How to Sell Your Brand in a Meeting
You’ve done it! You’ve finally secured a sales meeting. So, what’s next? While getting the buyer to agree to a meeting is an achievement in itself, the real success will be determined by its outcome. During your first meeting, you need to sell your brand well enough to secure another, or even better, make the sale there are then. If you’ve set up the meeting, your product or service may not be on the buyer’s radar. With this in mind, you need to persuade the buyer to invest in something that they hadn’t already been considering. Thankfully, we’re here to help. In this article, we explore how to sell your brand in a meeting.
Build a Rapport
Before doing anything else, you need to develop a rapport with your buyer. Start with the basics – say hello and make eye contact. If you’re meeting with multiple people, break the ice with small talk while you wait for other people to turn up. Unless the buyer seems like they want to jump straight into business, take time to build a rapport before selling your brand. While this may sound obvious, you’d be surprised at how often this step is skipped! If you’re bringing other people with you, make sure to introduce each team member to the client and explain their background and what they do within the company. This simple step will add personality to your brand and also help the buyer to understand why you’re there and what you can do for them. Make sure to involve the buyer in the introductions, too. If they don’t jump in themselves, ask them about their role to help keep your pitch as relevant as possible.
Review the Premise
When you set up the meeting, you likely gave the buyer an idea of the premise. However, it’s important to review it before getting started. Take time to confirm the previously agreed upon reason for the meeting and the duration. On the off chance that the buyer has forgotten why you’re there, the review will make sure everybody is on the same page.
Use an Eye-Catching Presentation
Before the meeting, take time to develop an eye-catching presentation. You may end up not using this, depending on how the meeting flows, but it’s always best to be prepared. Many buyers are expecting a detailed presentation, so having something prepared will keep everybody happy. Using a visually unattractive presentation can decrease the value of your pitch, so be sure to make it clear, concise and aesthetically pleasing for best results. To create a quality presentation, there are a few simple ground rules to follow. Below, we explore these further.
Make it Visually Interesting
As we’ve just mentioned, make sure the presentation is visually interesting. Keep the style consistent with your brand and be sure to use your company fonts and colour palette.
Don’t Use too Much Text
If the buyer can understand the presentation without you being there, it’s poorly designed. The presentation is there to bring your pitch to life rather than distract the buyer from it. Only include key phrases or section headers as opposed to writing out your entire script.
Don’t Use too Many Slides
Keep your presentation punchy. If you include too many slides, you’ll end up flicking through the presentation rather than concentrating on your pitch. A maximum of 10 slides should be enough to cover the key points of the meeting.
Have a Backup
Always have a backup prepared. If your laptop decides to break on the day, you need to have something in place to fill the void. If you’re using the presentation to showcase your product, bring a printed portfolio with you in addition to the PowerPoint.
Share the Agenda
As the meeting progresses, share the agenda with your buyer. Before moving onto a new section, explain what you’re going to be talking about and how long it will take. Before getting started, ask the buyer if they have any questions before you move on.
Include Your Buyer
Before starting your pitch, find out whether there’s anything that the buyer would like to cover during the meeting. If you don’t do this, the buyer may wait until the end of the meeting and you could run out of time. The more you understand what your buyer wants to know, the more you can tailor your pitch to meet their agenda.
Ask to Be Interrupted
While you want to get your points across, you don’t want the discussion to be one-sided. Ask the buyer to interrupt you with any questions they may have throughout the pitch, instead of waiting until the end. If they do interrupt you, you know they’re engaged. However, do your best to take control of the discussion. If the buyer is asking too many questions, make transitions where necessary to keep your pitch on track.
Tell a Convincing Story
At some point during your pitch, engage your buyer with a convincing story. You can use this to educate the buyer on new perspectives and ideas, explain why they need your product and persuade them to take action. Your story can be anything you want. Just remember to keep it entertaining and relevant to your brand.
Move onto Enquiry and Collaboration
At the end of your pitch, shift the meeting to enquiry and collaboration. Think of a few key questions to ask your audience; for instance, would the product work in their company? How would it work? Why wouldn’t it work? What could get in the way? What could you improve compatibility? Once you’ve covered the key questions, ask the buyer if there’s anything else they’d like to know. You never know what they’re going to ask, so be prepared for anything!
So, there you have it – how to sell your brand in a meeting. If you want to have more success in your sales meeting and bag that new opportunity, follow the steps above.