I had barely put my Costco membership card away when I was immersed in all their brilliant marketing. It was just after New Year’s and within 50 feet of the entrance, I was reminded of all the promises I made to myself at 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s Day — lose weight, work out, eat healthy, take my vitamins. But as I ate my slice of pizza, I could not help but think about the health and wellness display at the entrance … only I started thinking about the health of my own organization. It was time for a sales health checkup. Whether you are a sales force of one or 100, the path to increasing your integration sales is rooted in just a handful of basics. Regardless of how your sales lead was generated, here are some things to keep front and center. 

Think of Your Sales Meeting Like a First Date

You will never get a second chance to make a great first impression. Be on time. We all have things that come up and your new client understands this too, so be sure to call if you are running late. Most importantly, don’t call to say you are running late at 12:30 p.m. when your appointment was scheduled for noon. 

You and your car should look like you care. Your car should be presentable and so should you. Wear clean clothes and look like you take care of yourself through good hygiene. If you smoke, don’t do it in the car because your clothes will be offensive to a non-smoker. Keep some breath mints around and a change of outerwear if need be. A clean presentation can go a long way to increasing your chances of closing more sales.

Be Sure to Connect With Your Clients Early

People want to buy from people they like. Get to know your client on a personal level early. Ask about them and their family. If I’m meeting clients at their home and I notice a large wine collection, we talk about it. If I’m meeting them at a new construction job site, I ask how’s the fishing on their lake? Try to get at least 5 to 10 minutes of casual conversation in before you move into techno world. If the client asks questions back about yourself in a casual way, then mission accomplished, you have connected. 

Make them feel comfortable with technology. Ask the right questions to help shape your design but don’t do all the talking. Listen, listen, listen, and write things down. Just as stress isn’t conducive to personal health, sales will struggle in a stressful situation.

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Lastly — this one is important — before you leave the meeting, schedule the next meeting to go over the proposal in person. Ask confidently, like it is the required next step in your design process. This will help you avoid the client saying to “just email them the quote and they will get back to you.” There is way too much to cover in a multipage proposal and getting in front of the client one more time is all part of closing the sale. 

Have a Creative Follow Up Planned for After the Meeting

“The fortune is in the follow-up,” said the author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn. For starters, a simple follow-up text or email saying, “it was so nice to meet them” and “thanking them for their time” goes a long way. 

If during your meeting they seemed unsure on which fabric to select for motorized shades, send them an informative article on it with a little note saying, “I thought you might find this read helpful.” For me, it’s all about engagement without overdoing it.  

If you established a meeting date to present your proposal, you already know your deadline. If it was determined that you would email the proposal, let the client know approximately when they can expect it and make sure you deliver it by then. There is nothing worse than getting a call from a prospect asking where their quote is.  

After quoting, be sure to follow up. Your client is busy and may not be the first to call. If you call or email without any response, try again in a few days. Many times, clients have thanked me for my persistence. Stay on it until you have your answer; positive or negative. 

Follow these simple steps and you will increase your sales and win more jobs. Then, with the extra revenue, you can buy that Costco treadmill sitting at the front entrance … but first, a slice of pizza! 

Neal Check is President of SoundCheck in Southfield, Mich. Contact him at [email protected].

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