Have Better Sales Conversations with Preparation, Purpose, Focus, and Disciplined Execution
Selling Skills
If you’ve ever read a transcript of an average conversation, you know that it’s often a jumble of words that bounces all over the place.
I wish I could say that this is different for sales conversations, but very often, it’s not.
Those who excel in leading effective sales conversations are those who approach the conversation with preparation, purpose, focus, and disciplined execution – with good notes or a recording
From endless hours of observing top sales producers over the past 15 years (while conducting systematic Top-Producer Analyses), here’s what I see the best do:
- Establish a call or conversation objective –including the expected outcomes of the conversation. Ensure these outcomes have value to the buyer you’re speaking with, not just you.
- Establish a backup objective in case something prevents you from achieving the primary objective.
- Create a plan to get to those outcomes. What questions will you ask and what do you intend to learn? Assuming you learn what you anticipate, what insights or valuable information might you be able to share in return?
- At the beginning of the dialogue, state your intent and plan clearly, share the value you believe your plan will offer, and ask for your buyer’s input. Get agreement to the plan or alter it slightly, based on your buyer’s hope for the meeting and outcomes.
- Finally, stay single-threaded during the conversation, developing each idea to its fullest before moving on. Don’t bounce around, but structure the conversation logically so it builds and culminates in a deep, mutual understanding.