The 7 steps of a successful client meeting
27 August 2013
Read by 2295 persons
To succeed in their client meetings, your sales representatives need method and rigor. Here's how to guide them step by step, with one goal in mind: to sell at the end of the meeting.
Carefully prepare the meeting
"Before meeting a prospect, the salesperson must set their meeting objectives and define the means available to achieve them," begins Patrick David, a management and negotiation training consultant, former sales director. For him, it is a matter of working on both the substance - and in particular the knowledge of the client account - and the form, so as not to be caught off guard. But as a manager, you can also help your salespeople in this preparatory phase. Thus, Philippe Prévoteaux, sales director of the company Sosaca, which sells materials dedicated to the building industry, creates cross-tables useful to his technical sales representatives to prepare their appointments. "These tables put into perspective the potential of a client - which I evaluate according to the size of his company - and the turnover we achieve with him," he explains. By reading them, the salesperson can, by deduction, set his own objective. "This roadmap is a clear and practical tool appreciated by all." Frédéric Chartier, a consultant trainer in business development, assures: "Preparation represents 90% of the success of a sale. For this, the salesperson must put themselves in material conditions, organize their appointment making, establish a checklist of the equipment to bring (laptop, commercial brochure, order form, etc.) and prepare their speech." There again, you can provide a number of elements to your employees to facilitate their entry into the subject with the client: entrust them, for example, with a brief history of the company, its key figures regularly updated or any other corporate element that could enlighten them on the company's economic situation.
Clarify your intentions from the initial contact
"I insist that all sales representatives clearly state the reason for their presence as soon as they arrive at the client's," emphasizes Frédéric Chartier, an expert in business development. Being clear and direct allows you to adopt a natural demeanor and therefore facilitates the seduction process. This is the posture adopted by Laurent Loison, technical sales representative at Exo7, a manufacturer of products for the building sector. Faced with a prospect, the salesperson introduces themselves, then continues: "I want to know your company and the extent of your activities so that I can work with you because your company counts for a lot in this geographical area." By getting straight to the point, Laurent Loison is convinced that he saves time and makes his interlocutor save time. It remains then to warn him that you are going to question him about his company to better understand his problems. "Describe your activity to me in such a way that I detect common interests with ours. I will then explain what we can offer you best," continues the salesperson. The dialogue is launched. The objective of the initial contact is achieved.
Favor open-ended questions during the discovery phase
This phase allows you to identify the client's situation. By discovering their needs, their dissatisfactions, any dysfunctions and possible areas for improvement. "Your questions," warns Frédéric Chartier, "must not be too directed, because in the end they may not correspond to the real needs of your interlocutor. Moreover, they could be perceived as being oriented towards answers that you want to hear!" Because the pitfall to avoid is manipulation. Vigilance is required, and you must dare to ask "What kind of service are you expecting?", so that you can later adjust your offer. This is why it is essential to listen, or even take notes. The information gathered during this stage is often the key to negotiation. The technique consists in making the prospect talk as much as possible to detect the flaw or make them aware of a problem or potential improvements. "The supreme art of the seller is, at that moment, to transform a vague need into a precise necessity," indicates Cyril Kapp, independent sales trainer. But he still warns salespeople: "Try not to be too indiscreet so as not to upset the client." It is up to you, manager, to plan training sessions during sales meetings to allow salespeople to improve their performance. Role-playing between different salespeople works very well.
Patrick David, management and negotiation training consultant
"Discovering a prospect's needs should lead to the development of a specification."
Formulate a diagnosis
"Discovering a prospect's needs leads to the development of a specification that will be very useful to the salesperson to propose a suitable offer," underlines Roland Mahjoub, lecturer at Sup de "V", a higher school of sales located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the Yvelines. Thanks to active listening, the salesperson has analyzed the client's situation, they can now prescribe solutions. And it is necessary to ensure that their problems have been heard. "A sentence like: "Sir, with the information you have kindly given me, the solution I am going to propose will meet your requirement of..." should allow you to win over your prospect and continue the meeting," assures Patrick David, management and negotiation training consultant.
Arnaud Revert's testimony, sales director of Recall
"A successful sale thanks to the salesperson's fine analysis"
"At the negotiation stage, we know whether the preparation work and the relationship established by the salesperson are successful," says Arnaud Revert, sales director of Recall, a specialist in archiving solutions. In services, sales require several meetings. "My role as a manager is to (re)present the company, to guarantee the means that will be implemented for the realization of our solution and to validate any possible evolution of the financial schemes." The sales process that takes place before this final meeting belongs to the salesperson. Nevertheless, "trust does not exclude control. And when validating the commercial offer and finalizing the price, I assess their degree of autonomy and their ability to ask for help at the opportune moment." For the sales director, the distinctive sign of a successful deal is the ability of a salesperson to provide a concise but complete briefing, highlighting the decisive issues and proposing interesting alternatives.
