How Salespeople Can Take the Lead

Have you ever been leapt upon by an over-enthusiastic wet and muddy dog?
It's not a nice feeling. And my first response to such an encounter is to wonder why the owner can't control their pet.

I'm sure dog owners don't want their pets covering strangers in damp, muddy paw prints. But if they don't exercise the right level of control that's what's going to happen.

Printing salespeople will also get unwanted results if they don't exercise control
They need to exercise control over their prospects. If conversations are managed correctly, the salesperson is more likely to get the work. They are more likely to create a good relationship with the prospect.

Salespeople who don't control conversations will struggle to achieve the profit levels that they want. That's assuming they even won the work in the first place. That's because, as the buyer, I will be firmly in control.

As a buyer, I'll always try to get a salesperson to do things MY way
I want the printing salesperson to follow my lead. That means I get to tell the salesperson what they're going to talk about and when. I get to put the proposals first. The salesperson is forced to respond to me. They never get a chance to take the lead.

As a buyer, I find it very easy to control a conversation or negotiation with a printing salesperson. The main reason for this is that few people try to take control of a conversation.

However, it is easy to for a print rep to take the lead
At the beginning of any conversation, if you set out your agenda the other party is forced to follow it. That means you are in control of what is happening. And you control when things happen.

If you are not already using this technique, you should start putting it into practice. You will find it much simpler to make sales conversations go your way. You will also find that conversations about price are much easier.