Take the Initial Sales Call Seriously

Many reps think closing calls are more important than prospecting calls. They'll zip through the prospecting call in hopes that their next call could be a closing call. The correct approach is to understand the importance of the prospecting call so you will plan and execute it effectively.

On every call, including the initial sales call, you should be trying to advance the account as far as possible towards a sale. The goal of each call is the same -- to get them to a close, not to send them your literature or schedule the next call. Half the battle is getting people to talk with you. Why would you want to cut it short?

There are a few components that are unique to your initial sales call:
1. Introduction: This occurs when you are calling on a new customer or a new contact at that customer. You need to share your niche statement and introduce yourself as their salesperson.
2. Ask key "knockout" questions: Some standard "knockout" questions center on budget and decision-making ability. If they don't have money to buy what you're selling or they don't have the authority to buy what you're selling, why are you talking with them? If you don't ask your knockout questions on your initial sales call, you will waste your time (and theirs) until you get those questions answered.
3. Establish their first impression: You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Much of their attitude towards you will be based on this initial sales call.

"Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself." -- Paul "Bear" Bryant

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

"What Do You Do?" Tailoring Your Niche Statement

You can't make the sale if the person you're talking with has no idea what you do. And they won't give you half an hour to explain it to them. That's why it's important for you to take the time to craft a niche statement. A good niche statement isn't "one size fits all." A tailored niche statement, combined with your statement of purpose, gives enough information so the contact understands who you are, what your product is, and why you're calling. But don't give enough information for them to think they can make an informed purchasing decision.

Tailored niche statements:
1. Are only applicable on you initial sales call
2. Get the prospect's attention quickly so you can continue the conversation
3. Let them know who you are and why you're calling without providing too much detail.

You will leave them wanting more information about you. If you say too much, you give them an opportunity to develop a preconceived opinion that you're not a good fit for their needs. It's better to leave them wanting more information about your company. This can be a way to spark interest.

How To Tailor Your Niche Statement
1. Set up the framework for the rest of the call
2. Be direct and succinct. Think "elevator pitch." If you cannot describe your product to a prospect while on an elevator by the time they reach their floor, it's too long.
3. Be accurate and applicable
4. Purport a potential fit between the customer and your company
5. Convey your overall focus
6. Convey a stature or uniqueness (e.g. "We are the leading..." or "We are the only...")
7. Be tailored to the prospect based on information you've gathered about them. For example, if you're selling to a family doctor, you should emphasize family doctors in your niche statement. Then, when you're calling on a specialist, you should mention their specialty in your niche statement. Remember point #3 when tailoring your niche statement -- it has to be accurate and applicable.

"Work for the fun of it, and the money will arrive some day." -- Ronnie Milsap

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

The Importance of Precall Planning

Precall planning is the process of preparing to make a True Sales Call. A precall plan can:
1. Help you ID the desired Business Outcomes and Emotional Outcomes of a call
2. Help you tailor your "elevator pitch" to the client
3. Help you align pitches and proofs
4. Give you something to start the conversation with and get their attention
5. Help you understand what the client does

The time it takes to develop an adequate precall plan could be anywhere from 10 minutes for a prospect to 30 seconds for a follow-up call deep into the sales cycle. You want to limit your time because you could get lost in the planning which will affect your ability to achieve a sufficient volume of True Sales Calls. There's no bigger waste of time than preparing an hour for a prospect only to find out 45 seconds into the call they have no legitimate need for your service.

For an initial call, gather just enough information so you don't sound like a neophyte and enough information to star a conversation. Do you understand what the prospect does? Do you know the right person to call? Also, prepare your potential proofs and put them into a folder dedicated to that prospect.

For follow-up calls, much of your precall planning should occur when completing the previous call while it's still fresh in your mind. Reviewing your notes (which sometimes look like hieroglyphics) two days after the call is not as effective as planning immediately after the call. Think about and plan what you want to do next and record it. Then, prior to the next call, review those notes to refresh your memory of the account.

These tips aren't earth-shattering. But we've seen a common reason sales reps don't achieve their desired outcomes with a customer is simply because they didn't plan -- they didn't prepare prior to the call and they didn't complete takeaways from the previous call. Some reps do get away with little preparation (for a time), but don't leave your success to chance.

"Quality begins on the inside... and then works its way out." -- Bob Moawad

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

Beware Of NETSCAD

NETSCAD stands for Not Enough True Sales Calls A Day. This is a disease that has a 100% mortality rate in salespeople. You need to speak with the final decision-maker (DM) or someone in the DM loop who has the ability to influence the DM.

On a True Sales Call, you can achieve:
1. Identifying the client's budget constraints to make your initial sale as lucrative as possible
2. Probing to understand their value opportunities (needs and wants)
3. Providing value that shows you can help them
4. Uncovering/revealing attitudes
5. Validating a current customer's expectations and satisfaction
6. Validating previously delivered value. Get them excited again about what you've done for them.

You need to apply skepticism to ensure you actually made a True Sales Call. The client may want to just be nice but did not give you any real information that was useful. Set aside your feelings about the call (emotions) and consider the facts:
1. Was the same topic/information simply rehashed?
2. Have you progressed toward a sale or upsell?
3. Did you get new actionable information?
4. Did you get additional critical information such as DM loop, budget, and new value opportunities?
5. Ask yourself the hard question -- "What information did I actually get from the contact and is that information useful?" -- and give yourself an honest answer.

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." -- Ronald E. Osborn

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

Welcome to the Erie Sales Club!

The Erie Sales Club is designed to be an educational and networking resource for sales reps and sales managers in Northwestern PA. It's created by Erie sales professionals for Erie sales professionals. And it's completely free of charge. In addition to this website, we will hold meetings locally and produce a newsletter that highlights what's new on this site and features an exclusive Sales Tip. To subscribe to the newsletter, send an email to Carin.Stuart@JamesonPublishing.com.

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets. Here's our first sales tip for you:

Business Outcomes & Emotional Outcomes
You must keep in mind that with every call there are business outcomes and emotional outcomes. You should have a clear understanding of what outcomes you want from each call. This will give you (1) insight on what you should be striving to accomplish on each call and (2) insight on how to accomplish it.

Your overarching business outcome should be to give them more value than they believe they are paying for. Your overarching emotional outcome should be that each time you call, they feel they have to take your call due to the value you provide them.

Before calling a client, you should ask yourself:
1. Who do you need to call?
2. What do you want to get out of this call?
3. How do you want to accomplish it?
4. Why do you need to make this call?
5. Where is the best place to talk?
6. When is the best time to talk?

Be specific in your desired outcomes -- write them down in your precall plan which you should prepare prior to making the call.

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."