Notes! To take or not to take?
Guest articles > Notes! To take or not to take?
by: Niall Devitt
Recording details on paper with the prospect during a sales meeting is a subject
that divides a lot of salespeople. Sellers who fall into the “no to note taking
camp” will say that note taking can be off putting to the prospect and only
serves to stop the prospect from sharing information. They say that it can ruin
the natural flow of the conversation and can make questioning the prospect a
disjointed process. I on the other hand am a firm believer in the value of
taking notes Here is a list of ten reasons why I believe note taking works.
- Taking out a pen and paper creates an impression and makes the statement ”
I’m professional, I’m organised”
- Using a pad and paper allows you to have a questioning plan and a series lead
questions written down ensuring that you cover all the points that are important
during the course of the meeting.
- Physically recording the conversation through taking notes highlights to the
prospect that you taking what they are saying seriously.
- Note taking serves as an effective visual demonstration to the prospect that
you are listening to what been said.
- Taking out a pen and paper helps focus the prospects mind on the important
details, in other words once they see you are recording the info, it helps to
get them to think about and verbalise what they feel you need to know.
- Taking notes forces you to really listen to what’s been said, in order to
write something down you have to listen to the words and sentences being used.
- Note taking reinforces the prospects desire to speak and highlights to the
prospect your role as an information gatherer.
- Having to concentrate on taking notes helps ensure correct selling structure.
It assists you to gather enough information and establish needs before moving on
to the actual selling piece.
- Because a lot of salespeople never take notes, if you do it allows you to
immediately stand out from your competitors.
- Note taking allows the salesperson to go back over the conversation and look
for clues that at first were missed. Sometimes comments by the prospect during
the meeting that initially maybe seemed unimportant can provide insight on
reflection.
Niall Devitt is a training consultant and
business mentor. With over a decade of experience working as senior sales
manager and trainer for some of Ireland’s top companies his expertise lies in
creating and implementing performance driven sales programmes. Niall is
regularly asked to contribute business articles and his advice has been
published through the Irish National Press and broadcast on Radio. Visit his
blog on business know-how at www.btbtraining.com.
Contributor: Niall Devitt
Published here on: 27-Apr-08
Classification: Sales, Communication
Website: www.btbtraining.com
MSWord: Notes.doc
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