Next to your “takeaway” message, the art of listening is the most important, effective tool in a pitch meeting. If you combine a frequent, powerful takeaway message along with strong listening skills, you will open up a major passage to gain new business.
IBM recommends letting your customers, clients, and prospects talk 60% of the time. Letting your clients talk more than you gives you the chance to formulate questions that best yield what their needs are. You then have the opportunity to demonstrate how best to address their needs with the benefits and solutions you have to offer.
Here are five key pre-meeting research questions:
Who are their competitors? Look at their industry, their products, or their services. Evaluate tax laws or legislation that might impact them.
What is their business? Understand what your prospect actually produces, how they sell it, what type of marketing they use, their management structure, etc.
What are their buying habits? Who makes the final decisions, and are they “hidden” decision-makers?
What keeps them up at night? What are their pain points?
What benefits and solutions are they looking for?
Building answers to these questions is a necessary skill in order to fully relate and understand their needs and how you address them. Remember: Good questions sell better than good answers.
Next to your “takeaway” message, the art of listening is the most important, effective tool in a pitch meeting. If you combine a frequent, powerful takeaway message along with strong listening skills, you will open up a major passage to gain new business.
IBM recommends letting your customers, clients, and prospects talk 60% of the time. Letting your clients talk more than you gives you the chance to formulate questions that best yield what their needs are. You then have the opportunity to demonstrate how best to address their needs with the benefits and solutions you have to offer.
Here are five key pre-meeting research questions:
Who are their competitors? Look at their industry, their products, or their services. Evaluate tax laws or legislation that might impact them.
What is their business? Understand what your prospect actually produces, how they sell it, what type of marketing they use, their management structure, etc.
What are their buying habits? Who makes the final decisions, and are they “hidden” decision-makers?
What keeps them up at night? What are their pain points?
What benefits and solutions are they looking for?
Building answers to these questions is a necessary skill in order to fully relate and understand their needs and how you address them. Remember: Good questions sell better than good answers.