1. Goal setting. Always set a realistic goal for each and every call. Not every call will end with you getting the deal but that doesn't mean you can't achieve your specific goal for that particular sales call.
2. Pre-call planning. Research your account prior to the call. Visit and study their website for useful information about their business and company. Have your own agenda set for the call including what your goal for the call is, what facts are you trying to uncover, and what will be the next steps. Always be prepared with at least three value added points as to why you are there and why the prospect should be doing business with you.
3. Greeting, introduction, and rapport building. Steal with your eyes. Observe everything and you will find clues as to who and what type of person you will be dealing with. Always be upbeat and friendly but remember you are a professional and the expert so conduct yourself accordingly. Use a nice firm handshake and make eye contact. Always take notes and write things down. Bridge to the business topic smoothly and always listen more than you speak. Ideally 80% of your call should be listening to the prospect and 20% speaking. Ask the prospect about their business goals and challenges they may be facing.
4. Qualify. It is essential to know who the key players and decisions makers are. The easiest and most straight forward way is to ask, "Who else besides yourself is involved in the decision making process?" Find out what their purchasing process is and a time frame to complete a purchase. Ask about the their role in organization and how they may affect a purchase.
5. Client needs analysis or fact finding. This is where you begin to probe the prospect with open ended questioned, like describe the process for me or explain that to me in more detail. Questions with who, what, where, when, why, how, or how much are good open ended questions that can uncover the prospects motivation to buy. Uncover the prospect's pain and position it with a value proposition for your particular product, service, or business. Asking how you can help solve their problems will always help the prospect open up to you. Ask the prospect what their short and long term goals are for their company. Encourage the prospect to elaborate and go into detail about every answer they speak to. At the end of the client needs analysis always establish a specific follow up schedule and gain agreement from the prospect.
6. Objection handling. Listen to what the prospect has to say completely. Never jump in and cut of the prospect's objection. Always wait three seconds before responding and allow yourself the time to speak intelligently and professionally. Meet the objection with a question in order to find out more about the prospect's objection. Restate the objection and gain agreement from the prospect, then answer the objection. All objections should go through the follow six steps.
- Listen to the objection
- Define the objection
- Rephrase the objection
- Isolate the objection
- Present a solution to the objection
- Close the objection and go to the next objection or next step
8. Close. Have the prospect identify all possible problems your product or service will solve and the value of solving those problems. Gain agreement that your product or service provides the value identified and ask for the order. Don't be afraid.
9. Customer maintenance or follow up. Establish a schedule for follow up calls and customer visits. This is also a great time to ask for referrals and what are the three most important things you can do as a vendor to keep their business in the years to come.
These steps will help you stay focused on every sales call. Glance at it before and after every call to improve your selling skills and increase your chances of success.
Now go out and sell!
/pic9772200.png)
