Did you know that prospects can tell whether you are confident or not, faster than a blink of an eye? (200 milliseconds)
Before you begin a meeting with a prospect, ask yourself the following question:
1. Do I have a reasonable guess/hypothesis regarding the pain(s) my prospect’s persona is likely to experience? For example, if the prospect is a CMO, do I know their concerns and what typically ‘keeps them awake at night?’
2. How does my solution address these issues?
3. Do I truly BELIEVE that my solution will be able to solve that problem? (If not, start looking for a new job now!)
4. Should my prospect ask for a discount, can I CONFIDENTLY stand my ground on the price/value equation without discounting them?
5. Can I use my communication skills to avoid taking the easy route and defaulting to a trial before purchase?
6. Could I ask effective questions to uncover my prospects’ specific pain points? Could you ask them solid clarification questions to determine the circumstances and extent of their pain?
7. Could I make an educated guess as to the top 15 objections/questions this prospect will raise? Do I remember the answers to those questions? (without sounding like a robot?)
8. Could I walk through my presentation without a script? I recommend not using scripts (they are boring and people detect that you are scripted right away…don’t do it…ever).
9. How have I practiced my Discovery and Pitch and have I received feedback from someone who is qualified to do so? In addition, have I planned for this call properly before I call?
Those questions are a reasonable starting point…but if you are new to the role, practice first. Just go out there and get started!
Your first fifteen pitches will be terrible. Embrace the challenge and power through the first 15 as quickly as you can. (And ask a team member to join those calls to assist and to provide you with feedback later)
Final Tips:
1. Be sure to slow down your speech and breathe often!
2. Present confidence (without being arrogant, of course!)
2. Maintain lots of eye contact…even via Zoom
Props to David DiSalvo (Forbes) for inspiring this post.