By Rob Hupp, Roth|Hupp
Growth Partners, Inc.
In
pursuing and successfully closing business with prospective clients or
customers, it is often necessary to conduct one or more sales
calls. Depending on the nature of your business (and location
of your prospect), these calls can be conducted in person or by
phone. The experience and information shared in this article
are 
applicable to either type of
sales call. (These sales calls precede presentations or
proposals which we will cover in a future article.)
The purpose of the sales call is for both seller and buyer to determine
whether or not there is sufficient overlap between the
buyer’s needs and seller’s capabilities to merit
considering doing business together. If this critical overlap
is present, there are a number of questions, issues and challenges that
both parties need to discuss and work out to achieve a
mutually-beneficial business arrangement. The ten tips in this article
are for sellers endeavoring to conduct more effective sales calls with
their prospective buyers. (That said, prospective buyers,
these tips are also relevant to you and your purchases.)
- Follow a communications and
discovery process and share the process with your prospect
Enlighten
your prospect as to how you suggest going about determining whether or
not it makes sense to work together. Outline the steps in the
process and solicit their input and concurrence.
“Typically when I first meet with the owner of a firm like
yours, it makes sense to discuss Item A, Item B, and Item
C. Are there any additional items for
today’s meeting and do you agree with this list?”
As adults, surprises do not generally lead to positive
outcomes. When both parties know what is going to happen
next, it reduces anxiety and increases ability to focus resulting in
enhanced communication.
- Know
what you want to accomplish in each meeting
Specifically what do you need to
determine and communicate in your next meeting with a
prospect? Just keeping the dialogue going is probably not a
sufficiently specific goal for the upcoming call. You may
need to determine delivery timeframes, budgetary constraints, and
approval process.
There
are usually two facets of communication and discovery that are going on
here: first, substantive discussion of needs and potential
solutions and second, based on this interaction, do we believe we can
work together effectively? Most sales calls focus on the
substance of the discussion and often minimize the significance of
assessing ability to work together. If after several meetings
you have misgivings about your ability to work together, it probably
makes sense to address this concern in one of several ways.
- Set
an Up-front Contract for each meeting with the prospect
An Up-front Contract is more than a meeting agenda,
but an agenda is a good start. In addition, it is worthwhile
to explicitly identify beforehand the purpose of the meeting, how much
time is set aside, attendees and acceptable outcomes of the
meeting. The Up-front Contract is reviewed with the prospect
and agreed to in advance of the meeting. It helps to
eliminate those pesky surprises such as walking into a boardroom full
of people when you expected to meet only with your prospect and the
firm’s marketing director.
- Prepare your list of questions
and
discussion paths beforehand
It is advantageous to formulate your list
of key questions and discussion items prior to the meeting.
By being prepared, you are less likely to forget raising a very key
item. More importantly, you are better able to focus your
energy, intellect and attention on really listening to and absorbing
what the prospect is saying. If you are less worried about
what you are going to say or ask next, your listening and bonding and
rapport are heightened.
- Dial
in to the prospect’s communication style and cues
As we are reminded, communication is more than
merely words exchanged. Tonality and non-verbal cues such as
body language can convey critical feedback. If you sense your
buyer is being increasingly uncomfortable, take the heat yourself and
offer up “I may be reading the situation incorrectly, but I
am sensing you are uncomfortable with this discussion. Do I
have this right, and what can we do to alleviate your
discomfort?”
- Follow
the 70/30 rule
The rule is simple to state and more challenging to
implement consistently: listen 70% of the time and talk 30%
of the time. Use your 30% ‘talk time’ to
ask the questions you prepared as well as to pose additional clarifying
questions based on the prospect’s responses.
Sales calls are not the place to inundate the prospect with features,
benefits, history of your company, etc. Sales calls are for
you and your prospect to discover his problems/issues, constraints,
etc. and agree on an approach to solve. By asking great
questions, really listening, and seeking further clarification, you are
facilitating more effective discovery and agreement. (Your
prospect will not feel like he is being ‘sold.’)
- Resist
the urge to dispense free advice
As a professional in your field, you possess a
wealth of knowledge and experience you are anxious to share with the
world. STOP! At this preliminary stage of
discussion, you may not yet know enough to accurately diagnose the
prospect’s problem(s). You may be doing your
prospective client and yourself a disservice. If you do solve
the problem now or the prospect thinks you have offered up a solution,
chances are you’re done and out.
Complete your discovery discussion with the prospect prior to proposing
a solution, even if this means holding multiple sales call
meetings. If the prospect pushes you for information prior to
completing discovery, indicate you will summarize key findings at the
end of each sales call.
- Validate
your assumptions and question what does not make sense
Pattern recognition that comes with experience is a
powerful tool in solving problems and offering solutions.
That said, validate your key 
assumptions with this prospect.
For example, if your prospect is going to have to undergo an extensive
financial review to get approval for financing, determine your approach
and timing for discussing this with him. Don’t
assume everyone already understands such requirements and associated
processes.
If in the course of discussion, you hear statements or assertions from
the prospect that do not make sense based on your experience or
industry practice, respectfully ask for clarification.
Don’t provoke an argument but be brave and seek to achieve
clarity.
- Recap
and summarize the results of the sales call with the prospect
At the end of the sales call meeting, compare notes
with the prospect. Did you both hear the same things and
reach the same conclusions? Are there specific issues or
differences of opinion or perspective that need to be further analyzed
and discussed? What will probably happen next in the
discovery process? Can we set an Up-Front Contract for our
next meeting or agree to a process and timeframe to set the next
Up-front Contract?
- Debrief
the sales call just completed
Congratulations. Together we have made it
to Number Ten. After each sales call, sit down with a
colleague, an accountability partner, or just yourself and objectively
debrief the call. How did you perform on the previous Nine
Tip Areas summarized in this article? From the list of nine,
identify 2 areas where you performed well and 2 areas for
improvement. Be specific as possible. Additionally,
review and handle follow-up items from the sales call meeting with your
prospect.
Regardless of your business or
profession, conducting effective sales calls is a critical skill to
acquiring, developing and retaining customers.
Don’t leave these important interactions to chance.
Follow these steps and watch the impact on your business.
Final Thoughts
According to Dana Borowka, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC (www.lighthouseconsulting.com) and author of Cracking the Personality Code (www.crackingthepersonalitycode.com) hiring the right people is key to future growth. If you would like additional information on hiring, please click here to see an article on this subject: http://lighthouseconsulting.org/Articles/KOTHireRightFirstTime/
Rob
Hupp is co-founder of Roth|Hupp Growth Partners, Inc., a business
development and training firm specializing in helping organizations and
individuals increase their revenues through more effective sales and
management practices. Rob can be reached at 310.426.2604 or
via e-mail at rhupp@rhgp.com.
If
you would like additional information on this topic or others,
please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting
Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica,
CA
90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com
& our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.
Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services,
including in-depth personality assessments for new hires &
staff
development, team building, interpersonal & communication
training,
conflict management, workshops, and executive & employee
coaching.
Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to
reproduce any portion provided in this article. ©
2007.
The information contained in this article is not meant to be a
substitute for professional counseling.
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