Expanding Your Sales Opportunity

One of the best ways to expand your business is to create more opportunities with the clients you already have. Today sales trainer Nancy Bleeke tells you how she does it - and how you can too!

One of the sales calls I had a few weeks ago, I'd like to repeat over and over and over. Why? Because the prospect was looking for one specific service and by the end of our conversation we were discussing multiple. In dissecting why the call went so well (a good practice so we can repeat those actions that worked), I found that I had:

1. Listened to the intent of what he wanted to accomplish, not just WHAT he wanted to do now.
2. Waited. Instead of offering him a recommendation immediately (which I could have on the one item), I expanded the discussion with further questions that uncovered some underlying information that was truly what needed to be addressed first.
3. Asked permission to ask questions that weren't directly related to what he called about.
4. Summarized the broader picture and the frustration and costs associated with it.
5. Presented the solution directly tied into his situation and the value he would experience in the long run.
6. After he said "Yes, this is what we need to do first, isn't it?" I expressed confidence in his choice and what he would gain from it.

It was a lot of effort to keep to task. And it was one of those situations where I didn't have time to prepare - he called me out of the blue. But I had just been preparing for another meeting and quickly pulled my list of questions out. I also have a list of questions that I can quickly adjust on the spot to a situation such as this.

I'm sure you've had some of these 'magical sales moments' too. What did you learn from them? Making the time to dissect and extract what happened and how, will help you repeat it again the next time.

Sales expert Nancy Bleeke, The SalesProInsider, helps organizations set aggressive sales goals and achieve them while boosting profitability by hiring, training and retaining the best employees. She shares her expertise with the Timely Tips ezine and her blog. Learn more and download a free ebook at www.salesproinsider.com