By Jeff Beals
“It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters,” said the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, perhaps the greatest coach in football history.
Preparation is important in all walks of life, but in the game of football, it’s patently obvious when you fail to do it. Just as Coach Bryant prepared his team for on-field competition, you must prepare just as intensely for your sales consultation meetings as well as final presentations.
When you consider what’s riding on your sales presentations and how important a positive outcome would be, it makes sense to prepare diligently.
First, study your targeted prospect. Make sure you know everything you can about him or her. The better your background research, the more likely you will be to prove your ability to solve their problems and provide what they value. Go over all the notes you logged during your previous communications with the prospect to make sure you’re not omitting anything important in the presentation. Figure out what critical pieces of information you still need to learn about the prospect and have a list of questions that specifically would yield such answers.
Anticipate any objections the prospect might put forth and have responses ready to go. Determine what parts of your sales presentations are just “boilerplate” material and which parts are to be customized. Spend time getting ready for the customized part, because you want it to sound natural and not awkward.
If you’re new to sales, or you have become a little rusty since your last presentation, there’s nothing wrong with practicing before a big meeting. You could always role-play with a colleague or friend.
On-field success in football is totally dependent on practice, so it’s no surprise that successful sales pros have been known to practice too.
Jeff Beals is a professional speaker and award-winning author, who helps professionals enjoy greater success through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques. He delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide. To discuss booking a presentation, go to JeffBeals.com or email at info@jeffbeals.com or call us at (402) 637-9300.
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