Creating Value Q & A
Reader Q & A
Here's the scenario... You have a great "new" product that shows very well. When you get in front of the customer with a demo... your closing ratio is very high! Your biggest challenge is scheduling the appointment.
Question: How do you create value that results in more scheduled appointments?
Here's the scenario... You have a great "new" product that shows very well. When you get in front of the customer with a demo... your closing ratio is very high! Your biggest challenge is scheduling the appointment.
Question: How do you create value that results in more scheduled appointments?
You need to catch your prospect's attention and give them a reason to see you. You need to do something to stand out in the crowd!
Try using GoldMail messages to record a quick, customized voice over visual message overview that catches the prospects attention. It's your voice over visuals - very powerful.
www.goldmail.com
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Getting the appointment has little to do with a brilliant value proposition in your opening and has almost everything to do with knowing what to say when the "prospect" gives you an objection. A good "opening" with a strong value proposition is useful and important but not as important as being able to work past the objection.
I've trained salespeople in a large variety of industries and it almost always boils down to the same 4 or 5 objections: "I'm not interested," "I'm happy with my current vendor," "I'm busy," I don't have a budget," and "Send me some information."
By knowing that this is what the prospective customer will almost always say when you try to set an appointment, you can be prepared with an appropriate rebuttal and you should easily set appointments with between 20% - 50% of the people you get on the phone.
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Hi Jeff,
Enjoyed your statement. Have been in sales for quite a long time now but am always will to learn new techniques. Can you share some of your rebuttals with me in regards to the questions you addressed. I'd like to give them a try.
Thanks for your help!
Sheryl
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I would also love to read some best practices for those objections! Please share some specific scenarios and techniques!
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Well - a number of ways IMO to get more appointments.
First, Marketing. You need to take a look at what part of the demo is the most convincing part, and then delve into it to figure out what USP appealed to the attendees of these demos - in short, know what has the highest appeal, and then push that message out through marketing and means of relevant media. This would reduce some of the blocks that people might hold when you call them requesting for appointments, since they are "primed".
References. Another medium to get higher success in the appointments is to get references - assuming you have managed to even carry out 10 demos - use these people to provide you with references of previous companies they have worked with, or friends/ peers in other companies that form a target market for you. This form of expanding the target base has never ever failed for me. 10 will become 30 will become 100... LinkedIn is a great example.
Last, Knowledge. The people who are calling for appointments should know that they have all of 45 seconds at max to create an interest - your USP should be pushed out at this stage, clearly reflecting the relevance to the target. For this, each client you call needs to be briefly researched, allowing for guesses to be "educated" ones.
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You have a great product, that will sell itself, but the problem is to make the initial appointment.
Then you have to create scarcity.
Not only by saying that in words, but also by doing that in your behaviour.
How do you do that? It's not so difficult.
FIRST:
If you say that you have a busy agenda, don't make an appointment with your customer tomorrow, but in 6 weeks! That gives your customer a feeling of scarcity.
SECOND:
Send a confirmation letter to the customer. Don't give telephonenumbers to reschedule the appointment.
THIRD:
Call the customer again 2 weeks before the appointment, to get a new confirmation on the appointment. You can say that a lot of people want to have an appointment and you want to be sure that your agenda is full (that's scarcity!! No one will reschedule!)
FOURTH:
Ask your customers for new leads!
All these behavioural things create the feeling for your customer that he is special (he gets a lot off attention) and that the product is scarce. And that conviction gives you the opportunity to rise the prize with about 10% and create your own steady agenda.
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If you have a brilliant proposition, it won't be a problem to get appointments in the first place...
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Well, first of all you need to decide on the most convincing and appreciated part of the product demo which you think could be pitched as the USP to the prospective client.
Then, it could be marketed through various media channels. Almost half of your job is done.
Now, the people would be aware of the product and getting an appointment out of their calendars should not be a tough job.
Even if you manage to get 40% appointments in the first round that should be considered valuable as this would also help you giving references while approaching the new clients.
Regards,
Ankur.
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I see creating value separate from setting appointments. If the latter is the issue, your highest propensity for quality leads/appointments is going to be from those in which you've given a demo and like the product and value it creates. Asking for a referral from these businesses is likely to put you in contact with similar businesses.
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This is a great question indeed and I appreciate the chance to share my opinions. (after all, that is the best I have to offer based upon my practical experience, thought process and theoretical understanding) With that being written...
I would start by stating that you cannot "create value" per se as much as uncover the value the prospect places on achieving an appointment- or an interaction at all for that matter.
A reasonable goal for starting the process should be to check the interest of a prospect relative to your product/ service solution. In order to do this, one would need to question the prospect regarding their objectives, interests, critical issues and overall desires. (personal, professional and those relative to the inquiry) This might sound to involved or time consuming but a sales professional should "Live to Give" so to speak.
That is to say, "I have a gift which may suit your needs but at this point I am unaware of specifically what they entail. I have an idea of how I might add value and benefit you but you will need to help me if we are to agree and partner. There is of course no obligation to do so and I will appreciate you greatly for your candor either way. Let us then begin... what might we agree is a good place to start? Let me listen, learn and be silent. (as an example... without the Shakespearean tone. Ha ha)
Disclaimer- I Hope this answer is in the proper context for the question.
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When putting together your pitch presentation, ALWAYS think in terms of the customers perspective. WIFM What is in It For Me?? From their perspective.
Deliver that message up front in the conversation. In the sales scenario you have laid out, the process is key. The goal to this step is to set an appointment. Deliver the pitch, agree on a time, and say thank you!!
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I liked the suggestion that you need to be prepared for the possible objections in obtaining appointments. OF course, one can benefit by using marketing to create awareness and "word of mouth" to generate references.
Another aspect that we need to look at is channel- Is it appropriate to make the appointments yourself? May be the whole situation can turn around by tying up with a company or using representatives/ distributors as they fill some need gaps? These new media can create value, for instance relationships, to your customers so that they are ready to meet and look at your products.
I guess there are few more specifics that we need to look at to arrive at the solution: Are you in consumer business or B2B setting? What is your target customer profile like? What is the value($) of your product? Most importantly, why it is difficult to get appointment?
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