Reaching Your Potential

I think your success depends largely on two things:

1: Having one-to-one meetings with genuine prospects

2: Treating these one-to-ones like sales meetings

Meeting Genuine Prospects

This starts with really knowing what your target market is. Often we have a vague idea of who this might be and sometimes we even think it could be everyone we meet. Imagine being absolutely clear on the type of businesses your looking for, in terms of size, industry type, their potential needs etc. This will not only help focus your mind on identifying potential high-value one-to-one prospects but also helps you identify the best networking groups and activities that could work for your business.

Once you're at a networking event, make a point of targeting yourself with generating x number of one-to-one leads from that particular event. Not doing this means that you risk wasting time on unproductive one-to-ones or even having no follow-up one-to-one meetings at all. When I started networking I found myself falling into this trap; I either had no leads at all or ended up in time-consuming and unproductive meetings. Now, I know which qualifying questions to ask to determine whether I want to meet up with a contact. This means that I waste less time and my conversion rates have gone up considerably. Obvious really, isn't it?

When you receive a telephone, e-mail or website enquiry, the same principles apply. Make sure that you have a set of qualifying questions you can ask to determine whether a one-to-one meeting is the best next step (for you and the person making the enquiry). Remember, even though you have your questions prepared, you can still come across in a natural, relaxed way. It doesn't need to sound like an interrogation!

Making Sales in One-to-One Meetings

Whether these meetings are a result of networking activities or are enquiries that have come in from other sources such as your website, the key thing is to treat them like sales meetings. In other words, treat them like sales opportunities. So, what do I recommend that you do?

The first and most important thing is to prepare for them properly. Secondly, adopt a consultative approach to selling that will enable you to gain your prospect's commitment. In this issue of REACH! I'm focusing on the first point: preparation. I've worked with high performing businesses the world over and I'm convinced that it's the quality of preparation that has the biggest effect on sales success, after building rapport (and preparation helps with this too!).

So, first and foremost, identify your objective for the meeting. This could be to gain commitment to a project, sell a product or even make another appointment. Whatever it is, don't go into that meeting without being clear on your desired outcome.

Make sure that this objective is SMART

• Specific – clear and unambiguous
• Measurable – in terms of time, quality, quantity, money and standards
• Achievable – within reach, while still challenging
• Relevant – to your and your prospect's business
• Timed – all objectives need a start and an end date, as well as built in review points

Make sure that your objective includes a Summary of Commitments – sales objectives can only be specific (see S above) if you include a summary of the commitments you expect from your customer. What do you need the customer to agree to in order for you to achieve your objective? Talk to them about how you will help them achieve their goals and what they can do to help you.