Advisor success: How to master a 30-minute sales meeting

Your new prospect only has a 30-minute timeslot to meet, and you’re concerned because half an hour isn’t much time to fully explore the situation and present your solution. Here’s how you can master that sales meeting.

• Your main objective is to gain understanding of the prospect’s situation, position your company as the solution-provider and then gain a commitment for a secondary full-length meeting.
• After exchanging the usual pleasantries say, “Let me tell you a little bit about us,” and follow with a short 20-second success story. Use this same approach if the prospect says, “Tell me about you or your company.”
• Pause and count to three slowly. Then ask a thought-provoking question, such as, “What prompted you to consider this now?”
• Make note of what the prospect tells you and probe with two or three more high-value questions to gain a general understanding of their specific situation. This should take no more than 15 minutes.
• Next, summarize your understanding of the prospect’s concerns and check for confirmation before continuing. This is critical because it allows the prospect to hear exactly what he or she told you and gives you the opportunity to validate the information.
• Next, show the prospect how you will address the concerns by explaining what you have done for other clients. Avoid talking about aspects of your solution that have no relevance to the prospect. This should take approximately 10 minutes.
• Keep your explanation concise and to the point. Don’t get into details. Don’t discuss the entire solution. Don’t talk about price or implementation procedures. Above all, don’t get sidetracked into other conversations or topics.
• At 25 minutes, look at your watch and say, “Mr. Jones, I know we only had 30 minutes scheduled for this meeting. I’d like to meet again, so we can discuss exactly how we would help you achieve the results I mentioned. Does that work for you?”

Sign up for The Lead and get a new tip in your inbox every day!