All it takes is a 15 seconds adjustment.
What's the secret? Make an Upfront Contract.
An Upfront Contract means that an agreement is made ahead of time, about what will take place during any meeting or discussion.
Don't overlook the importance of an upfront contract. It helps to clarify the roles of each person during any meeting or discussion and helps to form an informal agreement between both parties.
There's a catch. Always remember, that only one person can lead this discussion. It's always either the seller or buyer, never both at the same time.
To be successful in any of your negotiations you should strive to lead from the front, and the Upfront Contract allows you to do just that.
I've tested this during my sales conversations in different scenarios and with different personalities in Malaysia. It's helped me to move ahead in negotiations and increased my probability to close.
*Additional reading: If you're interested to learn more on how to negotiate successfully here are 5 tactics to help you.
Find below 5 uses for the the Upfront Contract to help you close more sales conversations:
1. Set a time limit.
Most times, you're meeting any "prospect" for the first time. It's common for sales professionals to overlook "prospects" to be just a means to an objective.
Don't forget, "prospects" are people too. Your goal is to make them feel comfortable with you. One failsafe method is to show appreciation for their time.
A little courtesy, goes a long way.
It's important to thank the person for their time and honestly inform them how long you expect this conversation is going to take.
Be truthful with how long you expect the conversation to take. Establish the right expectation and trust early on.
You don't want to be the forceful telesales representative which nobody wants to associate with.
Here's a script to get you started:
You - Hello [name], thanks for [taking this call today]. I would like to [purpose of conversation] and this would take around 20 minutes of your time. Is this a convenient time for you now?
Prospect - {yes / no}
You - #if no: oh I'm sorry, I'll call you back later this afternoon. Thank you.
2. Provide an agenda
You want to be clear. This helps you to clarify the roles of each person in the conversation, and establishes the right expectation.
Some may argue against this. However, in my experience, providing an agenda early on allows your prospect to determine if they are able to help you.
It's common to approach the wrong department and it saves you time through a recommendation to find the right person early on.
Here's an example of a clear agenda / purpose:
You - Hello [name]. I would like to discuss about ways our products can help you to increase the value of each distribution point you make. Are you the right person I should speak with to discuss this further?
3. Describe the potential outcomes
Here's where the Upfront Contract technique is applied.
Give 2 options to your prospect. Make them decide to either continue the conversation or to decide against it.
It's important to give your prospect an option to throw in the towel at any time. Offer to end the conversation if your prospect does not like the offer.
Make sure you tell them it is perfectly okay to tell you {no} and you'll accept it without pursuing any further.
The objective of this is to gain your prospect's trust. Do this by putting them in control.
Here's an example:
You - If at the end of this conversation, you feel that this may not be something you are interested in, feel free to let me know, and I'll stop immediately.
Below I've prepared an example sales conversation template for you:
You - Thanks for [taking this call today]. I would like to discuss about [clear agenda / purpose]. Are you the right person I should speak with to discuss this further?
Prospect - {yes / no}
You - #if yes: This would take around 20 minutes of your time, is it convenient now for us to talk?
Prospect - {yes / no}
You - #if yes: If at the end of this conversation, you feel that this may not be something you are interested in, feel free to let me know, and I'll stop immediately.
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