Opening the Sales Meeting [Sales Process Part 4 of 9]

You have made a connection with your sales prospect, and you are ready to start selling… But, hold on. Let’s first open the sales process formally, so we all know where we are. This is the Sales Opening.
The Book of the Course!
Sales Skills: A Management Courses Introduction
This book gives a broad introduction to the topic, for managers and professionals who don’t want or intend to specialize in sales and selling. And as a fast start for someone needing to make a start in selling, for whatever reason.
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Watching this video is worth 2 Management Courses CPD Points.
See below for details
Sales and Selling Skills
This video is part of course module 8.4.1
Program 8: Managing Customers and Clients
Course 4: Sales / Selling Skills
Section 1: The Sales Process
Other videos that describe the Sales Process:
The Sales Process https://youtu.be/iPZNem-Xguw
Sales Prospecting https://youtu.be/m7bQ4wNeZmo
Pre-Sales Activities https://youtu.be/lEBsFG_jqnU
Rapport Building https://youtu.be/aJqduxW2MA4
Diagnosing the Need https://youtu.be/pAsYVf4E3to
Presenting Solutions https://youtu.be/xf-mhhbL2tk
Handling Objections https://youtu.be/S6JFm46Gfso
Seeking Commitment https://youtu.be/1D1-VC9Ccjk
After Sales Activities https://youtu.be/3qrrlXwDjJI
LESSON NOTES
The sales opening sets the scene and allows both parties to share an understanding of why you have come together, what you are here to do, and the broad process and timing.
One of the most important questions you can ask at this stage is ‘how much time do you have?’
What you need to cover in the sales opening:
• Introduction
• Objective
• Process
• Transition
Introduction
Offer to introduce yourself formally.
There are two levels of introduction:
1. the lightweight ‘I’m Mike, from Management Courses’ that sets up rapport building (the previous video), and
2. the more detailed (but concise) introduction you will use in this opening stage, to establish your credibility. You should have prepared this in advance. Keep it tight, and relevant to this meeting.
Objective
Either:
- suggest an objective for the meeting and seek agreement from your prospect, or
- ask them what they hope to get from the meeting.
Either way, once you are agreed, be prepared to ensure that your process will be able to deliver it.
Process
Either:
- Set out how you would like to conduct the meeting, or
- Ask them how they would like to structure the meeting
From this, lay out an agenda and clarify the timings. Also, ask about their authority: ‘are you in a position to make a decision today, or are there further stages in the process for you?’
Transition
This is your transition into the next stage of the sales process, the Diagnosis Stage. You may say something like, ‘I’d like to get started by finding out…’ and then you can start asking your questions, and pass the talking baton over to your prospect.
RECOMMENDED EXERCISE
Plan your own personal introductions:
1. A lightweight version (1 MC CPD Point)
2. A more detailed version (2 MC CPD Points)
DOWNLOADS
Free Resources
CPD Tools - https://gum.co/MC-CPD
Paid resources
Management Courses Onboarding Kit - https://gum.co/MC-ObK ($3)
RECOMMENDED READING
There are many books that introduce sales and selling. These are the ones I have, and can recommend:
To Sell Is Human https://geni.us/L2EQmt
The Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need https://geni.us/AEAVD5
The New Strategic Selling https://geni.us/Zt2Z9n3
SPIN Selling https://geni.us/Ir5xu
The Psychology of Selling https://geni.us/AjR8AA
Links to our book recommendations are affiliated through Amazon and help support our free videos
Managers Need a Basic set of kit to do your job well. Here are my top recommendations: https://kit.co/MikeClayton/manager-s-work-kit (the links are affiliated)
MANAGEMENT COURSES CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) POINTS
You can record your Management Courses CPD points on our free, downloadable CPD record log.
Download it at: https://gum.co/MC-CPD
Each video has two levels of MC CPD points. For this video:
- If you simply watched the video, record 2 MC CPD points
- If you also carried out all of the recommended exercises, score a total of 5 MC CPD points
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 - Are you ready to start selling? Not so fast, tiger.
00:26 - Setting the scene for your meeting
00:47 - How much time do you have?
02:05 - The other purpose for the opening to your meeting
02:50 - Introduction
03:30 - Objectives
04:14 - Process
05:06 - Transition
#SalesOpening #Sales #SalesProcess