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The conversation usually begins with an email to an engineer. It takes shape something like this:
[Customer] "I need to add this additional feature to our current project.
[Engineer ] bluntly "It's too late to add anything to the project scope."
[Customer] "I understand that it is a little late in the game, but our client says the feature is critical to their application."
[Engineer] "Why didn't they tell you that before we scoped the project? We'll never get done at this rate!!"
I met with a consulting group the other day that was starting to grapple with the fact that their largest client was going to leave the end of this year. The really bad news is this client represents 90% of the overall business. Not good. The fact is clients come and go all the time, it is the nature of this business. The interest in talking to me about this coming event came from the need to start a serious prospecting campaign and how best to do it, fast. I can help do this by working hard to contact potential clients that may not have been cultivated very well in the past. I had to
1. Always start with a question: How do you think you are doing? It helps give the person receiving joint ownership of the issue and makes him feel included, not excluded.
2. Don't give criticism unless it's invited: unexpected negative feedback can provoke push back and will be discounted.
3. Make sure you are viewed as having the authority to give constructive feedback. Critique from those perceived as peers or unqualified to give it will create resistance and strong push back.
1) It is strategic; plan that way
2) Looking for the right person instead of company is key
3) Stay in the field of your expertise
4) Remember, clients and companies are only looking for two things:
A. How to make profit
B. How to save money
5) Look your absolute best, get in great shape
6) Be ready to work with clients, customers outside the USA. Asia is always in growth mode.
Learn what you do best from your top customers. Ask them what a competitor says about you in a competitive selling process. Keeping improving your strengths and don't spend time on your weaknesses.
I recently was coaching a senior executive involved in a million dollar deal. The value of the deal kept dropping, until I told him to stop. The buyer kept demanding more each day and my client offered a little more in the way of concessions without getting anything in return. Finally, the client stopped giving and let the prospect know he was done by not responding to more demands. The deal was closed with acceptable terms.
Recently, I worked on getting a second meeting with a potential client for over two months. Many attempts and various ways of making contact were used. This weekend (9 am on sat) my calls, e-mails and text messages were returned. I confirmed a our second appointment later this month.
We just completed our sales certification course at Foothill/De Anza College last week. I would have to say it was very rewarding teaching all the skills in the sales process from building initial rapport to closing. We rounded out the certification training with interactive courses in negotiations and the creating your own 'elevator pitch'.
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These are some behaviors I have been guilty of or observed over the years that did not help:
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