What do you say the first time you engage a prospect? How do you interact with a prospect in the first few seconds of conversation?
Many sales people think that starting with a sales pitch is the best way to cultivate a prospect or sales lead. However, flooding the prospect with information and then demand a commitment always often fail hence in recent studies, sales pitches almost always fail. It’s too much, too soon.
Your goal at the beginning of the relationship should be to start a conversation.
How to Start a Sales Conversation
Tip #1: Be an industry expert
Show the prospect that you know what’s going on in the marketplace. When a sales lead think a salesperson is going to bring something valuable for them, they will automatically listen. By providing the prospects with insights on what’s going on in the industry makes them believe that you can provide a solution for them that works. This method will have prospects paying attention to see what they can learn.
Tip #2: Know the pain points
Show the prospect a list of 3 common pain points seen in the marketplace. Make sure these pain points can be solved by the sales person. List of things that are important for your prospect. What are those challenges and how can you help them solve it? Write them out and start including these in your sales conversation.
Tip #3: It’s all about your prospect
When you engage your prospect in a sales conversation, they will not care about you, your brand or your product. The only thing that they care about are themselves. So start the conversation focused entirely on the prospect.
Tip #4: Engage
After you’ve shared some industry insights, it’s time to ask if those things that are currently happening in the marketplace affects their business. By sharing a few pain points seen in the marketplace and then engaging the prospect, you pull the prospect into interacting with you and at the same time showing them that you know what you’re talking about, and showing that you are focused on providing value to them.
Follow these sales conversation tips in your next prospect interaction to set yourself up for success.