www.officetechnologymag.com | April 2011 | 27 Effective Appointments Vital steps that help you advance your business by: Melissa Whitaker, Melissa Whitaker International A re you hitting a roadblock and stalling out after conducting an appointment? Have you ever wondered why you cannot reach your contact right after you just gave the performance of your life at his (or her) office? Does the prospect know that you can solve his problems? Did you truly conduct an effective “needs analysis,” or did you act like every other salesperson and just tell him why and how your company is so great? Most salespeople get into a habit of winging appointments, which is unfortunately one of the top reasons why salespeople fail. Far too often, salespeople “talk at” prospects instead of engaging them by asking key questions to understand their challenges and goals. Have an Appointment Strategy Plan Having an appointment strategy plan can help you avoid this issue by giving the call an objective and asking strategic ques- tions to keep you focused. is will give you credibility that en- gages the prospect before you have earned the right of telling him what your company offers. An appointment strategy plan is simply a road map where you plan what key questions need to be asked to see if you can offer value to the prospect. Let them do 80 percent of the talking. If you set yourself up as someone who can advance the prospect’s business, it will not matter what you are selling. A good prospect is always looking for people to help him get where he is going. So what is the main objective in the first appointment? e initial call is your opportunity to identify your client’s needs and what his pains and challenges are. At this point, you can begin the process of determining how your product or service will meet his needs. Building a relationship with the client or prospect is crucial in creating a long-lasting partnership. Develop a True Needs Analysis Following are the six steps required when conducting an effective appointment: (1) “ank You.” — Saying “thank you” is a simple cour- tesy most people have forgotten. However, it shows apprecia- tion for someone’s time, which, in today’s economy, is a chal- lenging commodity to secure. (2) Have an Agenda — Since time is so precious, prospects want to know what you plan on covering and where you are in the process 10 minutes into the meeting. You can have a verbal agenda, but a professional, simple written agenda is preferred. (3) e Current Situation — Ask open-end- ed questions. Effective questioning skills will assist you in accurately identifying the needs, wants and motivations of your clients, thus en- abling you to best serve them. Act like a doctor and start with an examina- tion. First, examine the facts and visions and fo- cus on the big picture. Where is the company to- day? What are the company’s visions and goals? Next, diagnose the company by learning about its needs and pains. Be sure to find out multiple pains or challenges the prospect is having. Too often, salespeople uncover one prob- lem and immediately start selling. Hold yourself back from getting caught in this trap. If the prospect does not associate a high enough cost to that one pain to make a change, then you have just shot yourself in the foot. Peel back the onion on every pain you uncover by simply saying, “Tell me more ... ” After finding multiple pains, ask what the possible sources of the pains are; what might be causing these situations? Next, what are the hurdles (costs) of each pain? (4) e Ideal Situation — Now that you understand where the prospect is today and what he would like to move away from (those pains), your next task is to ask questions to see what he wants to move toward (needs, requirements, bene- fits, buying criteria). is will help you to come back with a proper prescription. Since prospects do not usually know how to fix their prob- lems — that is why you are there — you might have to guide them toward possible options. Customers are becoming more educated on the benefits of managed print services (MPS), document needs analysis and fleet optimization. An example of this guidance would be asking your prospect: “Would op- timizing your current fleet of assets and consolidating over- redundant equipment help your organization reduce costs and streamline workflow? How do you feel that will help your organization?” I am sure you have heard the saying, “People like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold.” Let the prospect take some ownership of his solutions so he feels the outcome is a collaboration of efforts and he is not being sold. (5) e Decision-Making Process — Since you have SELLING SOLUTIONS