Within the five stages of the Professional Sales process, this is the first step without which, if we do not tread successfully and rely on it, unfortunately we will not be able to complete the sales interview. (1)
When accessing the potentially buying contact for your product or service, called in professional terms as "prospect", the first moments of the interview are crucial.
Here the well-known proverb that expresses: "there is no second chance for a good first impression" acquires full application.
Indeed, if in the first moments it is not possible to arouse interest in the subject that you wish to deal with with said prospect, there is no possibility of being able to carry out the interview and, therefore, a closing of sales.
This will go to the loss account all the effort invested in obtaining the contact information, avoiding the obstacles that stand between him or her and the representative. Moreover, since a bad introduction will leave the image undesirable of having resolved not to devote minutes of the valuable time of said prospect in the future.
How do those who know…
Perhaps it is convenient to accept that those who have gained experience, which means obtaining their sales results consistently in each period, have something that can be analyzed to incorporate in their own management.
First of all, it is important to know as much as possible about the person with whom we will be interviewing, and when the position is higher, the more detailed it is.
An elementary aspect, and one that makes it interestingly challenging, is the fact of accepting that every human being is selfish. We mean that you will pay attention to and dedicate your time to what really interests you, associated with your own life, needs, requirements, concerns, etc.
This is applicable according to the moment, the opportunity, the circumstance in which the moment of the first face-to-face contact occurs. Here we must know and accept that we can find ourselves in favorable conditions as inappropriate for the purposes of the contact that we are going to make.
The way in which we are neat for the occasion in accordance with the level and personality of the person we will contact, the preparation of illustrative elements that can capture the visual attention of the contact, the evidence elements (graphics, experiences, references, etc.) and The documents to carry out a first order are the main aspects that must be previously in condition before being presented.
At this stage punctuality plays an important role as well. From experience, it is always convenient to be before the scheduled appointment even when we must wait, rather than being late to face a totally adverse initial climate due to our lack of foresight.
As we approach the prospect, the smile, the poise that we transmit by the confidence that we are prepared to provide benefits to others, the way in which an initial argument will be expressed so that after shaking hands we can count on your predisposition to carry it out within a climate of interest.
Having all these aspects and knowing the profile of the contact that we will interview, there is the «initial argument» also called according to the Professional Techniques as «the initial declaration of benefits». (two)
Through this initial argument, after the frank and cordial greeting, our prospect must understand and awaken in his being the desire to know how he will be able to perceive the benefits that we have anticipated but not revealed in those first moments.
Given that none of the Professional Sales Techniques are mastered at the end of a training activity, this technique of initially arguing to awaken such interest in our interviewee, is a practice that must be permanently perfected based on the analysis of the effects obtained to go enriching it with increasingly effective and efficient aspects.
When done effectively, it lays the foundations for a highly conducive climate to begin the counseling task, beginning with the analysis of your specific requirements in relation to the benefits that the products or services to offer can offer you "for you".
In our next article in this series, we will share the second stage that will lead us to qualify the prospect based on its purchasing potential and position ourselves favorably to continue with the sale process.
References:
- The Professional Sale, 4th Edition, Part I - Chap. I p. 14; and in The Professional Retail SaleThe Professional Sale, 4th Edition, Part II- Chapter IX, p. 65 Sales courses.. See module 7 and 7.1.
© Copyright 2003, by Martín E. Heller
