SALES TIPS

Prepare

In order for your cold call to be appealing you need to know more about your prospects and their business than ever before. Company websites, social media, networking sites and awareness of industry gossip are all useful start points.

Competitive advantage

Imagine your call will follow one from your main competitor. How would you adjust your pitch to gain maximum competitive advantage? Review your USPs (unique selling points) and assess your competitor knowledge.

WIIFM

What’s In It For Me? Place yourself in the prospect’s shoes – they will be thinking this. Will your introduction explain sufficiently why you should listen to the call and engage with the salesperson?

Gap Analysis

Who is your target audience? Have you got the key players and are there any gaps in your prospect list. The more you operate in an industry sector the better equipped you are to preempt and address their needs.

Become the Guru

Be greedy in your quest for information. The closer you are to your sector the more you will know. Share that knowledge with your prospects and they will start to come to you first. It also builds trust.

Best Advice

Rather than focus on square metres consider the prospect’s best course of action. Why do they need to attend and what is their best option for creating an effective platform? Stand presence, speaking opportunities, branding and sponsorship will probably all be important. Offer best advice in terms of how they can maximise their budgets with you.