Jeremy Jacobs

London, UK

Ok, you’ve done your research, you’ve skillfully got past the gatekeeper and now you have to engage with your prospective customer. We’ll call him Mr Green. Mr Green is a very busy director of a successful engineering company who export their goods all over the world. You supply lift trucks to similar firms to that of Mr Green’s and they are high on your “wish-list”. What do you think you could say to Mr Green which make him sit up and agree to see you? Saying something like “we have the best-selling lift-trucks in the world market today” is not going to get you very far. In cases like these, it’s likely you will know the what, how and roughly when Mr Green purchased his last lift-trucks. In difficult trading times which we are currently experiencing, buyers need a way to lessen their “pain”(real or perceived) and will certainly want ways to reduce costs. You must come up with something that hits Mr Green’s financial or budgetary nerve. For example, there maybe an independent report which highlights the low running costs of your new range of equipment. You could create interest by saying “Mr Green, Jones here from Whizzo Lift Trucks, have you the Belton Report? (Green will answer no). It highlight the savings you could derive from switching to our model XYZ”?
Simple in it’s style, this form of creating interest should, at least, get you these possible answers:

A. Yes, and I’m not interested (which you’ll be able to overcome wont you)
B. No, can you send the report to me (naturally you’ll say yes but it doesn’t go without you!)
C. My colleague Keith Smith is handling this (can be a fob-off)

How would you handle these statements. I’ll write mine up l here later in the week.

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