3 Top Tips For First Sales Meetings

“People sometimes talk about the power of first impressions, and believe me, there is truth to it.” ~ Ann Brashares

First impressions can make or break a sales opportunity. How many times have you met someone new and decided within a few minutes, or seconds, if you liked that person? It happens all the time! It is ingrained into our heads as salespeople that people buy from other people who they like, know, and trust. But what you might not know is that all data is not created equally after the first impression.

In a recent study by the Decision Neuroscience Lab, research indicated that people minimize new data that doesn’t support their original decision, or first impression. Further, they shared that when we need to reevaluate a decision, we abruptly become picky on modifying our original decision. The learning is that no matter if the first impression was positive or negative, it is much harder to change someone’s mind afterwards as their brains will remember the original impression, accurate or not.

Knowing this, we need to be even more conscious of how we participate in the first sales meeting no matter if it is in-person or remote via video. Below are three top tips for first sales meetings to ensure success and a positive first impression.

1.   Know Before You Go. Who are you meeting with? Typically, this person falls into one of three categories: the decision maker, the influencer, and the gatekeeper. Once you understand the role of the person you will be meeting with, you can tailor your discovery questions to reflect the topics that are most crucial and deliver them from the correct point of view.
2.   Watch Your Talk-To-Listen Ratio. Gong research lab analyzed over 25,537 sales calls and determined that the “highest converting talk-to-listen ration on sales calls is approximately 43:57”. And, please, please, please, no matter how tempting it is – Do Not Interrupt or Talk Over Prospects!
3.   Schedule Next Steps. One of the most important things to remember is to schedule next steps during the meeting. This is a trap that many good salespeople fall into who don’t insist on getting something on the calendar while they are with the prospect. Even with the best intentions, people get busy and have conflicting priorities. Next step meetings do not have to be a demonstration. They can simply be the next time you both agree to speak and touch base to discuss a particular topic.

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