"First Initial Contact is not a time to Sell"
Great opportunity this week to represent the company on a golf course with a charity tournament. I was asked to be part of the event to tell the golfers about our company and give away some freebie. I was joined by a co-worker.
As we're on the 18th hole and the tournament begins, every group got a chance to stop by our booth before teeing off.
I sat back a few times and let my colleague take the reigns with the groups. He would try to over Sell, once he got someone to listen to him he wouldn't stop talking about our product. At one point he tried asking to schedule a meeting.
I learned how easy people put their guard up when they are over pitched, especially on a fun day off on the golf course. This is the first time meeting someone and he was basically going into trying to get signatures(over exaggerating, but you get the point).
Now here was my approach the entire day. Make small talk, find out what the person does, keep asking them personal questions (after all we're not in office setting). I made sure to keep the conversations light. In fact, the only time I'd talk about my company and product was when someone was truly interested and asked.
The initial meeting, especially in the golf setting we were in, is a time to gather contact information and learn a little about the person. Of course, the moment they teed off, I'd run over to my notepad (CRM) and write every word they said; I was writing down their wives names, where they traveled, and even interests they mentioned like restaurants or sporting games or favorite golf course.
Whenever I look at my co-workers strategy, I could tell the golfers became standoff ish and didn't engage too much. But the results I had were deep conversations, real connections, and leads.
My biggest learning curve was undersranding the difference between pitching and versus just meeting someone. Being the first time meeting, there's another time and place for the business pitch.
#rallsysalesjourney
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