Engaging the prospect is likely on your to-​do list, but do you really know how to do this? Your engagement strategy is vital to success, and many reps don’t even have a set strategy. In a post for SalesPOP, Roy Osing lays out a plan that reps can adopt and adapt for themselves.

First, Osing points out what engagement actually is: “‘Engage’ is about a conversation; a mutual exploration of opportunity for both parties,” he explains. “The prospect is NOT a target for a sales pitch; an object to be flogged at by the salesperson.”

Next, he shares five questions to ask yourself; your answers will help you craft an engagement strategy. Below, are the first two sets of questions to consider:

What do you know about the challenges your prospect faces? What priority problem they are trying to solve?

It’s up to you to discover as much as you can about the prospect and his or her business. Make yourself an expert on any improvements they need. You’ll make an impression not only with your knowledge, but also your apparent interest in his or her business.

Which of your products or services represent the best solutions?

You must also be the know-​it-​all expert on your own products and services. If you aren’t intimately knowledgeable about how you can help the prospect, you may never get a chance to “get back to you on that.”

These questions, along with the other two Osing shares, will help you craft an effective engagement strategy. If you already have a strategy, how does it compare? As he writes, “If you’re not prepared to invest the time in doing your homework, don’t waste your prospect’s time; you will provide them little value and leave them feeling that it was a miserable experience.”