Typically, the people who are part of a company or firm’s business development team are sales people by trade; they have a sales background and a sales person’s mindset. Also, they use a sales person’s approach and tactics, such as cold-calling prospects, scheduling presentations and engaging prospects in follow-up discussions to win the deal or business.

Although my book, “The Golden 120 Seconds of Every Sales Call” and my consultancy look at the “sales” process, the principles I discuss also apply to business development.

The person engaged in “business development” (he/she could be the business owner or someone in the role of heading up business development) is “selling” themselves, their company, their brand and their value proposition as well as the key features of their service or product. They’re trying to make an impression as, like the salesperson, they are often trying to set themselves apart from companies who are competing for the business.

For those of you in business development, there are also those critical junctures with a prospect — those golden moments — in which what you say and do can impact whether you win the prospect’s business. These junctures are brief and can come and go before you have recognized them and grabbed at the opportunity and acted upon them.

Like the sales person, preparation prior to a call or meeting is crucial, including planning how you’re going to engage the prospect in the first 120 seconds. You need to employ proactive behaviors to move things forward in your business development interactions, however you want to make sure you observe proper protocol for dealing with and winning over prospective clients.

By using the approach of acting on “The Golden 120 Seconds,” you can gain the confidence, the focus and the edge you need to close more business.

It’s this later point I now want to focus on.

When traveling to a prospect’s office, you may not be just using a car — you may be also taking public transportation such as a train, plane or bus. If that’s the case, watching your behavior starts as soon as you enter the terminal, occupy public waiting areas and especially once you are on the plane/train/bus itself.

My public relations person recently shared with me this scene she witnessed on a flight from Boston to Florida: Two gentlemen sitting in the aisle seats across the aisle from her (one was seated behind the other) were talking quite loudly about the meeting they were going to with a well-known company. It was clearly a sales presentation and the man in the front seat had a laptop open and sticking out in the aisle so the man behind him could see it. They were working on their presentation and discussing their strategy for closing the sale, frequently mentioning the company’s name and the names of individuals who would be attending the meeting. There were a couple times in which the tone of their discussion with respect to this prospect sounded less than positive.

So many things occuring in this scenario are terribly wrong!

1. These men were talking publicly about their sales prospect.
2. They were mentioning the prospect company and meeting attendees by name (again, publicly).
3. They were displaying their sales presentation so others could see.
4. They were discussing publicly their strategy for closing this sale.
5. They were allowing a derogatory tone to enter their discussion which others could hear.

What if someone from the prospect company was on the plane (which is very likely since the two men were traveling to the prospect’s location)? Or someone who knew the company, the people who worked there or the people who were mentioned in the two salesmen’s discussion?

Just like the parking lot scenario in which the two salesmen were spitting in full view of the prospective client’s office, you need to watch your behavior when traveling via public means to a sales meeting. You just never know who might see (or hear) you.

In my “Eight Golden Rules for Negotiating,” preparation is a dominant theme. First among those eight rules is do your research. You want to make sure you fully know and understand the audience with whom you are negotiating and also the environment in which the conversation is taking place. Another thing to do before the negotiation is think about and know your objective. It should be crystal clear to you.

One task that’s critical to your preparation before a negotiation is to know your “game plan” — how you will start the conversation and conduct the interaction. The first two minutes are most important — they are “the golden 120 seconds” — and the point in your interaction in which you will set the stage and tone for how the negotiation will go. You will want to not only plan what you want to say, but rehearse it several times and even role play with others.

Another preparatory step you want to take — and this is probably the most important — is to think about and write down what’s in it for the person you are negotiating with. Even though you are clearly focused on achieving an objective to obtain something for yourself, you don’t have to be the only one gaining here. Think about what winning the negotiation will potentially mean for that person, what it will bring them and/or how it will affect them. Then ask yourself if there’s anything you need to do to ensure the outcome is positive for them too. By doing that — as well as taking the other steps — you can be assured that what you’re negotiating for will result in not only a win for you, but a win for everyone.

We all know how important first impressions are in a new relationship or situation. They can truly make a difference in how the relationship proceeds and the situation unfolds. But there is probably no instance in which making a first impression is more important than a sales call. A poor first impression will have you trying to dig your way out of a hole, and you probably won’t sell anything — no matter what you’re selling.

I know this fact may be intimidating! The good news is you have complete control of the situation and through preparation, practice and confidence building, you can be sure you are putting only your best foot forward and making an impression that will get you off to a positive start with the prospect.

Preparation involves a number of steps — the most important of which is creating a framework of what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it during those first 120 seconds. Preparation involves both mental and tactical preparation and should include the following elements:
• Researching the prospect beforehand;
• Determining objectives for the meeting;
• Knowing who will be at the meeting;
• Developing the meeting collaterals; and
• Setting the agenda and forwarding it to your prospect before the meeting.

With these elements in place — as well as the elements of body language discussed in my December 30th blog post — you can produce a flawlessly-executed opening during the all-important first 120 seconds of your sales meeting. Those two minutes will be the springboard for the rest of your meeting, so make sure you have water in the pool before you jump in. Because how you present yourself will not only set the tone for the meeting, but will make or break your selling opportunity.

Few things factor more importantly in your sales preparation than your appearance, because, of course, it’s the first impression you make with the prospect. It goes without saying that your appearance needs to be highly professional, but what characterizes a truly “professional” appearance?

