Proverbs 24:27

Proverbs 24:27 

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Christian Based Selling:

One of the keys to success in professional sales is preparation.   There are aspects to selling that are beyond our control but how well we prepare for a meeting is entirely up to us.  Preparation alone will not win the business but the lack thereof increases the risk of losing the opportunity.  

The amount of prep will depend on the nature of the meeting.  However, even if you are just networking with a potential connector within a target account you still should have a good handle on the fundamentals.  Why would someone introduce you to peers or superiors if you do not demonstrate that you have invested time into knowing their business and can articulate how your company has helped similar organizations.

1st Meeting Prep checklist:

• Review the LinkedIn profile of your contact 
• Review the company website
• Read the company news.  Look for acquisitions or other major milestones over the last three years.
• For public companies, review the latest 10-K
• Create an org chart of key executives   
• Know your company's case studies for the target's industry

Once an opportunity has been identified there is a great deal of addition preparation that must be done.   
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• Debrief with your team from the 1st meeting to get each colleague's insight
• Brainstorm on why your prospect should select you and your solution.  Formalize these win themes.  
• Develop a proposal that presents your solution in alignment with the win themes 
• Schedule a practice session with the pursuit team in which you discuss roles and goals for the meeting.  Run through the presentation to fine tune the messaging and the delivery
• Schedule a second prep session the day of the meeting to re-orient the pursuit team to the opportunity.   

Prepping with colleagues is a lot of fun.   Offer to bring coffee into the office for a morning meeting or perhaps order pizza for a post 5 planning session.  Take the opportunity to enjoy working with your colleagues while developing your win strategy.     

​Prospective clients assess how you and your team show up during the sales process because it is a strong indicator as to how you will show up if they select your company as a partner.   

Are you doing your homework before going to 1st meetings?  Are you and your team prepping to win?