Tag: predictable results

Do You Prepare For Your Sales Call Like a SCUBA Diver?

Do You Prepare For Your Sales Call Like a SCUBA Diver?

SCUBA divers prepare more fully for the dive than most salespeople prepare for the sales call. SCUBA diving is a popular hobby and sport. It allows the diver to see a beautiful world under the water filled with fabulously decorated plants and animals. While the environment is beautiful, it can be dangerous if the SCUBA diver is not prepared.

Very few SCUBA divers have accidents, and that is because they are prepared. Before every dive, there is significant discussion and planning. The dive site is discussed in detail including:

  • What currents that are prevalent?
  • How deep is the dive?
  • What possible dangerous animals and plants might they encounter?
  • Which SCUBA diver is going to lead?
  • A review of various hand signals to communicate.

Not insignificantly, the divers also agree when the dive will be over and the safety of the ascent.

All of this makes sense. Diving is incredibly fun, but there can be disastrous repercussions.

Your sales call will probably not cause injury or death if you screw it up. You will be much more effective if you simply prepare for the conversation – especially if you are going on a sales call with a buddy.

In the worst case, a bad sales call could mean that you lose the order – and financially that can be devastating. It can also be a mortal problem for your career if you screw up too many sales calls.

Here are some suggested topics to prepare for your sales call. You should think of these topics even if you are making a solo sales call.

  • What is the major and minor goal of the sales call?
  • Who is going to lead the conversation?
  • When is the sales call finished?
  • Do you need to review some verbal signals to change course during the sales call?

Prepare for the major and minor goal of the sales call?

This conversation is probably the easiest and most important item to discuss during the preparation. You should have two goals for each sales conversation – a major goal and a minor goal. The major goal is your best outcome for the sales call. The major goal is the outcome that you are working towards and you will “high five” your sales partner as you walk out of the building.

The minor goal is the minimum you can settle for without being disappointed at the end of the call. If you don’t get this, you have failed. Failure is bad. You need to work hard to avoid this outcome.

Prepare for whom is going to lead the conversation?

With multiple people involved there needs to be some coordination on which person is leading different parts of the conversation. Your life will be much better if everyone agrees to this plan. Your chances of achieving your Major Goal are much better if this is structured.

A general problem happens here when you have your manager with you. Let’s face it, managers typically are not great coaches and wish they still had your job. In too many situations, they don’t want to sit there passively and let you lead. If your manager suffers from this problem, politely discuss it with him/her. If the problem continues, have him read my post on coaching, and then call him “Coach” repeatedly in your daily interactions with him. It is a sad reality of life that you may have to teach your manager how to be your manager.

Prepare for when is the sales call finished?

It is an old statement that you need to stop selling when you have won the order. The end of the call needs an advance agreement. Do you need to fill the entire time slot or is there some signal that everyone agrees it is time to leave? Figure that out in advance.

Prepare for verbal signals to change course during the sales call?

The main reason for your buddy to be on the call is probably because that person needs to say something important. You may have a technical partner, subject matter expert (SME), or your manager. However, when the customer says or questions something, who is going to take it and what is everyone else going to do?

It only takes a few minutes to plan a sales call, but it is very important. You will have more predictable results, if you prepare. Spend those couple minutes in the car before walking in, in the office earlier that day, or on a quick conference call. Being prepared for the call is not as important to your safety as in SCUBA diving but it can be just as rewarding when it all works out.

You may have other ideas of things to cover in the sales call. If you do, drop me a note at @soshaughnessey on Twitter or leave a comment below.

Photo by Ilse Reijs and Jan-Noud Hutten

The 3 Key Components To Grow Any Business

The 3 Key Components To Grow Any Business

Guest Article By Kay R. Sanders

If you are in sales, have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to increase your sales results? There has to be a way to get predictable results! Right? The answer is yes; you can produce predictable results. In order to produce such predictable outcomes, there are three key components every sales person must consider to grow a business.

The three key components to grow any business are:

  1. Generating Leads
  2. Setting Appointments
  3. Converting Leads into Sales Presentations

Each component is a vital part of growing a business. It starts with generating enough leads or contacts of individuals who are in the target market and who would benefit or are interested in the product(s) or services a salesperson is selling. Without leads, a sales person would not have anyone to present their product or service! Next is setting up the appointment that creates the opportunity to present the product or service to individuals who would benefit and possibly would want to buy. Last but not least is the part where leads convert into sales presentations. These three components are the stepping stone in any sales process, and one would not work without the other.

The sales industry is one of the best industries to be in, with unlimited income potential and a lifelong job security. Salespeople are in high demand because every business needs salespeople to sell their products. Without salespeople, businesses would not be able to operate. Being in sales in not a bad thing, even though many feel bad or embarrassed about being in sales. Instead, be proud to be a sales person because you do can make a difference in people’s life’s with the products or services they are selling.

Every year more and more people start a career in sales. Unfortunately, many also quit the business because of one major obstacle: they don’t know how to sell! You see if you know how to sell and you know about the sales process, you have the potential to make a substantial amount of money. But the majority of salespeople start in sales with limited knowledge of how to sell. Their employers give them some basic training on what to say to prospect, and then they send them out with these words:

Go make a lot of calls and talk to as many people as possible since eventually someone will buy.

That’s just like throwing mud on the wall. Some mud sticks, but most of it falls off.

It’s the same in sales, if you talk to people without the knowledge of

  • how to approach them,
  • what to say,
  • figure out what their true needs are.

You are throwing mud on the wall. The majority of people say: “I’m not interested.” Occasionally you do get to make a sale but that’s probably because the prospect wanted what you were selling.

Selling is not always easy. If you’ve ever struggled in sales before, I can understand and relate to you. At the end of the day, in sales, you have to know how to sell. You have to know about systems that can assist you in the sales process. You have to know

  • what to say,
  • when to say it,
  • how to close,
  • how to handle objections,
  • how to set appointments,
  • how to build trust and rapport.

These are all skills that you have to know to be successful.

You also have to decide if you want to become successful and do whatever it takes to get where you want to be, meaning there will be sacrifices that you have to make to get there.

However, if you are not willing to make those sacrifices and take action, and you rather continue to argue for your limitations, guess what’s going to happen… you get to keep your limitations.

Fortunately, selling is a learned skill! If you want to become successful in your sales career, you have to do is learn new skills. Then practice, practice, and practice some more. You should be able to generate leads, book appointments, and convert leads into sales. Once you learn new sales skills and consistently apply these skills, you will quickly see a tremendous increase in not only your sales results but also your confidence and self-esteem. Nothing feels better than success, and anyone who sets their mind to it and does what is necessary to improve their skills can become successful.

Kay Sanders is a Sales Acceleration Coach who helps Network Marketers and Sales People to increase their sales results and take their business or sales career to the next level. Visit http://www.embracingsales.com for more information or to schedule a complimentary coaching consultation.

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