5 Steps to an Appointment with Your Dream Customer

We all have the “elevator speech” ready – those thirty seconds of perfectly-worded text built to get anyone at any level of business to notice us and to consider us an indispensable asset. Getting to use it is another story.

We may have the pitch planned perfectly for the moment we accidently run into the client of our dreams. But landing an appointment with your dream customers takes more than luck and a great “elevator speech.” It takes time, effort and a little planning.

Here are five steps to landing that appointment with your dream customer.

1. Study the customer before your call
How do you get an appointment with a customer that is extremely busy and believes they have no need for your product? Simple. Make yourself relevant to them.

Know their business world. Understand their competition. Grab their attention by speaking their language. The more you know about your customer, their business and the challenges they face, the more valuable you will appear when you finally make the call.

Nothing will get you closer to your goal of a successful sales career more than study and preparation. Do you waste your time and resources on accounts that you stand little chance of getting? Are you a “quote and hope” salesperson? Many salespeople were taught to chase any potential lead because sales is a numbers game. The more calls you make, the more successful you’ll be. Well, sales is no longer a numbers game – that game is over. The cost of doing business is simply too high to pursue any and every opportunity. Know the game before you play it. Know your customer before you make that call.

Become an Industry Expert. To become an expert in your industry, start by determining which industry markets you’d like to focus on. I recommend choosing only one or two industries at first and creating a list of all the companies located in your geographical region.

A great way to obtain information on a specific industry is to search for blogs from industry experts and set them up on an RSS feed, like Google Reader. Many companies provide newsletters to their customers and investors, and newsletters provide valuable insight into the current status of a company and its industry. A visit to each company’s website is imperative. Not only will you learn general information about their company, but you can also gather information about their accomplishments, problems and objectives.

LinkedIn is a prospecting tool that can fill your pipeline quickly, while giving you access to buyers, executives and decision makers. These contacts are even more accessible when you subscribe to LinkedIn’s monthly paid subscription, which provides you with Inmail (LinkedIn e-mail) and other ways to engage and connect with prospects that are not currently in your network.

Industry Reports. You may want to source industry reports by third-party firms. These reports are an excellent information resource which lists all of the players in the industry. It also includes sales figures, industry challenges, and the future outlook for the industry over the next three to five years. A simple Google search or advanced search can increase your odds of finding this information. And www.marketresearch.com is another good resource.

Learn from Smaller Accounts. A great resource for information on the bigger companies can be found in smaller companies within the industry. You can get excellent field practice calling on smaller accounts that won’t negatively impact your business if you do not secure them. Small accounts experience the same challenges as large accounts, but a lesser financial penalty is associated with them. If the smaller accounts are having a challenge finding good employees, then the odds are good that the industry in general is also experiencing this challenge. Regardless of the information you’re looking for, performing market research on the smaller accounts is a great way to cultivate knowledge to assist you in understanding the market and the standard operating procedures within that sector.

2. Formulate Your Hypothesis
Before you make contact with the customer, begin by writing a hypothesis of the issues, problems or challenges you think your prospect experiences. Based on your experience and the preliminary research you've gathered, determine what problems your product or service solves. You may have to peel away some layers before you identify their core issues and challenges. But the time you spend will be worth it.

Remember, your goal is to create in your customer a desire for change. You're also hoping to convince them that you can lead them down that path of change. Carefully crafted, thought-provoking questions help the customer discover that change is necessary.

For example, begin your meeting by stating you reviewed their income statement and noticed that they were behind the industry average. Connecting metrics and the financial position of their business to that of the industry average will start a conversation that will engage any C-level executive.

Understand that internal and external pressures provide both positive and negative consequences, and executives are looking at these variables each and every day. The primary concern of the executive is to improve the financial position of his organization. Your ability to think beyond the current sales opportunity and look at the executive's business from a 40,000-foot view – while determining how you can assist them with their long-term financial position over the next one, three, or five years – is not something the average competitor is currently providing in the marketplace.

You do not want to ask questions or discuss ideas to which you cannot provide solutions. Therefore begin with your starting hypothesis, see how your client responds, and determine what direction the conversation should take.

3. Create a Value Proposition
A value proposition is the benefit your customer receives by doing business with you. It addresses a specific issue or problem that your product or service solves.

Many sellers are unable to articulate a value proposition that differentiates their company. There are a few important questions that a value proposition must address:

• In what ways is your product or service innovative and unique?
• How is your product or service a benefit to your target buyer?
• Does your offering create excitement or address the concerns of your target market?
• How are you are different from your competitors?

It's important to tweak your value proposition to fit your target market. A “one size fits all” proposition will not articulate the attributes that matter most to your individual customers.

Having researched your target market, their industry, and their company during the study process, you should have enough information to develop a value proposition that's relevant to your target market.

4. Use your Value Proposition When You Prospect
A value proposition is an excellent tool for prospecting. Buyers are always looking for ideas, people and methods that will improve their profitability or operational processes. The language of business is financial, and your ability to position yourself as someone who can impact the bottom line through a powerful value proposition can get you in the door. The first step is to develop a phone script that focuses on the internal and external pressures that your product or service solves. Second, figure out how to articulate the value that you can provide the customer. Then, dive in. Do not be threatened or fearful of making contact with them. You are not selling a product, but helping them improve their business.

Once you’re prepared with an understanding of their industry and their particular organization and you have prepared a strong value proposition, any call reluctance should be minimized. You’re not a salesperson, but an executive with insight.

5. Make the Call
Remember customers need to improve their companies’ bottom line. When you demonstrate that you have insight that can help them achieve their goals, you immediately become relevant and are seen as an asset not an expense.

In five simple steps, you can take the element of chance out of landing that dream customer. With the proper preparation and the right motivation, you can turn every big sales call into a success.