Practice your introduction

Author - Mick Merrick

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Practice your introduction

Studies of people going for job interviews have shown that 80 per cent of interviewers make their mind up about the person in the first four minutes of the interview.
 
Whilst the sales scenario is a little different, those first four minutes are still vitally important. It is in this time that you either will bond with the prospect, or you won’t. If you don’t bond with them, then they are going to be incredibly hard to sell to.
 
In which case it makes sense to do whatever you can to ensure those first four minutes go as well as possible, doesn’t it? You can’t predict how the prospect will react when you first meet them. Some people will be warm and welcoming, some will be initially resistant, and some will deliberately try to wrong foot you.
 
Therefore, you should practice your introduction very carefully, so that you can deliver it perfectly every time, regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in.
 
Don’t be one of those people who prefer to be “spontaneous” when they first meet a prospect. None of the world’s top salespeople are.