A greeting may seem simple—it’s just saying hello, right? – No, the greeting is your first opportunity to make an impression on your visitor, and what you say—and how you say it—will set the tone for the rest of the conversation and potential business outcomes.
Firstly and most importantly your visitor greeting should build trust, put the customer at ease, and get you on common ground.
Here are 5 simple steps that make a successful visitor greeting:
- Go to the visitor, do not have them come to you, many visitors are nervous about meeting new people.
- Begin with, “Welcome, my name is ________, and yours?” Put them at ease.
- Remember, they are there for themselves, not for you. Don’t tell them your life story. You must be interested in THEM and why they are there.
- Treat all new visitors as prospects from the beginning, through the pitch, through the presentation, through the close, and on through the follow-up.
- Be positive, don’t go looking for reasons why they won’t buy. Only focus on the reasons why they will.
Terrible, but commonly used greetings to avoid:
- “Can I help you?”
- “What can I do for you?”
- “Here’s my card, if you need anything I’ll be over there.”
- “Anyone scanned your badge yet?”
These come from a lack of preparation. Any salesperson that greets you like this show they are an amateur. You want to greet visitors professionally.
For smarter ways to exhibit, call us on 01767 603930.
