What to Do Before, During and After a Sale?

Here’s a list of questions that will help you prepare for sales presentations. It is also a useful reference if you want to analyze why you didn’t make a sale.

At the various stages of the sales cycle, did you:

INTRODUCTION

• Learn about your prospective client before your meeting?
• Listen 80% of the time and talk only 20%?

QUALIFYING

• Ask if anyone else in their business (or household) is involved in the decision-making process?
• Determine how/why your prospect made the decision to meet with you?
• Find out what their time frame is?

SURVEYING

• Ask a lot of open-ended questions?
• Ask broad questions first, then get more specific?

HANDLING OBJECTIONS

• Listen to any objections (if they had them) entirely?
• Answer any objections with a question to find out more specifics?

PRESENTATION

• Ask if anything had changed since your last meeting?
• Prioritize the prospect’s needs?
• Talk about the benefits of your products/service?
• Link the benefits to their needs?
• Summarize those needs and how your products/service meets them?
• Involve the prospect in your presentation?

CLOSING

• Ask for the order?
• Reach agreement that your products/services provide a valuable solution for the problems they identified before enlisting your services?

FOLLOW-UP

• Send a thank you note for the appointment, presentation or order?
• Earn the right to ask for reference letters and referrals?
• Establish a schedule for customer visits?

SOURCE: Entrepreneur Magazine, March 2003