w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g. c o m | A p r i l 2 0 1 1 | 27

Effective AppointmentsVital steps that help you advance your business

by: Melissa Whitaker, Melissa Whitaker International

Are you hitting a roadblock and stalling out after conducting an appointment? Have you ever wondered why you cannot

reach your contact right after you just gave the performance of your life at his (or her) office? Does the prospect know that you can solve his problems? Did you truly conduct an effective “needs analysis,” or did you act like every other salesperson and just tell him why and how your company is so great?

Most salespeople get into a habit of winging appointments, which is unfortunately one of the top reasons why salespeople fail. Far too often, salespeople “talk at” prospects instead of engaging them by asking key questions to understand their challenges and goals.

Have an Appointment Strategy PlanHaving an appointment strategy plan can help you avoid this

issue by giving the call an objective and asking strategic ques-tions to keep you focused. This will give you credibility that en-gages the prospect before you have earned the right of telling him what your company offers. An appointment strategy plan is simply a road map where you plan what key questions need to be asked to see if you can offer value to the prospect.

Let them do 80 percent of the talking. If you set yourself up as someone who can advance the prospect’s business, it will not matter what you are selling. A good prospect is always looking for people to help him get where he is going.

So what is the main objective in the first appointment? The initial call is your opportunity to identify your client’s needs and what his pains and challenges are. At this point, you can begin the process of determining how your product or service will meet his needs. Building a relationship with the client or prospect is crucial in creating a long-lasting partnership.

Develop a True Needs AnalysisFollowing are the six steps required when conducting an

effective appointment:(1) “Thank You.” — Saying “thank you” is a simple cour-

tesy most people have forgotten. However, it shows apprecia-tion for someone’s time, which, in today’s economy, is a chal-lenging commodity to secure.

(2) Have an Agenda — Since time is so precious, prospects

want to know what you plan on covering and where you are in the process 10 minutes into the meeting. You can have a verbal agenda, but a professional, simple written agenda is preferred.

(3) The Current Situation — Ask open-end-ed questions. Effective questioning skills will assist you in accurately identifying the needs, wants and motivations of your clients, thus en-abling you to best serve them.

Act like a doctor and start with an examina-tion. First, examine the facts and visions and fo-cus on the big picture. Where is the company to-day? What are the company’s visions and goals?

Next, diagnose the company by learning about its needs and pains. Be sure to find out multiple pains or challenges the prospect is having. Too often, salespeople uncover one prob-lem and immediately start selling. Hold yourself back from getting caught in this trap. If the prospect does not associate a high enough cost to that one pain to make a change, then you have just shot yourself in the foot. Peel back the onion on every pain you uncover by simply saying, “Tell me more ... ” After finding multiple pains, ask what the possible sources of the pains are; what might be causing these situations? Next, what are the hurdles (costs) of each pain?

(4) The Ideal Situation — Now that you understand where the prospect is today and what he would like to move away from (those pains), your next task is to ask questions to see what he wants to move toward (needs, requirements, bene-fits, buying criteria). This will help you to come back with a proper prescription.

Since prospects do not usually know how to fix their prob-lems — that is why you are there — you might have to guide them toward possible options. Customers are becoming more educated on the benefits of managed print services (MPS), document needs analysis and fleet optimization. An example of this guidance would be asking your prospect: “Would op-timizing your current fleet of assets and consolidating over-redundant equipment help your organization reduce costs and streamline workflow? How do you feel that will help your organization?” I am sure you have heard the saying, “People like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold.” Let the prospect take some ownership of his solutions so he feels the outcome is a collaboration of efforts and he is not being sold.

(5) The Decision-Making Process — Since you have

SELLING SOLUTIONS

demonstrated your commitment to under-standing the customer’s needs by listening and have earned his trust, now you can ask direct questions about the decision-mak-ing process and expect honest and com-plete answers.

How often have you been led to believe that you are talking to the decision maker, only to find out later that there are other people involved in the process? This may be because you asked too soon and put the cli-ent on the spot.

When asking “Are you the decision maker?” or “Will any-one else be making the decision?” in the initial stages of in-formation gathering, most people feel compelled to say, “Yes, I am the decision maker.” To say otherwise may make him feel foolish. In order to preserve the dignity of the customer, ask: “Who, other than yourself, will be involved in the decision?” Many companies have multiple people or groups making the final decisions to share the risk of the outcome.

You also need to ask additional vital questions such as: n “What other companies are you looking at?”n “Tell me about your decision-making process.” n “How have you made decisions like this in the past?” n “What is your time frame for making this decision?” n “Do you lease or purchase?”(6) Move-Forward Commitment — Last but not least,

both parties need to establish a commitment to move forward.

A common mistake salespeople make is committing to doing more work for the prospect without having a commitment by the prospect to also bring more to the table. If the prospect does not have to do anything, how invested is he? Sure, he does not mind getting free work from you — but these days, that does not make him feel guilty enough to say “yes” in the end.

So instead of doing all the work, ask that he commit to do some research and bring some data to the next meeting. Or,

ensure he has additional people attend the next meeting who are vital for you to move forward in the process. The more in-vested your prospect is in the process, the more confident you can be in getting the business. Keep building rapport and keep closing more business. n

Melissa D. Whitaker has a proven track record in coaching salespeople and managers in selling at a higher level. After 14

years of proven sales and management results with leading organizations — Impact Networking, Toshiba America

Business Solutions and Chicago Office Technology Group (COTG/GISX/XEROX) —

Melissa founded Melissa Whitaker International. She specializes in MPS and

can be reached at (847) 845-4922 or melissa@melissawhitakerintl.com.

Visit www.melissawhitakerintl.com.

28 | w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g. c o m | A p r i l 2 0 1 1

Let the prospect take some ownership of his solutions so he feels the outcome is a collaboration of efforts and he is not being sold.