what should be prepared before making a sales call

So many sales Execs, get in their cars & simply head to their first call of the day.

The importance of thoroughly preparing to make a sales call cannot be highlighted enough.

?In my business, I asked my Team Members “what is your plan today”

If the answer was unsatisfactory, I sent them home for the rest of the day to gather themselves & be ready to tackle the next day.

Naturally, the day off was unpaid!?

?The 9 key factors you should bring into any planning phase ~

1.??????Who makes the decisions??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Be sure to engage with the decision maker. So many Reps try & negotiate with anyone who will talk to them. I have visited a Client where the “buyer” was a tea lady!

2.??????Establish good habits???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Plan each call, your day, your week & month religiously. This will avoid crisis management situations.

3.??????What you want to achieve from the call????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Never call without an objective. 2nd rate Reps “pop” in to say hi. Professionals call with a very clear idea of what they want to get out of the call. It is called “return on activity”.

4.??????Adding value?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?Customers have needs – better ways of doing things, products they didn’t know about or how to use, more efficient ways of working etc. That’s why they need you. Are you able to add value to a Customer or else you will simply be there to try & sell something.

5.??????Converse with authority?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Know your stuff. Research & prepare to discuss what is important to your Customer.

6.??????Knowledge & ability?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Customers want to do business with people who can assist & empower them. Gain an understanding of the Customer’s business & who his Customers are. What are his goals & aspirations? What is preventing him from accomplishing them? Your greatest tool is the ability to converse with your Customer on his terms & in his language.

7.??????Time is valuable????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Your Customer’s time is important and of course, so is yours. Prepare in advance for what you plan to discuss. You have only 540 minutes a day. Use them wisely.

8.??????Don’t make sales calls, consult?with your Customers???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Sales calls are often viewed as an intrusion on the Customer’s time.?You want to make sure when you walk in the door, they are looking forward to seeing you. They must believe that you will always be adding value to their business whenever you visit them. Research before each call & have something valuable to offer them.

9.??????Spot the difference???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Let your competitors talk about prices, their company & themselves. You want to talk about what is important to your Customer. That is all that they are interested in – not you or your company. You’ll be viewed as being a true consultant rather than just another smous.

Need to train your Sales team to make each Member become the very best they can become?

Talk to us at BizGro ~ we have worked with & trained + - 1,000 Sellers!

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