Do your homework - Make sure you are talking to the decision maker who can spend money on your product and leave no one out who needs to be involved (hence the reason they want both of you to attend meetings).
Be their mate - Lots of buying decisions are made on emotional grounds, invite them to a drink, find common ground (fake if necessary) to build rapport. Use first name often (people warm to that).
Killer questions - Find out what your customer wants and what they dislike about the product, don't lay the blame directly on your company but state something like it is an industry wide problem and that the company recognise this and are working hard to resolve the issue (so avoids putting the blame on DRI) ask how the customer would suggest they resolve the issue - this helps you understand what the customer wants. Makes them believe you are really personally concerned.
Win/win - Prepare for the meeting showing if the customer buys more points it will be win / win (recognise we are offering today a special price, here are extra tier benefits you could receive).
Live the dream - Be enthusiastic tell the customer that you own the product and how it has enhanced your well being and lifestyle - It could work for you also.
Watch their body language - Retaining customer interest is so important you need to look for eye contact, relaxed open pose and not a person who is looking around the room and fidgeting a lot.
Use of NLP - Subtly structuring the way you speak to persuade someone. Start off with an agreement, even if you completely disagree with what they've said. "Whenever you agree with someone, you're essentially opening them up to you. It's a rapport builder," he explains. "If they said something like, 'I wouldn't want to buy one of your products because I think it's rubbish,' you can say: 'I agree you're thinking like that.' "
You can then move your prospect's thoughts away from the negative thing they said to a new talking point. Using the earlier example, you'd say: "I agree you think like that, and the issue isn't the nature of our products, but how much of a return on investment you get from them." So hence move to the positive aspects of product ownership having agreed and sympathised with the customer.
Make them feel like you are a martyr. You want your buyer to feel they're getting fantastic deal. So create the impression you're making sacrifices for them. Pitch your price higher than you expect to them to pay, and gradually allow them to bargain you down. Pick up on any obstacles to a sale so you can push them to one side. If they're telling you your price is too high, ask them if they'd want your product if price wasn't an issue. If they say yes, you're in - you just have to find a price that suits you both.
Play good cop bad cop - Say I would love to do that deal but I would need to defer to a higher authority and then bring in your manager (this protects your position)
Don't rush to close a deal - Everything should be about making your customer feel like they're buying wisely rather than being sold to. So give them some breathing space if you sense they're feeling suffocated of if things are tense. Say you understand this is a big decision and would they prefer to meet at a later date, after they've had some thinking time. It shows you empathise and gives the impression you have their best interests at heart.
