I was recently riding back from a sales meeting with two colleagues. We were discussing the conversation and the opportunities to work with the prospective client. We each had different thoughts on what would help the prospect reach their goals. Mine: The power of team selling.

Team selling has many benefits...

Different perspectives: While recapping important discussion points, each of us had a different perspective to add due to our various backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Every professional at your firm has a different background and can bring a fresh perspective to client challenges. With team selling, you can tap into this collective expertise to develop the best solution for your clients.

Many eyes, ears, and voices: One of the biggest complaints buyers of professional services have is that the sellers don't listen to them. It is difficult for one person to listen to (and really hear) what a prospect is saying, ask thoughtful questions that flush out the prospect's aspirations and pains, take notes, and, during the same conversation, advocate for their firm's services while they pick up on how the prospect reacts.

There is a lot going on in a sales conversation. With additional eyes and ears, you can often pick up on subtleties and points you might have missed were you alone. You might also benefit from another team member's questions that uncover areas you had not thought of.

Opportunity to connect with various personalities: In professional services, people are buying people. Having rapport is essential to building a relationship that ultimately leads to a paid client relationship. And some people just click better than others.

Having multiple people in a sales conversation creates the opportunity to connect on many different levels and allows you to match personalities best.

As professional service providers, the time we spend selling is time we are not billing. Having two or three people attend a sales meeting adds up to quite a bit of hours that could have been billable. Still, the benefits often outweigh the costs.

So, on your next sales meeting or call, consider bringing a sidekick. You may find this is just thing you need to make the difference between success and, well, "not" success.

And remember, RainToday...Dark by Midnight.

Erica Stritch
General Manager,
RainToday.com
estritch@raintoday.com

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