Getting the Second Appointment: How to CLOSE Any Sale in Two Calls!

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction xxi

CHAPTER 1 Success and Your Sales Career 1

The Complacency Challenge 2

A Word about Self-Sabotage 2

To the Importance of Overcoming Success Phobias 4

Take a Deep Breath . . . 5

Change the Message, Change the Results! 6

Mastering the Process—and Getting the Appointment! 7

Here’s Our Starting Point 7

Keep Your Commitments 11

CHAPTER 2 Who’s Who in Your Target Organization? 13

Target People with Influence 14

Target People with Authority 15

Target People with the Authority to Approve 17

Second Meetings and the “Trilogy” of Your Sales Cycle 19

Reality Check: Your Hottest Prospect 19

CHAPTER 3 Four Categories 23

Silent Adversaries, Silent Allies 23

The Role of the Recommender 24

The Influencer’s Role 26

The Decision Maker’s Role 27

The Approver’s Role 30

Lock in What You’ve Learned 32

CHAPTER 4 Selling Across the Enterprise 33

Principle 1: Think Outside the Owner’s Manual 33

Principle 2: Invest Your Time Intelligently 34

Principle 3: Think Lifetime Value—By Aligning Your Sales Process to the Organization 37

Lock in What You’ve Learned 39

CHAPTER 5 Pathways to the Right Second Appointment 41

Exploring 42

Initiating 45

Sponsoring 46

Leveraging 48

CHAPTER 6 Building a Foundation 53

Visualization 53

The Ultimate Sales TIP 55

TIP Step One 56

TIP Step Two 57

A TIP Example 57

Don’t Leave Home (or Your Office) Without It 57

Lock in What You’ve Learned 60

CHAPTER 7 Putting It All Together 61

What We Know for Sure 61

Defining the Sales Process 62

Your Constant Improvement Campaign (CIC) 64

A Thing of Beauty 66

Time to Revenue 66

Managing Your Process, Not Your Time 67

Priority One: Revenue Activity 68

Priority Two: Conversion Activity 69

Priority Three: Sponsorship Activity 70

Lock in What You’ve Learned 72

CHAPTER 8 The Five Deadly Sins of Appointment Setting 73

Sin Number One: Talking, Not Speaking 73

Sin Number Two: Using Bad Language 75

Sin Number Three: Monopolizing the Conversation 77

Sin Number Four: Stretching the Truth 80

Sin Number Five: Being a Space Invader 81

Lock in What You’ve Learned 83

CHAPTER 9 Points of Entry 85

Interacting with the Recommender 86

When Posing Questions to a Recommender 87

Interacting with the Influencer 88

Key Winning Results for the Influencer 89

When Posing Questions to an Influencer 90

Interacting with the Decision Maker 92

When Posing Questions to a Decision Maker 93

Interacting with the Approver 96

When Posing Questions to an Approver 99

The Best Call You Can Make 100

CHAPTER 10 10 Principles for Delivering More

Second Appointments 103

A True Story about Effective Targeting on the First Appointment 107

Another True Story about Effective Targeting on the First Appointment 108

Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone 109

CHAPTER 11 Three Strategies to Appointment Success 113

Key #1: Establishing Your Target and Building

Credibility before Your First Appointment 114

Key #2: Know How to Build Rapport with

Your Prospect 118

Key #3: Determining Your Contact’s Criteria for Evaluating Your Message 125

Matching the Criteria 131

Lock in What You’ve Learned 132

CHAPTER 12 Your Appointment Agendas 133

Functions 135

Features 135

Advantages 136

Benefits 136

What’s Next? 137

First-Appointment Issues for the Recommender 137

First-Appointment Issues for the Influencer 138

First-Appointment Issues for the Decision Maker and the Approver 140

Your Appointment Matrix 144

Lock in What You’ve Learned 145

CHAPTER 13 Your Four Goals for the First Meeting 147

Tell ’Em, Sell ’Em 147

What Should You Try to Accomplish during the First Appointment? 148

Entrances and Exits 148

Do Logo Gifts Really Deliver Customers? Two True Stories 152

CHAPTER 14 Presenting Your Ideas with Conviction 155

Your Convictions Must Be Convincing 158

Eight Habits of Highly Committed Salespeople 159

Don’t Get Carried Away by Your Confidence (A True Story) 161

Patience Is a (Sales) Virtue! 162

CHAPTER 15 Going Past the Sale 165

Play It Cool with Recommenders 165

Play It Cool with Influencers 166

Play It Cool with Decision Makers 167

Play It Cool with Approvers 168

Now, You Give It a Try 170

CHAPTER 16 Needs and Wants 173

Questions to Ask Yourself 173

Studying Needs 175

Uncovering Needs with the Approver (Typically a

Driver Personality) 175

Uncovering Needs with the Decision Maker (Typically an Expressive Personality) 176

Uncovering Needs with the Influencer (Typically an Analytic Personality) 177

Uncovering Needs with the Recommender (Often an Amiable Personality) 178

What Happens Next? 179

Mind the GAP 180

What Else Goes with the GAP Analysis? 183

Lock in What You’ve Learned 183

CHAPTER 17 The Rules of Correspondence 185

Recommender: Write from Functions to Features 186

Influencer: Write from Features to Functions 187

Decision Maker: Write from Advantages to Benefits 189

Approver: Write from Benefits to Advantages 190

Putting Postage on Your Correspondence 192

Lock In What You’ve Learned 192

CHAPTER 18 Keys to Telephone Success 195

General Observations 195

Lock In What You’ve Learned 203

CHAPTER 19 The First Appointment—Tactical

Approaches 205

Reality Check 205

What to Say 207

Do You See What’s Happening Here? 208

What If the Approver Picks up the Phone? 209

If You Get Dumped into Voice Mail 210

The Squeeze Play 211

The Third-Party Introduction 212

“Tactical Air Support” from Your CEO, President, or Owner 214

Lock In What You’ve Learned 215

CHAPTER 20 Action Items—Windows on the Second

Appointment 217

Action Items for Recommenders 218

Action Items for Influencers 218

Action Items for Decision Makers 219

Action Items for Approvers 219

Practice Makes Patience 221

CHAPTER 21 The 10 Powers 225

Are You Ready? 226

The 10 Power Steps 229

Lock In What You’ve Learned 238

Index 239

A Special Offer 245