IT Sales: Determine Your Clients' Needs

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 28th, 2010

When you first meet with IT sales prospects, you'll want to get them talking about their top 3 problems. You may learn that the problems your prospects have aren't ones you or your network of partners or subcontractors can help with. In this case, you are barking up the wrong tree and should move on. But it's very important to get your prospects talking if you want IT sales.

Ask about Their Preferences

Get them to talk about what they like and dislike about how they?ve gotten IT support in the past. This can also give you a tremendous number of clues as to what they?re looking for.

You also need to figure out at this first meeting if they have an emergency that has to be addressed in the next 24, 48 hours, 72 hours, or are they looking more for an IT audit, site survey, or technology assessment with IT sales.

Every once in a while they?ll throw you a curve ball and prospects will want something totally different. It won?t be an emergency and they won?t really need a tech assessment, but most of the time, those are what they need.

Bring Your Clients to the Next Step

If you want to move from free to fee, if you want to move from sitting there and playing brain-picking-101 in the IT sales call to them writing a check to your company or signing on a credit card authorization for IT sales, then it?s really important that you find out.

Make sure that you have something ready to offer them, that you have proposals that easily take care of their needs. Even better is to bring the blank forms with you so you?re ready to have them sign on the dotted line for IT sales.

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