When you meet with a buyer for a sales conversation, it’s really important to start out right.
Those first few moments have a massive influence on how the conversation – and therefore the sale – will go.
And, it’s your job and duty to curate a quality conversation, one that is helpful for your buyer.
That’s why the common and friendly "How are you doing?" is the wrong way to start.
Why?
Because it’s a completely ambiguous question. Literally any answer is valid, and there is no actual end to the answer.
So it’s a question that might be helpful – but just as likely, it’ll be the trigger to a long, rambling, unproductive status update.
You’re wasting valuable time, talking about nothing productive, or useful, or helpful at all.
But, you’re there to help the buyer decide whether or not they want your work…
So if you have 30 minutes with them, and you don’t start out right, you might already be ten minutes in, before you ever get to the meat & potatoes.
So instead, because you do want to be friendly, ask:
“How have you been?”
It’s a subtle difference in terms of asking – but the difference in outcome is enormous.
Because “How have you been” is a time-bound question.
The answer ends in the here & now.
So you don’t prompt your buyer to ramble on about whatever thought or idea that comes up, but instead, you invite them to reflect and report on what has happened so far, up to this point in time.
The result?
A friendly opening, but with a clearly identifiable end-point, after which the two of you can get down to business.
And for that, there’s two ways to do that, with one of these two questions.
"What would you like to get out of our meeting today?"
Or:
"What made you decide to schedule this conversation?"
That’s how you start a sales conversation in a way that respects your time and that of your buyer.
And, it’s a great way to start a conversation that gets to actual outcomes and next steps.