Edgar L. Smith knows the path to success. As the CEO of World Pac Paper LLC, his company came in #71 on BE’s 2012 Industrial Service companies list with $38.8 million in revenue. The former VP of National Sales with Coca-Cola North America, shares his 5 Steps to Closing the Sales Deal.
1. Plan Things Out. “You’ve got to set the call and the meeting objectives, plan the routing of your call. Put together a collection of calls in an area (cluster) that you can visit, to minimize drive/travel time and maximize call time with the prospect or customer. This is effective and efficient time and sales territory management.
2. Establish a Rapport. Use 5-10 minutes to break the ice. Identify a mutual, need to go to the next level. “Until they are truly sold on you, they’re probably not going to buy anything from you or your company.â€
3. Build credibility. “I really don’t care what it is you are selling — it all has its own set of complexities, complications, features, and benefits, etc. As the subject matter expert, you really have to understand that you’ve got to instill that confidence with that prospect or that customer.”
4. Identify the needs and opportunities. “Sell to the needs. You’ve got to see the opportunities as the prospect or the customer sees them and align with them on the highest leverage opportunities. You’ve got to prioritize the various solutions.â€
5. Close the Deal. “You’ve got to confirm any and all agreements and mutual commitments around that opportunity and that business, and then you work toward the actual implementation, developing, and executing the plan and reviewing the results against mutually agreed upon measures of success.â€
The 2015 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo hosted by Nationwide, May 13-16, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Expect innovative sessions, high-powered speakers, and an early peek at the products, trends, and services you’ll need to stay ahead of the curve. Be sure to enter our Elevator Pitch Competition to qualify for the $10,000 grand prize. To register and find out more, visit www.blackenterprise.com/ec/<https://blackenterprise.com/ec/>