While your clothes may be clean and pressed, what you wear and how you wear it and present yourself physically is another matter. I’m talking about body language — how you use your hands, your handshake, your sitting and standing position, your eye contact, etc. Then there are the items you bring to the meeting and are part of how you present yourself — your pens, note pad, business cards, etc. All of these things communicate your level of professionalism, confidence and attention to detail.

Altogether, there are 18 critical elements of nonverbal communication that each salesperson should check before every sales call, no matter how casual the encounter. In addition to the above, salespeople need to consider their fingernails (keep them trimmed, clean and away from your face), breath (think about what you ate and drank before the meeting), make-up (women, don’t overdo it; keep it natural), and shoes (keep them polished and well-soled). Salespeople also need to keep their hair out of their eyes and their hands away from their groin (no scratching!).

These nonverbal communication opportunities can become powerful tools in your selling arsenal. You want your prospects to focus on your selling messages, especially during those “Golden 120 Seconds.” If they are distracted by your mannerisms or turned off by your appearance, even your best efforts to present your product or service will be wasted.

The motivation for writing this book came from what I’ve seen and learned in my 25 years of working “in the trenches” in sales.  Sales people — and particularly those who are experiencing the challenges of selling products and services in this economy — are often finding themselves “stuck” and unable to make things happen with prospective customers.  They want to improve their sales performance and better manage the sales process.  As a result, they desperately seek out new approaches, techniques and ideas that will help them close more deals. 

What I touch on in “The Golden 120 Seconds of Every Sales Call” is a sales approach I developed using the knowledge I’ve acquired and the techniques I’ve honed, as well as what I’ve learned from my own sales call mistakes.  This approach focuses on common sense tactics that sales people actually already understand but for some reason fail to execute.  The good news is they can start applying these tactics immediately.

Most importantly, my approach looks at those critical junctures during a sales call or meeting — the 120 seconds — in which the sales person’s behavior with the prospect can most impact the outcome.  Until now, these junctures — and developing strategies for navigating them — have been virtually ignored. 

My book is loaded with examples of both sales successes and sales blunders.  I’ve used this approach to grow my company and shared it with my clients to help them increase their sales and revenue.  If you are looking for a way to turnaround declining sales or end a pattern of lost sales opportunities, my book provides a solution.  Check it out at the Barnes & Noble website or Amazon.com.

 A down economy is fertile ground for proactive selling.  And, proactive selling requires that sales professionals are sensitive to the foundations of selling that in strong markets are so easy to ignore.   The days of opting for the next prospect if you spoil the selling interaction with the current prospect are over.  The next prospect may never come.  So the message to sales forces today is: “go out and make something happen”:  generate relationships, find more prospects, and increase the number of selling opportunities.  

 The key to being able to leverage these opportunities comes from the flawless execution of the basic foundational selling skills so necessary to successful selling.  Just as the $20-million a year baseball player goes to spring training every year for seven weeks of practicing the fundamentals, the sales professional needs to ensure they are training, and preparing for the next selling season by re-learning the fundamentals.  The Golden 120 seconds of Every Sales Call is about applying these key fundamentals to every call, every selling interaction and every opportunity to “make something happen.”   

 Author Peter Dennis has over twenty-five years of ‘in-the-trenches’ selling experience.  In this twenty-two chapter book he provides tips, warning areas and common-sense (yet easily forgotten) elements of strong sales call preparation and execution.

Today’s economic environment is ripe for a sales book with a unique focus.  After-all, anyone who has sold anything will recognize that the ultimate success or failure in any selling opportunity comes down to a critical 120-second juncture.

Pre order your copy today by visiting www.norlightspress.com and viewing the “In The Spotlight” section.

It’s easy to neglect this or put it off; but there are a multitude of benefits to reconnecting  with the people who’ve already made the decision to buy from you.  We all know organizations that are very good at this. Unfortunately we can also name a few that seem to forget about you “after the sale is made.”  Make sure your selling organization doesn’t fall into the latter group! 

And, while you’re at it, does your sales process include a formal approach to asking your customers who else could benefit from your product or service?   Does your “sales tool kit” include two or three references from satisfied customers who are delighted with your service?  Have those customers agreed to be references for you?  Is the information readily available for new prospects – and in a presentable form?

Now is a good time to re-visit your current and former customers, re-cultivate the relationships your organization has already spent thousands of dollars developing and leverage those relationships into new opportunities and new business.

It’s a topic that’s easily forgotten in preparing for the sales presentation, sales meeting or networking interaction.  Almost everything we do in sales is about listening-and-talking and for example, providing needs analysis, making recommendations and then negotiating a price that’s fair for everyone.   (And if price is the first thing you’re talking about, you best forget about making the deal – but that’s a topic for a future blog.)

Quite simply I think the quality of a handshake is never a deal-maker, but I do think it can contribute to being a deal-breaker.   As a large portion of the buying decision invariable defaults to the buyer liking the seller (meaning that the buyer trusts the seller and feels confident about the potential transaction), not only our talking points and listening skills, but our mannerisms and physical presence, have a lot of influence on the buyer’s subconscious assessment of whether or not we are the person they want to do business with. 

The vice-grip handshake, the clammy handshake, the perspiration-soaked handshake and the limp handshake can distract the buyer just enough from the other elements of messaging you are conveying in your selling interaction.   Why take that chance?  So, I think the best approach to use when it comes to handshakes comes down to: firm (no vice-grip), confident, relaxed and deliberate.   And, if you’re prone to clammy hands, carry a cloth with you or wash your hands with warm water right before a meeting.

Shaking hands – as a sales professional it’s the only physical interaction you’re going to have with your prospect; you best get it right!