The Definitive Guide to Setting up Meetings with Senior Executives
This book describes in detail how to set up meetings with top executives. It can improve your hit rate to up to 80%.
How to:
- Choose whom to call
- Find out their names
- Overcome your butterflies
- Get past the Personal Assistant (if you want to)
- Work with the Personal Assistant (if you are more sensible)
- Deal with all the objections that come up in innovative ways
- Keep the door open if you fail
- Deal with the dreaded voicemail
- Follow up to ensure the meeting is not cancelled
This is a major book. It is the definitive guide to arranging senior level meetings. It describes in great detail how to gain meetings with reluctant strangers. It is the Bible. It gives a word by word process. It is based on the years of experience of the thousands of salespeople we have met in the last 29 years.
It is practical, common sense, scrupulously honest and has given a hit rate as high as 80% in some areas.
Making Target
We examine how there are only four ways to increase sales:
- Go for bigger deals
- Have a better hit rate on those you do go for
- Know which doors to knock on - exploit a rich seam
- Do more prospecting
We examine how these four items are interrelated in a simple formula. From this analysis, we can identify the key skills in selling.
Target Marketing
We examine how to filter organisations quickly to identify which organisations are likely to be able to buy significant amount of our offering. Where are the big sales? Where are the easy sales?
Fish where the fish are.
Breaking In
We examine how to use the telephone to gain access to senior executives in a new account. We discuss how we should work with gatekeepers rather than fight them. We discuss the etiquette of setting up meetings at senior level.
Organisation
We examine how to organise a telephone calling project. It can take a week to contact 30 people. We need to document and control how well we are getting on and to remember all the times dates and promises that are discussed.
Getting the Names
We will be far more successful if we know the name of the executive we are targeting. We examine the methods of getting these names from external sources and by calling the organisation directly.
Dealing with Fear
Sadly, we will suffer rejection when we make these calls. We discuss how to get into the right frame of mind. We have every right to ask for a meeting and they have every right to refuse! Ultimately, it is a statistical exercise.
Should We Write First
We examine if it better to send a letter and then follow up. Or is it better to call first and send the letter afterwards.
Designing the Slogan or Premise for the Meeting
We design the 10-second phrase that is the reason they should meet you. They will ask, “What’s this meeting about?” We must have a good answer. We examine the power of a strong referral from a mutual colleague and the power of a good reference story.
Getting Past the Gatekeeper
In the first instance, we should try to get past the Gatekeeper to talk to the executive. We examine how to structure our conversation to keep control and maximise our chance of getting through.
Working with the Gatekeeper
If the Gatekeeper will not put us through, we learn how to throw ourselves at the mercy of the Gatekeeper! We use the Gatekeeper to set up the meeting.
Capturing the Interest of the Executive
If we do get to speak to the executive, we must catch their interest quickly. The easiest way to do it is to give them a decision to make!
Dealing with the Objections
Usually, the target executive will test you a little before agreeing to meet. We examine many ways how to handle the common objections:
- Tell me more
- We use Xyz Ltd
- Speak to Mrs Xyz
- I’m too busy
- I’m not interested
- Send a Brochure
Dealing with Voicemail
We examine how to deal effectively with Voicemail.
Making the Meeting Stick
We discuss how to follow up the phone call to minimise the chance of the meeting being delayed or cancelled.
Mailshot
We examine how to organise mailshots and the content of the mailshot.