Executive Advice

5 Steps to get more out of meetings with salespeople

Researchers at Forrester Consulting surveyed executives about meetings with salespeople and found that only 15% of sales calls add enough value to warrant the time. Moreover, just 7% of those executives said they would schedule a follow-up call. My guess is that you have had similar experiences. After 20 years of teaching salespeople how to “sell to executives” I thought I would suggest some steps you can take to get more value from your meetings with sales people and avoid wasting time.

1.      Research before the meeting 

Salespeople are doing their research on you, so do some research of your own:

a.      People – spend 5 minutes on a background check. Does the salesperson have anything good to say on social media like LinkedIn? What is their personal brand? What do others say about them?

b.      Company – If you agreed to meet with a salesperson, it’s likely that you (or someone at your company) vetted the supplier and salesperson. A 5-minute search to look for recent news or posts about the supplier will help you prepare for the upcoming dialog.

2.      Require a meeting agenda in advance

Quality salespeople will send you one in advance. Reviewing the agenda will help you to consider what you want to achieve from the meeting and allow you to let the seller know if there’s something you want to add/change. Even if you don’t review it in advance, it will push the salesperson to be prepared.

3.      Set the tone

Are you someone who likes the small talk? Or do you prefer to get right down to business? Whatever your style, be the first to set the tone and then notice how the salesperson reacts. This will give you insight into how the salesperson thinks, and how they will service you later. You’ll quickly find out if they plan to use “sales techniques” or if they genuinely want to help you and your company succeed. Avoid the questions that salespeople are already prepared to answer, like “why should we work with you”, and move to something that will expose the salespersons integrity or experience. Here are 3 examples:

·      “At the end of this meeting, how will you know whether or not you can help us?”

·      “How would your most recent customer describe you if they were sitting in this room?”

·      “What are the first three things you would do if you walked out of my office with a signed contract?”

4.      Ask about their competition

Ask the salesperson to characterize their most common competitors and notice how they respond. You’ll get insight into their experience in their industry, and an insight into their values and what to expect should you choose them for the deal. They will either share how they are different, be stumped, or bad-mouth the competition.

5.      Require follow-up meeting notes. Use the meeting agenda for follow up notes. The notes will be a good record of agreements and next steps, and it will show what the salesperson heard versus what you heard. There may or may not be a match!

Remember, you’re in this together. You’re both going after the same thing – a mutually beneficial business relationship. These 5 steps for improving the sales call process can impact your decisions, predict the future for the relationship and uncover what to expect if you say “yes”. In the end, you’ll decide if the salesperson gets a follow-up meeting, or join the 93% of salespeople who don’t get another chance.