Sales calls are a hugely important part of the sales process. You’ve probably had some great ones, but you’ve also probably had those that you’ve shoved back into the recesses of your mind and pray will never see the light of day again. So what can you do to make sure your next sales call will be amazing?
Here are four steps to ensure your next call goes smoothly:
1. Prepare
Being unprepared for anything is a recipe for failure. Taking the time to properly research and formulate a plan before your call is crucial. Reviewing information you have on your contact, including notes from previous meetings, email exchanges, etc., should be taken into account on how to approach the call. Also ensuring you’re ready with the right address or the correct dial-in number, know the exact start time (especially if there is a difference in time-zones), and having all the necessary materials at hand is essentially common sense, but shouldn’t be forgotten.
Don’t take your preparation to the extreme and script out every potential conversation, but definitely have answers prepared for some common questions and objections you might encounter. Having a vision for the “next step” is also a fundamental part of your preparation.
2. Relax
Coming in straight away with a serious tone and jumping into your pitch isn’t the best way to approach your meeting. Treating your contact like an actual human being and not simply as a sales prospect is the key to success. Making some small talk and taking a genuine interest in them is important. No one likes to be treated as if they’re being used for something, so make sure that any sort of scripted, salesy, and impersonal element is taken out of the equation.
Relax and talk to them, not at them. They’ll read your approach and most likely mirror your ease. The meeting will go much smoother and you’ll save yourself the stress of feeling like you need to tap dance the entire time. Make sure you’re aware of their signals though and don’t waste their time with superfluous chit-chat, but aim keep the meeting moving forward.
3. Listen
The sales call wasn’t set up so that you could ramble on about your company and offering. Its purpose was to determine your prospect’s needs and then demonstrate how your product or solution could fill the gap. That’s why your meeting should consist of you asking questions. Make sure you’re not assuming anything and ask them to specify, explain, and elaborate on any of their problems that you’re going to try to solve.
Taking the time to listen to the answers and continuously be thinking of alternate approaches, suggestions, and recommendations is what you should focus the majority of your time on. Everyone appreciates when they can voice their thoughts and then have a solution be tailored to their specific case.
4. Remember
Taking notes is important, as is following up. You should have detailed notes on each item that was discussed in the meeting. In the heat of the moment it’s easy to assume you’ll remember everything that was said, but make sure you are jotting some things down during your call. By reiterating some items you’ve taken notes on to your contact, the fact you’re really listening to them will undoubtedly come across.
Remembering to follow up quickly with a summary and details about a next step is important. This will definitely convey that they are a top priority for you and it’ll help them keep you top of mind. Even if the discussion didn’t go exactly to plan and there won’t be a next step, make sure you reach out to thank them for taking time to meet with you. It’s important to maintain a positive relationship regardless of whether you’ll get the sale shortly, in a year, or maybe never. The world is a much smaller place in sales and preserving positive connections will surely help your credibility and reputation for the future.
Keeping these simple steps in mind for your next sales call will help establish a solid foundation for success.
What is your #1 tip for a great sales call?
