Selling with Agendas: UP FRONT SELLING - A slight sales edge.
The source of the whole world’s frustrations are unmet expectations...
- This article is about agendas, sales & business
- Do you want to sell more in less time, while burning less energy?
- Be prepared to have a belief or two challenged while reviewing these elements of sales agendas.
- Can you spare 5 minutes, give or take?
- After reading this article you should have a pretty good framework for setting tight agendas, however that’s the easy part. The hard part starts when applying it into your world. Be prepared to sound awkward and terrible, but don’t stop, that’s just part of skill building.
No Mutual Mystification. What does that mean? First, consider this: Have you ever been in a meeting with an expectation of what was going to transpire, only to find out that isn’t what actually transpired? Or, Imagine you show up to your dentist appointment expecting just a cleaning & the Dentist is ready to execute a root canal! In general, think of mutual mystification as any time when two parties have different expectations and don’t take the time to clarify it in advance of the interaction.
You know those meetings you come out of and say something to yourself like: “that
went terribly, wasn’t prepared for that” - “WTF just happened!?” - “Wish I would of known VITO (very important top officer) was going to be in the meeting...” or “that was a complete waste of time." It’s our job as sales professionals to be intentional about finding out what expectations people have before we get together for the first meeting (any meeting to be exact)...It’s our responsibility to keep them comfortable.
Just like being in the dentist’s chair, you don’t want any surprises when you are face-to-face with a prospect. Nor does your audience/prospect. Release the pressure by being disarmingly honest with the prospect by letting them know up-front what’s going to happen during your time together. Face it, people have their guard up around salespeople, start lowering it up-front by establishing a clear future that’s co-created.
Below are the general elements of the Up-Front Contract from the Sandler Selling System. A proven, effective tool for establishing a mutual agreement, Up-Front, at every interaction with a prospect or customer. (valuable for internal customer communications too!)
- Establish an agreed purpose for the call or meeting.
- Find out what’s important to the prospect. What are they hoping to achieve in the time you’re together. MAKE IT ABOUT THEM
- Share with the prospect your agenda & what they should be prepared to discuss
- Agree to a specific time & duration for the meeting/call and reconfirm when you begin (Defuse any bombs upfront! Ask if there will be anyone else in the meeting!)
- Determine at the beginning of the meeting/call what you both agree will happen at the conclusion of your time together. The outcome. (Go for the no)
General Example of an outcome - Use your own words!
Mr./Mrs. Prospect, at the end of our conversation we should be able to determine what happens next. We will either decide to meet again, or we may find it doesn't make sense for us to move forward to the next step. Will you be OK letting me know if this isn't a good fit for you at any time?...I will do the same for you, Fair?
When used properly after some practice with your peers and manager (not
your customer or prospect), this simple, somewhat obvious tool can be the difference or slight edge over your competition by:
- Breaking down the barriers prospects put up for sales conversations
- Building REAL rapport quickly instead of ‘gag me with a stick’ FAKE rapport
- Making it about them & their agenda (instead of every salesperson who is eager to force their agenda)
- Removing the fear of the unknown
- Being organized and process oriented
- Getting to the truth as quickly as possible
- Showing respect of their valuable time, and yours
- Having both parties prepared resulting in accelerated sales cycles
- By always knowing what’s happening next - Always have a clear future!
- You fill in the blank:_____________________________________
The sales process is really just a series of agendas that are fulfilled. The outcome of a meeting should either be to move the sales process forward, or disqualify the opportunity because there isn’t a mutually beneficial solution worth pursuing. Why not protect your most valuable asset? TIME!
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