I have always disliked scripts and rehearsed responses to the questions that inevitably come up in sales meetings. So one of the things I have committed to recently is avoiding presenting the exact same way to every prospect, regardless of whether they share certain needs or characteristics. Just because an approach is comfortable, pragmatic, and convenient for me as a sales representative does not usually translate the same way to my counterparts.
This decision led me to better prepare for my meetings: researching on LinkedIn the profile of the person I am meeting with, reviewing their past experience, how long they have been with their current company, how they describe their role, and how detailed their social media presence is. Then I look at the company: how their website looks, their content, and the language they use when interacting with customers. Next, I research their competitors to get a clear picture of the broader industry, check whether I have prospected any of them before, or see if someone on our team has additional insights to help me arrive better prepared.
Once the key takeaways from this research are clear, I start drafting the questions I will ask during the meeting. Naturally, it will not be an interrogation, but the right question can be a key that unlocks vital information to qualify the prospect's current situation, another can reveal their concerns, and another can uncover their immediate needs. Questions are double-edged swords: they can disarm people and encourage honest conversation, or they can damage the meeting so severely that the opportunity bleeds out. Caution is essential.
When I arrive at the meeting, things rarely go as planned. Building rapport takes 20 minutes, we get sidetracked discussing an operational problem outside the scope of my consulting services, or I simply am not at my best and end up boring my prospect into a deep silence that signals I have lost my opportunity. Drawing on the motivational training courses I was required to take in previous jobs, I regain my footing. In the final 10 minutes of the meeting, I step up and start asking my questions. Two of them spark the bored manager's interest, and suddenly, we connect.
In their responses, I can see a clear need to automate post-sales communications, but it is not a decision that is fully defined or one they can make alone or immediately.
According to some statistics, up to 80% of sales reps would say goodbye and write off the opportunity, sending a brief email with a slide deck to be considered in a future that never arrives.
However, going against the trend, I classify the prospect as a qualified lead, since they have a clear, distinct need that is not going anywhere. I add them to a segment in my database expected to close in the medium term, and I assign myself follow-up tasks to nurture the commercial relationship with more information.
After 3 months of emails, calls, e-books, and a demo, my prospect decides to invest in technology… but not with me. What a shame!
Yet not all is lost. Out of the database of 7 prospects that shared the same segment with this lost opportunity, we are now about to close 2 deals.
Not bad at all, especially considering that most sales reps would have removed these opportunities from their pipeline to focus exclusively on deals closer to closing in both timing and scope.
Ultimately, the credit belongs to the sales rep, but the system helped me build highly specific segmentation to identify and group companies across different sizes and industries that were not ready to buy yet, but needed to solve a problem.
The Sales Automation system allowed me to reach out to this segment periodically with valuable content to address questions, generate curiosity, and engage more stakeholders across their organizations in the sales process. And just like that one, I reach 10 other segments, each with tailored frequency and content, without spending days manually sending emails.
It is that same system that frees up hours to research my prospects and prepare thoroughly before every meeting.
“That is what a CRM system can do to help you increase your sales, Alejandro. What do you think?” I conclude, looking directly at the manager after finishing my story.
