In the marketing process, client visits are the most basic and routine work: market research requires visiting clients, new product promotion requires visiting clients, sales promotion requires visiting clients, and customer relationship maintenance also requires visiting clients. Many sales representatives also feel that as long as client visits are successful, other related sales tasks will naturally follow. However, perhaps because they hold a superior attitude of being sought after, or because they are accustomed to the numerous sales representatives coming and going daily, many visited clients (mostly purchasing staff and store managers) are indifferent to these visiting sales representatives. Stories of sales representatives being given the cold shoulder, facing indifference, or being shut out are numerous. Many sales representatives therefore feel that client visits are difficult to start. In fact, as long as you find the right entry point and use the right methods, you will find that client visits are not as tricky as imagined—successful visits are actually simple:
Be Direct and State Your Purpose When meeting a client for the first time, if the other party is not attending to other visitors, use brief words to directly state the purpose of the visit: for example, introduce yourself as the manufacturer (or agent) of a certain product; whether you are here to discuss supply cooperation, carry out promotional activities, sign a contract, or check sales; what cooperation and support you need from them, etc. Without this introduction, imagine if the person you are visiting is a terminal salesperson; they might initially treat you as an ordinary consumer and provide attentive service. After they spend a lot of effort recommending products, introducing functions, and reminding precautions, when you then state your purpose, suddenly saying, "I'm a supplier, not here to buy products but to promote..." will make them feel strongly that they have been "wasting their time" or even deceived, immediately generating resentment and resistance. At that point, it will certainly be difficult to proceed smoothly with the next steps.
Stand Out and Win Attention Sometimes, we visit a company repeatedly, but few people there know which manufacturer we represent, what our salesperson's name is, or what products we have cooperated on. In such cases, we must find ways to stand out during visits and win the attention of most people in the client's organization.
First, do not be stingy with business cards. Every time you visit a client, in addition to contacting the key person directly, you should also give business cards to relevant personnel such as the purchasing manager, financial staff, sales manager, store salespeople, and even warehouse staff, to reinforce their impression of you. When distributing cards, you can be creative. For example, turn the card over and first attract the other party with the "product range" printed on the back, because what clients truly care about is not who they are dealing with, but what profitable products the person can bring them. Distribute cards once, twice, three times, until the other party remembers your name and the products you are working on.
Second, when distributing product catalogs or other promotional materials, it is necessary to clearly mark your name, contact number, and other key contact information in a visible place, and highlight it with different colored pens; at the same time, emphasize to the client: "As long as you call this number, we are available to serve you at any time."
Third, use the brand effect of successful and high-volume products to attract the client's attention: "Look, our company's product XX sells so well and is so successful; why hesitate to cooperate with us this time?"
Fourth, appropriately show your "close relationship" with the client's superiors or leaders (such as the general manager): for example, in front of the person being visited, act like brothers with their boss, joke around, or discuss personal matters. Imagine, if you are a good friend of the boss, would the other party dare to offend you easily? Of course, the premise is that you truly have an extraordinary "close relationship" with their boss or leader; moreover, showing this "close relationship" must be measured, so as not to give the impression of "using the leader to pressure" the other party. Otherwise, the effect will be counterproductive.
- Read the Situation and Tailor to Their Interests When visiting clients, we often encounter a situation where the other party says impatiently and unenthusiastically: "I'm busy right now, I have things to do! Come back next time." When they say this, there are generally several scenarios: first, they are indeed busy with other work or attending to other customers, and the content of their negotiations, rebate points, or selling prices may not be convenient for you to know; second, they are engaged in recreational activities with other colleagues or customers, such as playing cards, mahjong, watching football, or chatting about a hot topic; third, they have nothing to do at the moment but are in a bad mood for some reason.
Of course, in the first scenario, we must be patient, actively avoid, or find the right moment to help the other party with something. For example, if the person we are visiting is a salesperson at a terminal store, and a consumer is hesitating about whether to buy a product, we can help the salesperson recommend the product, acting as a voluntary "sales assistant" to strengthen the customer's purchase decision. In the second scenario, we can join their conversation, offering unique insights to spark discussion and avoid being ignored; or give them small gifts we carry (such as playing cards) as entertainment tools. At this time, we should have the attitude of blending in and being one of them; we should have the knowledge to know everything and be willing to share. In the third scenario, it is best to visit another day rather than invite trouble.
- Identify the Right Person If we visit the same client multiple times but achieve little—prices not settled, agreements not reached, promotions not implemented, sales not increasing—then we need to reflect: have we found the right person, that is, the key person who can help achieve our visit purpose?
This requires us to handle the relationship between "handshake" and "hug" during visits: "shake hands" with general staff to avoid making them feel ignored; "hug" tightly with key and core personnel to build close relationships. Therefore, we must clearly identify the other party's true "identity": whether they are the purchasing manager, sales manager, store manager, financial supervisor, or just a general purchaser, salesperson, store clerk, or promoter. Match the visit to the appropriate position (role) based on different visit purposes. For example, to get the client to purchase new products, you must visit purchasing staff; to get the client to pay, you need to visit both purchasing and financial staff; to increase product promotion, it is best to visit frontline sales and store staff.
- Promote Advantages and Entice with Benefits Businesspeople value profit. This "profit" includes two levels: "public benefit" and "private benefit"; we can simply understand it as "benefits." As long as we can bring some benefit to the client, we will surely be accepted.
First, clarify the "public benefit." This requires strong presentation skills to enumerate the advantages that can bring temporary or long-term benefits to the client, such as a complete product range, moderate prices, thoughtful service, reliable quality, and standardized operations; make them and their company feel that doing business with us is both reassuring and comfortable, and profitable. This "public benefit" should be known to as many people as possible; the more people know, the smoother our future visits will be, because no one wants to neglect someone who brings profit and business opportunities to their company.
Second, hint at "private benefit." Nowadays, in the sales process across industries, many manufacturers provide various forms of rewards or incentives for key links such as purchasing, sales invoicing, and terminal promotions; purchasing and sales personnel at all levels are well aware of this. Therefore, the one who gives them more "rewards" will naturally receive more enthusiasm from them during visits. Compared with "public benefit," "private benefit" should be handled discreetly, ideally known only to "you and me" (except for publicly announced rewards based on individual performance rankings).
Break Through from One Point to the Rest If we want to learn about similar product information from a client, they often evade or avoid discussing product prices, sales volume, rebate policies, promotion intensity, etc., making it impossible to investigate true information about competitors. At this time, breaking through this "united front" is often difficult. Therefore, we must find a key breakthrough target. For example, find an older or higher-ranking person with some prestige among the client's staff, and based on their preferences, carry out corresponding public relations activities to establish a "personal relationship" with them, so they can "leak" the truth to us. We can even use this person's prestige, reputation, and recommendations to indirectly influence and persuade others, achieving other visit purposes such as stocking, payment collection, and promotions.
Maintain a Positive Attitude and Never Give Up Client visits are a game of probability; rarely do they succeed on the first try, and they cannot be achieved overnight or once and for all. Sales representatives should not only carry forward the "Four Thousand Spirit": travel thousands of miles, endure thousands of hardships, speak thousands of words, and think of thousands of ways to strive for visit success; but also cultivate the highest state of mind: "It's all my fault": "The client's rejection is my fault, because I lack sales skills; because I lack foresight; because I cannot provide good service to the client..." to summarize lessons from failed visits. As long as you can develop the "Four No's" attitude toward client rejection—"not afraid, not avoiding, not complaining, not discouraged"—you will be one step closer to successful client visits.
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