this in a way that feels natural and confident, rather than forced.
Qualify your potential buyer with killer questions
Qualifying your potential buyer is an essential part of any successful sales meeting. The goal is to identify whether the buyer is a good fit for your product or service, and whether they have the budget, authority and need to make a purchase.
Ask open-ended questions that help you to understand the buyer’s needs, challenges and goals. For example, “What are your top priorities for the next six months?”, “What challenges are you currently facing?”, or “What are your biggest concerns when it comes to this type of product or service?”
Asking these types of questions will not only help you to qualify the buyer, but will also demonstrate that you are genuinely interested in their business and want to help them achieve their goals.
Prepare for objections
Objections are a natural part of the sales process, and it’s important to be prepared to handle them effectively. Take the time to anticipate potential objections and prepare responses that address them head-on.
When you encounter an objection, listen carefully to the buyer’s concerns and acknowledge their point of view. Then, offer a clear and compelling response that addresses their concerns and positions your product or service as the best solution to their problem.
Summarise the meeting to secure next steps
It’s essential to keep the momentum going by wrapping up the meeting and securing next steps.
During the wrap-up, you should recap what was discussed during the meeting and reiterate the agreed-upon plan of action. You should also answer any questions the potential buyer may have and address any concerns they may have raised during the meeting.
Learn about how to effectively wrap up a sales meeting to help uncover objections or possible issues in our training video with Chris Watts.
Got some sales challenges you’d like to discuss with us? Book a free 30-minute session with Ethical Sales’ Managing Director Corinne Thomas.