Tips on Handling your Startup’s First Sales Meeting
5 Easy Tips to Improve your Chances of Success
So you’ve worked for a few months and you finally get a sit-down with a client or potential customer. Congrats! Now, you have to figure out how to convince them that your rinky-dink startup is worth the risk. Woof. I can’t promise success but here are some things that I focused on in my first meeting for Topmarq that may help maximize your chances of moving to the next stage.
- Be Excited!
This one was actually tough for me but it’s an incredibly big part of the journey. If you don’t let yourself enjoy it then why are you doing it?! The fact is you are allowed to be excited — no matter how it turns out, this is a big accomplishment and something you should be proud of. Just a short time ago, there was nothing. Nothing to pitch, nothing to sell. That’s a pretty cool feeling.
2. Dress appropriately
I personally would never wear a suit again if I could and am fully supportive of the tech laid back culture, but not all industries are and it would be very problematic for you to assume that. I’m not saying dress up in a suit for every meeting but do look into the norms of the industry you’re meeting with, not the industry you’re in. If you’re a fintech business and pitching bankers, you better be in a suit. If you’re a SaaS company pitching to construction workers, a suit may make you stand out. Try a basic polo and pants or chinos instead. As much as I hate to admit it, these things do matter, especially during first encounters.
The good thing is that after your first meeting, the next ones will be easier to judge as you will have some reference.
3. Don’t pretend like you’re a big deal if you’re not (which you shouldn’t be at your first meeting).
People can see through this very quickly and it leaves a very negative perception with little to gain. If you’re just starting out, don’t act like you’re a huge team and try to come off corporate. I find that just being honest is the best way to go and that many will ultimately sympathize with you. When people see a corporation, they ignore the people in it and make decisions mostly with the base facts. At this stage, the facts likely aren’t in your favor as your service probably has some kinks in it. Your biggest selling point is your passion and drive sufficient to drop everything and put your all into this venture. When customers see that, they tend to be more willing to take a risk to support that dream. They also see that you’re more likely to care about them and respond to issues because they are important to the business’ very survival.
4. Ask questions
This is one of the best opportunities to learn about your customers face-to-face. Maybe you’ve done some market research or sent some surveys, but nothing compares to meeting where you’re asking someone to put their money where their mouth is. No more ‘oh yea I would definitely buy that for X price, if it were available’. The time has come to see if your service really is worth that cash they’re about to hand over.
It’s during this time where money is on the line that people really think about how things might affect them and what they need to make it successful. Don’t hold back. They’ll appreciate you diving deep and helping them think through different aspects. At the same time you’ll learn a ton about what could and couldn’t work.
5. Write down any action items and clearly define next steps.
This one seems a bit obvious but I swear I’ve been in so many meetings where everything wraps up and people have no idea who’s got the ball and what the plan is. At these early stages, the last thing you want is to lose a week thinking they were going to reach out for a quote with specific numbers.
FYI — even if the ball is in their court, you always follow up with additional information, a thank you, and maybe a reminder of why they’d love your product.
Even though you’re going to follow up anyway, it is always best to have everyone in the room leave with the same understanding of where things stand. I just left a meeting where the last thing said was “I owe Jane [fake name] an email describing the sign up steps and process, which she will then forward to the team who can reach out to me directly to close the loop.” Done. Everyone knows they should get an email from Jane soon with information from me.
People have short term memory and get lost in the details along the way in meetings. The best thing you can do is be extra clear in the direction so if anyone disagrees, they disagree there and then. Let someone be confused about the direction and there’s a chance they try to walk back decisions later because it wasn’t what they wanted.
