Do you remember the very first sales call you went to for the company where you are working right now? Were you excited? Were you motivated? Was your appearance impeccable? Were you totally prepared? Of course you were. But then after a while, maybe a year, everything started to get a little too familiar, a little too easy. Every meeting started to look like the previous one, and you started to cut corners. This is an error, because however long you have been in the job, you should plan each meeting as if it were your very first, especially if you want to continue being a successful Salesperson.
Do you even remember what you did for that first meeting? You probably thought hard about your objectives; you shared those objectives with the colleague (s) who was going with you; you briefed them on their expected contribution to the meeting; you agreed an agenda with the Prospect and the meeting duration; if there was material to present you probably personalized it for that particular Prospect; and you checked the logistics to make sure you would arrive 15 minutes early, just in case of unforeseen delays. You were totally, 100% prepared.
Make no mistake: however experienced you are, however well you know the ins and outs of your product or service, no two sales calls will be exactly the same. People, market conditions, technology, the Competition – everything changes on a continuous basis. You can’t just show up and “hear what they have to say”. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. As soon as you start to forget the small details, you probably won’t notice that the relationship with the Prospect isn’t as rock solid as it was before. That’s because the Competition has been there waiting for you to take your eye off the ball and they are now planning each sales call as if it were their first, because they want to take that business from you.
To avoid getting into this situation start with these follow-up actions:
- Create a meeting checklist template to get into the habit of preparation.
- The checklist should include the primary objective of the meeting, the desired and acceptable outcomes, and your GO/NO-GO criteria for continuing with the conversation. Leave a space at the end for “Follow-up actions and agreed completion date”.
- Before you set off for every meeting, as a minimum, write the name of the company and person you are visiting at the top of your notepad, along with the date. Even if you can enter meeting notes directly into your CRM from your laptop, still consider doing it. The Prospect will notice and appreciate your attention to detail.
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