By Geoffrey James | October 13, 2010
In the era of the Internet, face-to-face meetings with customers are increasingly rare. Because of this, you want to make sure that your customer meeting goes smoothly. With that in mind, here are the 21 things that you absolutely MUST NOT DO when meeting with a customer:
MISTAKE #1: Fail to plan the call. Sounds simple, but trying to close when should be qualifying (for example) is a lost sale. Fix: Never enter a door without first thinking about what you plan to accomplish.
MISTAKE #2. Flirt with the receptionist. It may seem tempting, but unless you’ve got soap-opera-quality looks, chances are you’re only going to annoy (or even alarm) the admin, who will tell the boss. Fix: Stay polite, friendly and respectful.
MISTAKE #3: Be rude to the admin. If you act all arrogant and superior, you’ll just antagonize the help. Fix: Once again, be friendly and respectful of the staff - admin and otherwise.
MISTAKE #4: Show up with a crowd. If you bring too many people, it will draw customer’s comments about why your costs so high Fix: Use webconferencing when you need to include additional resources.
MISTAKE #5: Fail to check your appearance. Don’t show up with something amiss that a quick stop in the client’s bathroom could head off. Fix: Make a quick pit stop - with a look-over - before the call.
MISTAKE #6. Pretend to drop by. Who are you kidding? Do you think that it’s going to cushion the rejection if you pretend that it’s not a sales call? Fix: Have something important to say or sell that justifies your presence.
MISTAKE #7: Arrive late to the call. If you don’t arrive on time it tell the customer clearly that you don’t give a damn about them or their time. Fix: Always arrive 15 minutes ahead of time. If you drive to calls, get a GPS.
MISTAKE #8: Be too business-like at first. Remember you’re building bridges with another human being, not just a notch in your sales gun. Fix: Smile and be friendly… but don’t get too gushy.
MISTAKE #9. Be too friendly at first. There’s no better way to seem phony than to pretend the prospect is a long-lost friend. Fix: Approach each prospect with respect for their time, and appropriate courtesy..
MISTAKE #10. Talk more than you listen. Initial sales calls are all about relationship building and gathering information, which you can’t do if your mouth is moving. Fix: Get curious about the customer and ask questions.
MISTAKE #11. Argue with the customer. If the customer doesn’t agree with an important point, arguing is only going to set that opinion in stone. Fix: ask the customer why he holds that opinion; then listen.
MISTAKE #12: Discuss politics or religion. Such subjects are almost always a trap into opinionated quicksand that’s hard or impossible to get out of. Fix: keep the discussion on business or neutral ground.
MISTAKE #13: Dive into your product pitch. Sure you’ve got something to sell, but if you pitch too soon, you’ll get pitched out the door. Fix: Ask questions to understand needs, before you pitch.
MISTAKE #14: Appear flippant or sarcastic. A good-natured laugh at a joke might be taken personally by someone watching out the window, without hearing the context. Fix: Watch your demeanor at all times.
MISTAKE #15: Lack requisite product knowledge. The prospect doesn’t want to hear “I need to get back to you about that”…over and over. Fix: make sure you’re trained on your current products and policies…before the call.
MISTAKE #16: Forget the customers’ names. What could be more embarrassing than actually forgetting whom you’re talking with? Fix: Write down the names down of everyone in the room with a small table diagram.
MISTAKE #17: Ask personal questions. You may think that the customer is your friend, but you can easily screw up if it gets too personal. Fix: Keep the conversation focused on business issues, especially the customer’s needs.
MISTAKE #18. Answer your cell phone. Ouch! Ouch! What were you thinking? How could any telephone call be more important than a real live prospect? Fix: Turn it off and leave it in your briefcase.
MISTAKE #19. Overstay your welcome. Your prospect has hundreds of other things that he or she could be doing, rather than spending time with you. Fix: Set a time limit for the call.
MISTAKE #20. Let the meeting meander. This isn’t the time for a wandering conversation that slowly gets to the point or a long series of complicated questions. Fix: Provide brief agenda of how you expect the call to proceed.
MISTAKE #21: Fail to Follow-up. If you’ve had a successful meeting, you want the customer to remember what was decided. Fix: Schedule your follow-up activities immediately after the meeting. Then do them.
READERS: Have I missed any common errors?
http://www.bnet.com/blog/sales...romo=808&tag=nl.e808
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