Control Sales Calls
Sales calls that you control are what all salespeople want. I am a big believer
that questioning is the most important skill for sales professionals. In order
to stay in control of your sales calls, whether by phone or in person, you
need to be the one asking questions most of the time.
To be the one asking questions most of the time, you have to get to questioning
right from the start of your sales calls. This issue's tip is about how to
make this transition quickly with finesse, whether you are calling by phone
or are in person.
To accomplish this, you will need to eliminate beginning your sales calls
with long-winded "presentations" about your company. This may seem counter-intuitive.
You may have reasoned that your prospect doesn't know who you are, and needs
your introductory "presentation" as background for a sales discussion.
Although this is the mode many of us are used to, the reality is different.
If you politely give your customer a valid business reason for you to ask
questions from the start, you will find that virtually all of your customers
will let you do this. You will then be able to spend most of your valuable
time investigating what your customer wants and needs.
OK so here's how you do this. Once your sales calls have started and you
have established rapport, you say something like the following:
"Mr. Jones, I am with XYZ Company, and we help companies to
[insert your benefit here]. What I would like to do today is ask you a few
questions to see if it makes sense for our companies to do business together.
How does that sound to you?"
You can modify the above to your own style, but let me first show you what
makes this opening work. In reverse order, you are asking permission to ask
questions, you are stating that your purpose is to see if it makes sense to
do business together, and you are suggesting a common benefit of doing business
with your company.
By asking permission to ask questions, you establish the format of your sales
calls, and put yourself firmly in charge. In stating that you want to see
if it makes sense to do business together, you are saying that this is a mutual
decision, and that you aren't just out to sell them something that they may
not need. By suggesting a common benefit of doing business with you, you are
giving a prospect, who may not know much about you, a reason to continue with
the sales call.
Until a prospect has decided that you understand their business problems,
a simple benefit of doing business with you suffices to get your sales calls
started. If your company is a known quantity in your market or to your prospect,
you can skip the benefit completely as the prospect already has a reason and
context for the discussion.
There's no need for long-winded openers on your sales calls.
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Sales
Article 1 Reluctant to cold call?