Sale of services
Selling a service is not the same as selling a product. Your prospect is buying a
intangible. There are no shiny buttons to show off. You and your company are the
visible representations of the service. You need to live up to them in your image.
(marketing) And how you “woo” the potential customer. (dirty)
When you’re marketing, you focus on opening the door for your potential customer. You are part of
the noise of the day to day, that invades her every day. Your job is to break
through that mess and produce a good enough impression that you are willing to
take the next step and we meet with you.
Once you meet a prospect, your goals change. The two main objectives of
sales meeting is getting the potential customer to reveal their wants (needs analysis) and
I see you as the best solution (positioning).
The sales meeting is your opportunity to take a positive image of your marketing.
created and bring the sales / marketing cycle to a fruitful conclusion. On sales
meeting, the prospect should come to feel that you are more than competent, and
that you can be trusted with your company, your career and your dreams.
The most important rule in sales: talk little, listen a lot.
Spend 75% of your time listening. Ask questions and paraphrase the
answers. By doing this, you are defining the background of the perspective
situation, confirming what your wishes are and discovering the personality of the potential customer.
schedule.
Note that I say “wants”, not “needs”. Too many people try to sell what they earn
believe or understand that people need. People do not take good care of what
they need, only what they want. Sometimes these coincide, but not always. Sell what you
prospects want, their wishes. Making dreams come true is a stronger sell, just ask
Disney.
Once you have gathered enough data, summarize the key issues and their
implications for the immediate and long-term well-being of the potential customer. The use of
questioning, paraphrasing and summarizing, builds the perception of your experience
and reliability. Your prospect will begin to believe in your ability to
understand your unique issues.
And treat your problems as unique, even if you’ve seen them hundreds of times before.
Most people feel that they are the only ones with their particular set of problems. Whose
make them feel common.
It is important to assess your ability to meet the expectations of your potential customer. If you
can live up to it, then reassure the potential customer with a simple and confident statement like “I
can help. “If the prospect is interested in continuing, begin to identify the
project parameters. Begin by asking, “What is the specific end result?
want to achieve from us working together? “Ask questions and follow-up questions
to guide the prospect to begin defining the desired outcome and process, timelines,
budgets or other important project guidelines.
Before going too far in this hiring discussion, determine if your
the prospect is the real decision maker. (If you haven’t already). There are
Decision makers? (A decision maker has the authority to approve or reject the
terms of reference, recommendations and implementation, may authorize
payment and terminate the contract.)
Tell the potential customer what you need from her. Make sure your prospect accepts
joint customer / supplier responsibility for success. Reinforce that the
tools to succeed: access to information, people and other resources. Be clear about
its fee structure. Make sure your potential customer understands you.
The sales cycle is completed by confirming the agreement in person and by
Follow up with a letter of agreement or written contract. It should contain your
understanding of the background, project scope, project plan, fees, expenses and
Payment conditions and any other relevant conditions. For most small projects, don’t get
too wordy: one page is usually enough.
For many of us, selling is an uncomfortable and even scary task. But it must be
done if we want to have the opportunity to offer the benefits that we have to offer.
