We’ve all been there: you’re waiting in the lobby and your point of contact greets you, shaking your hand. As they walk you back to their office or conference room, there is some small talk along the way as they guide you to the meeting space, and maybe even some courtesy offerings of coffee or water. As you approach the meeting space, they ask what kind of connections you’ll need for your presentation. You get set up, and then you’re off… speaking for the next 45 minutes to a head-nodding, grin-bearing zombie. Regardless of how well you presented, you failed the most important task of the first few minutes of a sales call, and it’s killing your results.
During the first three minutes of your sales call, from the time your point of contact greets you in the lobby until you start your discussion, you have to get your customer engaged. They’re not engaged – trust me on this one. They might smile and greet you with a firm handshake, but they’re thinking about the email they read 10 minutes ago or the meeting they have at 3:30 with their boss. Even though you might be important, they’re thinking about more urgent matters. Your job during those first three minutes is to shift their thoughts away from that email and to you and your meeting. How?
There are many techniques, but the concept is to use some middleware to get there. Don’t think you’ll be able to take them directly from their anxious thoughts to your topic – you’ll need a gradual transition. Ideally, the middleware topic is timely and personal. There are dozens of ways to learn about your prospect before your meeting – do a little research about their interests, background, etc. What do they follow socially? DO they follow any sports teams? Where did they work before?
I was recently a potential customer for someone, and we had scheduled a meeting for her to introduce her services to me. When she arrived, I greeted her professionally but my mind was on 100 other things I could be doing at that time. “Why did I schedule this meeting on a Wednesday???” kept running through my mind. Then she did it. She made one simple comment that drew me out of my perception of urgency: “I love your blog. I just started reading it yesterday – I especially like the personal ones you do every now and then. Did a six year-old really throw a soda on you on a flight?”
Done. She had me. I wasn’t thinking about the other tasks I had. I was focused on her and our meeting. She shifted me out of my current state of thinking about future deadline and into the present moment of meeting with her.
Take the time to prepare for those critical first few minutes of your sales calls, and don’t settle for a headed-nodding, grin-bearing zombie as your audience.
