In this interesting post I am going to discuss the important of having great sales meetings. All experienced sales folks know how important it is to tell ‘the story’ but I am going to confuse the heck out of you. Most top sales people are great story tellers but they tend to be very good at telling their stories. This blog post learning is just the opposite; vastly increase your success by learning how to tell the customer story!

What am I talking about?? Be patient and hear me out and it will all come together for you. This is one of those epiphany things; it was not planned but rather just sort of happened in the moment and the results can be staggering if done right.

All contemporary sales training teaches us stuff like we have 2 ears and 1 mouth so when we are in front of a customer use them in that ratio, ie. Listen more and talk less. Another way of saying this is to have empathy for your customers and connect with them emotionally and not just technically.

Watch this short video and see what I mean.

Ok so this is an abbreviated version of what really happened but you should quickly appreciate what transpired here. Rather than droning on about why me or my solution or my company or more ‘my’s’ I focused instead on what she was really grappling with. A big project with lots of visibility in the company and executive oversight, it was the sort of career maker or breaker and the resulting stakes were enormous. We had gotten to know each other well enough there was a business-personal relationship. Comments over time confirmed she was constantly under pressure to under spend and over deliver and this was not going to change anytime soon. By clearly showing empathy for her position and reinforcing she had what she needed, her one statement ‘you nailed it’ (actually happened) told me we were going to win this business.

So what are the sales meetings lessons here?

  1. The people in the customer organization that make the final recommendation of what to buy and from who really carry the burden of responsibility to get it right.
  2. Regardless of the size of the purchase, emotion still plays a key part in the decision. Don’t be so naïve to believe it is all about facts and figures and price and technical merit.
  3. Although this plays out more in relationship based sales it also matters in one time transactional sales. Not sure about you but I will not make a major purchase if I do not feel comfortable with the sales person. For me that means I do not have to like or trust them, I just cannot have ‘suspicions’ or ‘not sure’ feelings about them.

So remember that stories sell but rather than telling your story all the time try to figure out and tell their story. That will make for better sales meetings.

If this is one step too far for you now then at least learn how to be curious and ask questions like

  1. What can I do to make sure this works for you personally?
  2. Beyond the obvious comparative parameters like technology, price and support what would really make a difference for you?

Have a great week but before you go be sure to check out my online courses at https://www.takeactionsalesacademy.com

Also get my Daily 2 Minute Leadership and Sales Thought videos on my Facebook Group ‘Raise Your Sales IQ’ at 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/399906394125860/about/

Have a great week!

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Wayne Fredin
Wayne Fredin

With over 40 years of experience as an Army Officer, a Sales Executive in both public and private companies and having been self employed, Wayne is a highly respected Sales Trainer, Coach and Mentor. Having published Sales Leadership: Distinctions With a Difference in 2015 he had now created a series of online sales training courses, tools and resources.