Selling is a complicated and difficult process. It requires not only the right preparation but also the ability to become involved in several tasks during a sales call. You should be making some careful observations at the same time you are talking about your services and products.
What should you be looking for, thinking about and checking out during your sales presentation? Take a look at this list of activities.
- Look on the desks of your client
Are there mugs, pens, pads or information from one of your competitors? Spotting such items will let you know who else has visited your client and what name or logo your customer is looking at on a daily basis.
- Check walls and bulletin boards in the office
Look for notices or announcements of any upcoming programs being presented by a competitor. You may also find information they have posted regarding a competitor's next visit, new location or new contact information. Since you need to learn all you can about your competition, finding such information is a great start.
- Observe how the staff reacts as you present information
Are there certain issues or comments that seem to be of most interest to them? Are they asking questions about specific areas of your business, or are there some subjects that seem to draw little attention? You may be receiving clues about what the topics of your next meeting should be.
- Watch the time
Does the staff want to meet for a longer period of time than originally scheduled? If so, will you be prepared to continue your discussion? If you can sense their interest, then you will have some idea of how long you will be able to keep their attention.
- Speak with the secretary and/or the administrative
assistant
Begin to determine this person's role in the organization. Notice how he or she interacts with others in the office. Could this person be the company's true coordinator or the behind-the-scenes director?
You may find by observing the office operation that the secretary or office manager could be key to helping you get the business.
- Try to visit individual offices
While being in the main office of the nursing director or social work administrator can be valuable, salespeople often need to go directly to the offices of the staff members. Conduct the same observations here. Look for any marketing materials that could indicate the competition has “landed” everywhere in the building.
- Make an equipment search
Often in the rehab department or in other areas of the facility or office, you will see equipment from your competitors. Notice whose wheelchairs are on the floor, and you might even want to ask if other companies deliver products directly to the facility.
- Read the name badges of everyone you meet
You could meet your competition in elevators, hallways or lobbies. Take a moment to introduce yourself. You never know what information might be shared or what you can learn. Do not shy away from your competitors; they could become your best source of information.
- Be sensitive to the professional environment
Notice the professionalism in the office. Notice how staff relates to each other. Notice how the secretary relates to her boss. Do employees use only last names in referring to others in the organization? These cues can give you some indication of how you must act as you work at building relationships with referral sources.
- Finally, stay alert
A customer assessment takes the work of all of the senses. It has to do with listening, feeling and sensing the environment. It has to do with getting an impression of what interests the customer, how staff respond to each other and observing the environment in which they work.
Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.
