I often hear in the Research Runner office “Let’s get a date in the diary, how about …….?” Or “So you have a project coming up in July, let’s get a date in the diary for early July?”. I can honestly say that this is said in most, if not all calls made to potential clients by our sales team. At Research Runner we understand that unless you ask, you don’t get. Our expertise lies in landing meetings on your desk and we know how to do this. What your sales team needs to do is to turn those meetings into revenue.

It sounds easy doesn’t it? Well it is not always as easy as it seems. So you have a first meeting with a potential client, set up by Research Runner or your in house sales team, these clients are carefully targeted so we know that they do have some interest in your product. We have done the leg work and now it’s time for you to shine and sell your product. So how do you ensure you are successful? Here are a few ways that Julian Haste, MD of Research Runner can assist in helping you turn these meetings into long term, revenue generating clients.

Listen, listen, listen

To start it is all about open questions to get the prospect talking that way you can work towards asking the right questions so you can establish their needs in order to close the sale. Avoid waffling on about how wonderful you are and how great your company is, it shows lack of interest in your potential client, the call must be customer-focused. Listening and acknowledging the clients’ needs and being able to adapt the conversation and offerings to the individual will go a long way to getting the client to sign on the dotted line.

Not all clients want the same thing, budgets may be smaller or time may be an issue, you will need to adapt and know the perimeters of what you can offer. The customers’ voice must be heard and acted on.

Ask, ask, ask

Never leave a sale open, even if your meeting seems a success, unless you have something in the diary, there is no guarantee that the client will come back to you. Ask, ask, ask, it is known as ‘throwing the ball’ and shows interest, creating a sense of importance.

If the potential client seems to be losing interest and claims that they are not ready yet, don’t be afraid to ask them for a follow up call 3-6 months later when the time is right.

Maintain, maintain, maintain

Do not assume that once you have them on board, that they will stay with you, there are always sharks circling around, ready and waiting, so research the competition. Maintaining the relationship with your clients is one of the main avenues of generating revenue above that of new clients. Keep them informed with new information about your company, any news, blogs or changes to protocols will help keep them in the loop and will form a relationship based on trust.

Allow the channels of communication to remain open at all times, if there are concerns about budget, product faults, time or manageability of leads, make sure you are there to discuss and adapt to their needs.

Research Runner offers a bespoke lead generation and sales consultancy service, if you want to increase your pipelines or feel the need to revamp your sales approach, please give Research Runner a call on +44 (0)1279 260 031 or visit our website at www.research-runner.com