The commercial proposal: asserting or suggesting it
When he decides to formulate his commercial proposal, the seller must adapt his speech to the profile of his interlocutor. Thus, advises Patrick David, "faced with a manager of an SME who does not know the technicality of the product or solution proposed, the salesperson validates their expertise and asserts that their prescription is the right one. On the other hand, faced with an engineer or technician, they will seek to share their expertise: I thought of such a solution, what do you think?" The argumentation deployed highlights the advantages that meet the client's concerns. For example, if they have shown attention to a proximity service, start with that.
Negotiate without forgetting the margins
"The salesperson must fight to sell at the advertised price. It is only when they feel that it is not going through that they must agree to negotiate," assures Roland Mahjoub (Sup de V). If the price is negotiated, Patrick David reminds us, "a seller must never grant a discount without obtaining something in return." Depending on the terms of the negotiation, this materializes in the duration of a commitment, a larger volume, the subscription of optional services, etc. In all cases, the salesperson must defend their margins by negotiating direct financial parameters (the price of the product or service) and indirect parameters [implementation costs or delivery conditions for example]. Philippe Prévoteaux (Sosaca) recommends to his technical sales representatives "to defend their margins, by insisting on the consulting phase that we provide to our clients." As for discounts, they are only granted on a case-by-case basis, "to give a helping hand to a good client on a difficult site for example, but in exchange for the order of all the materials necessary for the realization of the said site".
Conclude by asking the client to commit
"What do we do now?" The question is clear and precise. "The one who asks it takes no risk," affirms Frédéric Chartier, "it is a matter of common sense that is more a state of mind than a sales technique." For the expert, succeeding in a sale is not equivalent to imposing it on the other by force. The buyer has accounts to render, they are not always the sole master of the decision. Either they have the power to sign at the conclusion, or they refer to their superiors to whom they must provide details as quickly as possible. But this should not prevent the salesperson from submitting a commitment to their client. Finally, the conclusion of the meeting is not limited to the sale. It is an opportunity to take addresses of new prospects that the seller will contact later on the recommendation of their client. It is also the time to build relationships with this client and take the opportunity to ask them about the reasons that motivated their purchase. This is something to build on to offer them complementary services later on.
Action.co.fr
Carefully prepare the meeting
"Before meeting a prospect, the salesperson must set their meeting objectives and define the means available to achieve them," begins Patrick David, a management and negotiation training consultant, former sales director. For him, it is a matter of working on both the substance - and in particular the knowledge of the client account - and the form, so as not to be caught off guard. But as a manager, you can also help your salespeople in this preparatory phase. Thus, Philippe Prévoteaux, sales director of the company Sosaca, which sells materials dedicated to the building industry, creates cross-tables useful to his technical sales representatives to prepare their appointments. "These tables put into perspective the potential of a client - which I evaluate according to the size of his company - and the turnover we achieve with him," he explains. By reading them, the salesperson can, by deduction, set his own objective. "This roadmap is a clear and practical tool appreciated by all." Frédéric Chartier, a consultant trainer in business development, assures: "Preparation represents 90% of the success of a sale. For this, the salesperson must put themselves in material conditions, organize their appointment making, establish a checklist of the equipment to bring (laptop, commercial brochure, order form, etc.) and prepare their speech." There again, you can provide a number of elements to your employees to facilitate their entry into the subject with the client: entrust them, for example, with a brief history of the company, its key figures regularly updated or any other corporate element that could enlighten them on the company's economic situation.
Clarify your intentions from the initial contact
"I insist that all sales representatives clearly state the reason for their presence as soon as they arrive at the client's," emphasizes Frédéric Chartier, an expert in business development. Being clear and direct allows you to adopt a natural demeanor and therefore facilitates the seduction process. This is the posture adopted by Laurent Loison, technical sales representative at Exo7, a manufacturer of products for the building sector. Faced with a prospect, the salesperson introduces themselves, then continues: "I want to know your company and the extent of your activities so that I can work with you because your company counts for a lot in this geographical area." By getting straight to the point, Laurent Loison is convinced that he saves time and makes his interlocutor save time. It remains then to warn him that you are going to question him about his company to better understand his problems. "Describe your activity to me in such a way that I detect common interests with ours. I will then explain what we can offer you best," continues the salesperson. The dialogue is launched. The objective of the initial contact is achieved.
