2.      Target a specific market segment.    Don’t chase every available opportunity.   Focus and increase your knowledge and expertise in a particular market segment. Learn as much as you can about their business needs, terminology, issues and marketplace trends.

3.      Prepare ad infinitum.   Before you meet any new prospect, research their business.   Find out whats important to them, their challenges, goals and strategic imperatives.

4.     Create seductive ideas.   Use your brain and think for your prospective and existing customers.    A seller who consistently brings business ideas to the relationship becomes indispensable- winning contracts with minimal competition and at full dollar value.

5.   Slow Down, Lean Back.    Don’t try to rush sales, even if you’re desperate. Customers feel your push and immediately erect a wall of resistance.   On first sales calls do NOT lean forward.   To maintain a consultative approach you must LEAN BACK.   Lean back, slow down, and you’ll get the business sooner.

6.    Pursue Quality, not Quantity.   Make fewer sales calls, but better ones.   Focus all your efforts on preparing for the meeting. Determine the next logical step. Think about what you need to make the outcome a reality. Test every idea you come up with from your customer’s perspective.   Think- if I said or did this, how would my customer interpret it or react?

7.    Minimise Opportunity Leakage.   Unless customers can explicitly state the business value of your offering in concrete terms your opportunity can easily evaporate into thin air- even if they appear highly interested.  To increase your order rate, ask questions such as:    Why would this help you?    What value would you get from this service?   What are the primary benefits you would realise from my product/ service?   This cements the value in their brain.

8.    Make Follow Up Meetings Concrete.   Don’t leave a meeting without scheduling your next one- or you may never catch up with your customer again.  The longer it takes to reschedule, the more their desire for the offering fades.   Get the meeting on both your calendars now, even if its just to talk on the phone

9.    Always debrief your sales calls.    Ask yourself:    What went well?   Where did I run into problems?   What could I do next time to get better results?   This will assist you in improving your technique.