Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

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YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT—NOW WHAT?
It will be easiest for you if you break your sales call into three parts: what you will
do to prepare before the meeting; what you will do during the meeting; and what
you will do to follow up the meeting.
Luick tip . . .
Work with a colleague to do each other’s cold calls for a week.
Before Your Sales Call
Okay, you have a meeting scheduled with a potential client. What do you need
to know before you go? Be sure you know at least the following: meeting purpose,
who will attend, how long the meeting will last, and exactly where it will
be (office, conference room, or wherever). What do you do once you go in the
door? If more than two people will attend the meeting, I generally ask for a list
and their positions in the company. Commit that list to memory before going to
the meeting.
Your initial meeting is critical. It sets a tone for the rest of your relationship. You
may come prepared with a PowerPoint® presentation, materials in a bound folder,
and a precisely worded presentation. My preference is to create a conversation with
the client, learning as much about the client as possible. That means that my preparation
includes reviewing the notes that I wrote during the research, making a copy
of the letter I sent, and identifying a list of questions that I will ask to gather the
information I need. I jot a few phrases, numbers, or other notes that will be pertinent
to the meeting. These are things I want to remember to say or to ask about
during the meeting.
Exhibit 8.1 provides examples of the kinds of questions you might ask. Notice
they are divided into two categories. The “general” questions refer to a situation
where no specific project has been identified. The “questions specific to a project”
list can be used to gather more information about a clearly identified project. Even
if you are meeting to discuss a specific project, you may still begin with some of
the questions from the first list. Don’t take the entire list to the meeting, but select
the few questions that will be appropriate. Also note that you will need to rephrase
them, since these are generically worded.
Marketing Your Consulting Services