Want to qualify your buyer? Invite them over
By Landy Chase
Reams of material have been written in sales books on how to “read” a buyer to determine if they are serious about doing business with you. Such tips include, “watch their body language,” “check the eye contact,” “pay attention to how they sit,” and more.

If you are selling a newspaper subscription or chocolate bars, I won’t challenge this advice. However, if you are in a business-to-business environment with serious dollars on the table, this is silliness.

If you want to qualify your buyer, forget body language. Why don’t you simply suggest that they visit your facility, and see what they say?

Too many sales people overlook the value of the on-site visit offer as a powerful selling tool. Suggesting that a prospective client visit your place of business is a shrewd move for two fundamental reasons.

First, it will tell you with a high level of accuracy just how interested they are in doing business with you. Think about it. If you have a prospective buyer who is looking at making a significant investment in your company’s products or services, they are also taking a significant risk. Assuming that your place of business is geographically convenient, why wouldn’t they jump at the opportunity to see your operation first-hand? Of course, they aren’t going to make the request — you need to make the offer, as outlined below.

When suggesting the on-site visit, don’t grovel. Avoid a meek question like “would you like to come see our facility?” Instead, make the visit standard operating procedure and assume this as a next step with every prospective new client. Example: “Part of our standard procedure with prospective clients is to schedule an on-site tour of our facility, so that you can make a well-informed business decision.” Having checked your schedule first, you then state: “How does the week of (you fill in the date).”

See the difference? Be politely assumptive. After all, it is in their best interests — not just yours — to come see your operation.

What about the prospect that declines your invitation? Using the logic given, the message you are usually getting with a “no” — loud and clear — is that the person (or people) you are talking with isn’t seriously interested in doing business with you at this point. Finding this out now is not a negative development; it is a positive one. After all, better to have this issue on the table early, so that you can deal with their concerns before investing a considerable additional amount of your time with someone who isn’t serious.

Second, if you are like most of my clients, you will find that you will close approximately 80 percent of the prospects who come to your place of business for the facility visit. Do those kind of numbers give you the necessary incentive to make this offer a habit in your sales calls? Of course, once they agree to come to your place of business, you need to structure the visit properly to achieve those kinds of numbers.

Start in your best conference room; have a meeting agenda
Once visitors arrive for a tour, make a good first impression by having your receptionist (or you) usher them into your executive conference room immediately. Don’t keep them waiting.

Begin the meeting with an agenda. Let your visitors know what will take place during the visit. This gets things off on the right foot and lets them know that you are a well-organized professional who is not going to waste their time. A tried-and-true agenda to implement includes:

• Your Company History
• Overview of Products and Services
• Departmental Introductions
• Tour of Facility
• Return to Conference Room/Final Questions/Issues
• Conclusion

Here are some tips regarding the agenda to enhance the visit:

Keep the company history brief. Make the story interesting. How did your company get started? What were the benchmark events in its history? Where are you going in the future?

Present products and services in terms of client benefit. Don’t just explain what you do. Explain how what you do benefits your customers. Have samples if appropriate. No more than five of your primary product lines should be covered in this meeting.

Departmental introductions. This is a very important step that says “we value your business.” Whenever possible, have your department managers from each key area come to the meeting and briefly explain what their department’s role is in ensuring customer satisfaction. Allow time for questions.

Personalize the facility tour. Have employees take a break from their work to briefly explain to your prospective client what they do and, again, how what they do ensures client satisfaction. Remember that businesses do not do business with businesses. People do business with people.

Summarize the visit in the conference room. Three questions to always ask are: “What did you think?” What questions do you have?” and “How do you feel about our ability to meet your needs at this point?”

Send a thank-you note in conclusion. Thank all attendees for the time they invested in visiting. Do this promptly, and do it with a hand-written note.

In conclusion, I can say without hesitation that getting in the habit of inviting prospects to your facility in this manner is one of the most effective time management tools that you have at your disposal.

When they say “yes,” you know that your chances of closing the sale are excellent. When they say “no” you know that you have just eliminated investing a lot of time with a prospect who is not really interested. Either way, you win.

About the author: Based in Charlotte, N.C., Landy Chase, MBA, CSP is an expert who specializes in speaking to corporations and associations on professional selling and sales management skills. For a free copy of “How to structure the on-site visit,” e-mail us under “Ask Landy” at www.landychase.com. Chase can also be reached by telephone at 1-800-370-8026.