Tips on Effective Selling

Today Mathew Assemes briefed us on a presentation he attended about effective sales tips. Here are some of the ideas he mentioned:

1. Do your homework before your business call.
2. Be a customer of the client.
3. Work on your elevator speech.
4. Do not bring a folder full of brochures, find out individual needs. (Brochures are presumptive. They imply you assume you know what they need. Better to seek to find out what they need.)
5. Know who the decision maker is.
6. Begin with the end in mind.
7. Know who the decision mater is in the organization. Are they the ONLY decision maker or might others veto their decision?
8. Respect their time.
9. Followup is the most important part of the call.
10. Building relationships is position marketing.
11. Underselling and over delivery.
    Matt's presenter had advocated "don't undersell or overdeliver." We questioned this advice. Following it can easily wreck your credibility by making you appear purely self-interested. Prospective clients will want you to care about their needs.

Updated 7/27/2009 based on meeting notes.