Immediately after making eye contact with a potential customer, the forty-five-second clock begins. This is how much time you have as a sales rep to communicate, both verbally and nonverbally, a compelling statement that will earn you more time with a potential customer. These precious seconds, known as an initial approach, will either make or break the sale.
Forty-five seconds is long enough to prove that what you are selling can bring value to the person standing in front of you but short enough to keep their attention and not allow them enough time to think of a reason to reject your offer. By keeping the initial approach brief, you also show respect for the potential customer’s time, and you demonstrate how valuable your time is as well.
Sales reps must stay on task and only share the pertinent information that will assist them in determining whether their time is best spent with the person standing in front of them. There are four components to an effective initial approach…these components are identified and defined in Chapter 6 of Door-to-Door Millionaire.