Future Business Ideas

Sales presentations are most effective when they are tailored specifically to the prospect's needs. Generic presentations can occasionally result in a conversion, but far more often they fail. When the prospect feels as if you have their needs in mind, and you demonstrate that you do through your customized presentation, your chances of closing the sale skyrocket.

To efficiently personalize presentations, you must know the buyer's personality type. Knowing the personality type can enable you to quickly alter your plan, if you are not already familiar with the prospect. Otherwise, it gives you a baseline to start out with. Remember, the personality type is only a general characterization. Every human is unique and acts independently, so some people may have features of multiple groups or none. These classifications exist to help you better work with the prospect. Do not sink to stereotyping people based on physical characteristics.

The first buyer type is someone who already is loyal to your company (or you) and will not purchase from anyone else. This is the easiest person to sell to because they have essentially already made their decision to purchase from you. Of course, you still need to treat them with respect and display your product knowledge, but besides that, it is smooth sailing.

The second type of buyer, and most of the rest, is much less desirable than the first type. They need to have everything their way; they have trouble compromising and want the upper hand in the situation. Handling them requires patience and acknowledgement, hopefully sincere, of their important position and status. It may take some time, but eventually you can usually convince them to compromise with you.

People who try to consistently avoid and dodge you constitute the third group of buyers. They may do it because they have a fear of salespeople, or do not feel like listening to your presentation, even though it could very well help them out. It is possible to get around this by befriending the prospect's aide or secretary, and convincing them to tell you the potential customer's schedule. When you do reach the prospect, tell them you understand their time is precious, and explain that you have something of value to demonstrate.

A fourth type of buyer is one who is resistant to change. They do want or need your product, but it would upset the way things have always been done. This situation is common, as fear of change tops the list of phobias people have. As long as you reassure the prospect of your product's stability, and outline a plan for them to implement it, you can win this client nearly every time.