Get Your Buyer's Attention by Using the Sales Impact Statement
The impact statement is a tool we recommend our clients use early in the sales process to get a prospect’s attention and to establish credibility.
We recommend that you establish credibility by talking with your prospect or customer about things that of interest to them. But you won’t establish credibility with your prospect by talking about items you find in their office. While commenting on pictures or artifacts found in a prospect’s office was a popular tactic back in the 50’s and 60’s, they won’t give you much traction in today’s business environment.
In today’s environment, we establish credibility by talking about issues relevant to the buyer or prospect. These issues should reflect what similar buyers have enjoyed by using our solutions. The sales impact statement helps us establish ourselves as a problem-solver and shows that we create value and return on investment for our clients.
Here’s a brief outline of the sales impact statement:
Provide general benefits your company has provided other organizations as they relate to your current buyer’s needs.
Give a brief overview of how your company provides these benefits
Suggest that similar benefits are possible.
Secure a meeting or advance the sale.
Ideas for Using the Sales Impact Statement
As with any sales tool, there are plenty of opportunities on using impact statement to advance your prospect to the next stage in your sales process. Here are some basic ideas on customizing and using your sales impact statements:
You don’t sell in the impact statement. Instead, focus on the buyer’s issues.
Include relevant pre-approach research information in your sale impact statement.
Talk about specific results, especially the return on investment, including money and time.
Use positive language focused on what they will get, and less on what they will avoid.
Use bullet points strategically.
Keep it brief, usually a minute or less.
Remember that there are legal restrictions on unsolicited faxes and emails. Use common business sense.
Before you open your next sales call or send your next pre-approach sales email, take time to create and review your impact statement while keeping within the general sales philosophy, “try to honestly see things from the prospect’s point of view.”
You’ll find opening your sales call a lot easier.