Favor open-ended questions during the discovery phase
This phase allows you to identify the client's situation. By discovering their needs, their dissatisfactions, any dysfunctions and possible areas for improvement. "Your questions," warns Frédéric Chartier, "must not be too directed, because in the end they may not correspond to the real needs of your interlocutor. Moreover, they could be perceived as being oriented towards answers that you want to hear!" Because the pitfall to avoid is manipulation. Vigilance is required, and you must dare to ask "What kind of service are you expecting?", so that you can later adjust your offer. This is why it is essential to listen, or even take notes. The information gathered during this stage is often the key to negotiation. The technique consists in making the prospect talk as much as possible to detect the flaw or make them aware of a problem or potential improvements. "The supreme art of the seller is, at that moment, to transform a vague need into a precise necessity," indicates Cyril Kapp, independent sales trainer. But he still warns salespeople: "Try not to be too indiscreet so as not to upset the client." It is up to you, manager, to plan training sessions during sales meetings to allow salespeople to improve their performance. Role-playing between different salespeople works very well.
Patrick David, management and negotiation training consultant
"Discovering a prospect's needs should lead to the development of a specification."
Formulate a diagnosis
"Discovering a prospect's needs leads to the development of a specification that will be very useful to the salesperson to propose a suitable offer," underlines Roland Mahjoub, lecturer at Sup de "V", a higher school of sales located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the Yvelines. Thanks to active listening, the salesperson has analyzed the client's situation, they can now prescribe solutions. And it is necessary to ensure that their problems have been heard. "A sentence like: "Sir, with the information you have kindly given me, the solution I am going to propose will meet your requirement of..." should allow you to win over your prospect and continue the meeting," assures Patrick David, management and negotiation training consultant.
Arnaud Revert's testimony, sales director of Recall
"A successful sale thanks to the salesperson's fine analysis"
"At the negotiation stage, we know whether the preparation work and the relationship established by the salesperson are successful," says Arnaud Revert, sales director of Recall, a specialist in archiving solutions. In services, sales require several meetings. "My role as a manager is to (re)present the company, to guarantee the means that will be implemented for the realization of our solution and to validate any possible evolution of the financial schemes." The sales process that takes place before this final meeting belongs to the salesperson. Nevertheless, "trust does not exclude control. And when validating the commercial offer and finalizing the price, I assess their degree of autonomy and their ability to ask for help at the opportune moment." For the sales director, the distinctive sign of a successful deal is the ability of a salesperson to provide a concise but complete briefing, highlighting the decisive issues and proposing interesting alternatives.
The commercial proposal: asserting or suggesting it
When he decides to formulate his commercial proposal, the seller must adapt his speech to the profile of his interlocutor. Thus, advises Patrick David, "faced with a manager of an SME who does not know the technicality of the product or solution proposed, the salesperson validates their expertise and asserts that their prescription is the right one. On the other hand, faced with an engineer or technician, they will seek to share their expertise: I thought of such a solution, what do you think?" The argumentation deployed highlights the advantages that meet the client's concerns. For example, if they have shown attention to a proximity service, start with that.
Negotiate without forgetting the margins
"The salesperson must fight to sell at the advertised price. It is only when they feel that it is not going through that they must agree to negotiate," assures Roland Mahjoub (Sup de V). If the price is negotiated, Patrick David reminds us, "a seller must never grant a discount without obtaining something in return." Depending on the terms of the negotiation, this materializes in the duration of a commitment, a larger volume, the subscription of optional services, etc. In all cases, the salesperson must defend their margins by negotiating direct financial parameters (the price of the product or service) and indirect parameters [implementation costs or delivery conditions for example]. Philippe Prévoteaux (Sosaca) recommends to his technical sales representatives "to defend their margins, by insisting on the consulting phase that we provide to our clients." As for discounts, they are only granted on a case-by-case basis, "to give a helping hand to a good client on a difficult site for example, but in exchange for the order of all the materials necessary for the realization of the said site".
Conclude by asking the client to commit
"What do we do now?" The question is clear and precise. "The one who asks it takes no risk," affirms Frédéric Chartier, "it is a matter of common sense that is more a state of mind than a sales technique." For the expert, succeeding in a sale is not equivalent to imposing it on the other by force. The buyer has accounts to render, they are not always the sole master of the decision. Either they have the power to sign at the conclusion, or they refer to their superiors to whom they must provide details as quickly as possible. But this should not prevent the salesperson from submitting a commitment to their client. Finally, the conclusion of the meeting is not limited to the sale. It is an opportunity to take addresses of new prospects that the seller will contact later on the recommendation of their client. It is also the time to build relationships with this client and take the opportunity to ask them about the reasons that motivated their purchase. This is something to build on to offer them complementary services later on.
Action.co.fr
