Securing that first meeting with a prize prospect is often the most challenging aspect of making a sale. Some managers endorse a constant banging away with phone calls and emails. Others favor a more passive approach, interacting on social media and engaging with decision-makers whenever possible with hopes they will ask for a meeting.
Both approaches work sometimes, but neither one addresses the underlying problem of why people don’t want to meet with your company in the first place, says sales coach and author Anthony Iannarino.
“To treat the disease, you must have something of greater value than the time you are asking your dream client to give you, you must have something so valuable that your dream client would literally pay you for their time, as that is what they are really doing,” Iannarino says. “If your 20-minute meeting doesn’t cause your dream client to discover something about themselves, something that is worth 1,000 times more than the time they gave you, then they are right to refuse your meeting.”
If your sales team is having trouble getting in front of key prospects, the problem may be evident in the first eight slides of your slide deck, Iannarino says. Your marketing firm may love it because it tells your story, but does it say anything about the value you can bring customers?
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