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Choreographing Client Visits By Fran Goldstein, CPC, CSP Gold Staff Consultants Today, sales professionals agree that they are experiencing healthy markets with highly charged competition. It is critical for sales professionals to stay ahead of the curve and implement innovative techniques to enhance their market and to share and create a platform for long term client relationships. One proven technique for this is the strategic Choreographed Client Visit. Although most sales professionals visit the site of their clients, few are properly trained at leveraging those visits to drive client relationships for increased ROI. Successful sales professionals embrace the art of choreographing client visits. The results of a face-to-face meeting far surpass communication through any technology. Understanding your clients' behavior live through their eye contact, body language, tone of voice and presentation style is the greatest opportunity to bond and measure how well your sales approach is resonating with them. Your behavior and presentation skills are key to establishing trust and credibility. It is easy to fall into the mindset that while business is booming, there just isn't time for face-to-face contact. Proposals and quotes delivered over e-mail or rapidly over the phone has become habit, leaving sales people often feeling more like "order takers" than true consultants. During the choreographed client visit, the sales person establishes the agenda and empowers the client to participate. The agenda is based on a specific objective necessary to take the client relationship to a deeper level, which allow the sales person to provide optimal service and exceed clients' expectations. You need to be able to educate clients to the mutual value and ROI of the meeting. Build your vocabulary to include consultative phraseology. Speak like a consultant: phrases such as "I recommend..." or "My experience is..." say that you are the expert. Clients will be motivated to make the time to meet with you when they understand that there will be gain on their end. Due dilligence is vital. Research your client well, including their C-Level team. The agenda is a simple point by point outline of the areas to be addressed in the meeting. It also includes the lead person on each area and the estimated time allocated to each. By choreographing the client visit, your client is fully prepared and on board. Send the agenda to your client and ask for feedback. Bring hard copies for your client and extras for C-Level managers who may join the meeting. Know your own website and have copies of that. When you choreograph client visits, the relationship becomes a building process as each meeting builds on the other. Ask lots of open-ended questions during the first client visit. Listen carefully to their responses and validate that you understand. Be prepared for objections. Develop a list of open ended questions to ask so that you may learn your client's "hot buttons" and motivators. Record or videotape client visits. Aside from documenting meeting details that might otherwise be missed, the videotape makes a great thank-you gift. It will set the precedent for future meetings. Close the visit strongly. Reinforce your client's decision to meet with you. Summarize key action items for follow up and pre-close for the next client visit. Send a thank-you note recapping the same. By developing a method to choreographing client visits, you will have more fun working with your clients and building your business, visit by visit! 
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