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If you're familiar with the principles of copywriting or if you've read any books on marketing, then you know that there's an art to selling. And what makes it even more difficult is when those who don't have much experience in writing sales letters try their hand at crafting one for themselves.
There's no doubt about it—sales can be tricky business. But as we mentioned before, not everyone has had formal training in how to sell something successfully. So while some may think they know everything there is to know about getting someone interested enough in them to want to buy from them, it turns out there’s actually quite a lot that goes into making a successful sale. Here, we break down exactly what happens during a typical sales call so you can see where every single part fits together.
When people hear the word "call," they might imagine calling up a friend or family member on the phone just to chat or share news. When doing this, however, most often feel like they’re interrupting whoever they’re trying to reach because they’ll start talking right away without waiting for a response. This isn’t necessarily true. In fact, there are very specific things that happen during each step of a sales call that make it seem like you’re constantly bothering whomever you’re trying to talk to.
First thing first though, let’s cover what happens during a standard sales call. There are typically six main steps involved in a traditional sales process. These are: introduction, presentation (or pitch), objection handling, closing (asking for the order), follow-up, and post-sale service/delivery. While each step varies depending on which industry you’re in, here’s a breakdown of what each one entails and why they’re important.
Introduction: The beginning of a sales call starts off by introducing yourself and your company. It usually also includes telling the person who answered the phone why you called. For instance, “I understand you’ve been looking for a new computer. I'd love to show you my latest product line that features laptops, desktops, tablets, etc.” Or maybe, “My name is [Your Name] with [Company]. We specialize in [what you do], but we also offer other services such as IT support." You could also say, “Mr. Smith?"
Presentation: After you introduce yourself, you begin presenting the products or services you’d like to discuss over the course of the call. Depending on your field, you may present information regarding different solutions or options, including pricing, benefits, etc. For example, “So Mr. Jones, I noticed you were searching online for a new laptop. With our brand new design, you won't believe how thin and sleek our current models look! They feature Intel Core processors, Nvidia graphics cards, 16GB of RAM, 500GB hard drives, and many more great specs. Plus, since they come with Windows 10 Pro preinstalled, you get access to Office 365 completely free!"
Objection Handling: During objection handling, you’ll likely encounter common objections along the way. Objections are basically anything said by the prospect that shows he or she doesn’t agree with your claims about your product offering. One option is to ignore the objection altogether until later in the conversation. However, that approach sometimes leaves prospects feeling unimportant and ignored. Instead, you should respond to the objection directly once you’ve heard it and move onto the next topic. An appropriate response would sound similar to this, “That’s interesting. What type of issues keep you up at night? How did you find us?” If done correctly, you’ll now be able to address the issue further while gaining trust.
Closing: Once you complete the previous three steps, you’re ready to ask for the sale. At this point, you’ll close the deal. Most times, you accomplish this using a question toward the end of the meeting. Examples of good closers include, “Would you consider purchasing today?” or “Do you currently own another item like ours?” Asking questions like these will help you gauge whether the prospect wants to purchase immediately or schedule a future date. Either way, after asking the final question, you’ll need to provide details on shipping costs, delivery dates, warranties, guarantees, payment terms, return policies, etc., so be prepared to answer all relevant questions.
Follow Up: Follow ups occur either via email or text message. Following up helps ensure customers receive what was promised during the initial call. A simple yet effective method of following up is sending an automated thank you note. By doing this, you’re ensuring customer satisfaction and building credibility.
Post Sale Service: Lastly, remember to always deliver quality service to your customers after the sale. Do whatever necessary to guarantee a positive experience for both parties. Make sure you’re available to speak with customers whenever needed. Also, check back periodically to see how satisfied your clients are. Respond promptly to emails and texts to prevent problems. Finally, stay in touch for additional needs. Don’t forget to send regular updates on promotions, special offers, events, and new releases.
Now that you’ve got a better understanding of the basic structure of a typical sales call, let’s take a closer look at what takes place within each stage.
The stages of a traditional sales call vary slightly based on whom you’re dealing with. Generally speaking, however, there are certain key points that occur throughout the entire sales cycle. These include: lead generation, qualification, discovery, solution choice, decision, implementation, education, and finally maintenance. Let’s examine each of these stages in detail below.
Lead Generation: Lead generation occurs in two ways: through advertising or referrals. Advertising involves paying money upfront to promote your product offerings. Referrals involve earning commissions or fees from referring others to your company. Both methods require research and planning beforehand to create targeted campaigns. Before initiating a campaign, determine its goals, target audience, budget limitations, ad format(s) (e.g., print ads, video commercials, social media posts), timeline, etc. Then, execute accordingly.
Qualification: Qualifying refers to determining whether or not the client is eligible for your products or services. To qualify, you’ll normally conduct background checks on prospective buyers, run credit reports, review financial statements, verify employment status, assess educational levels, obtain references, etc.
Discovery: Discovery represents the period between qualifying potential leads and deciding upon which ones to pursue. During this time, you’ll learn more about them and decide whether they fit your ideal criteria. Some companies refer to this phase as due diligence. Regardless, it’s crucial that you identify the best candidates for your products or services.
Solution Choice: Solution choice is when you choose the exact items you wish to advertise or sell. During this stage, you’ll narrow down your list of qualified leads to the ones most suitable for your goods.
Decision: Decision means choosing among multiple solutions to meet desired results. It’s at this point that your buyer must weigh his or her pros and cons. Decisions aren’t made overnight, so give ample consideration to your choices.
Implementation: Implementation refers to when your chosen candidate receives your product or service. Your goal is to educate him or her on how to use it properly. Be aware that implementing requires patience. Sometimes, users will request assistance or guidance while learning how to utilize your products. Whether or not you’re willing to assist depends solely on the individual situation.
Education: Education encompasses providing feedback on your product’s performance. Educating your clients allows them to become confident in their decisions. It’s recommended that you regularly communicate with your buyers so they can continue receiving helpful advice.
Maintenance: Maintenance denotes continuing communication with your clients afterward. Regularly update them on new developments to encourage loyalty and repeat purchases. Additionally, maintain open lines of contact to solve any concerns or doubts.
As you can tell, there’s plenty going on during a typical sales call. Now that you’ve learned about the basics of a sales call, perhaps you’re wondering how you can apply what you’ve learned to your particular circumstances. Keep reading to discover several tips on how to craft effective sales messages.
Sales calls fall under four broad categories: cold calls, warm calls, referral calls, and appointment setting calls. Cold calls refer to unsolicited contacts, often performed by telemarketers. On the contrary, warm calls entail reaching out to individuals already in your database, i.e., existing customers or anyone who expressed interest in your products previously. Appointment setting calls mean scheduling appointments with potential clients. Below, we explore each category in greater depth.
When it comes to selling, there's no shortcut to success—it takes time, effort, and practice. There are many ways in which entrepreneurs can improve their sales processes, but one thing they often overlook is the importance of having an effective sales script. It’s not enough just to have a well-written sales letter or pitch deck. You need something that converts well into actual leads for business partnerships with new clients.
Sales scripts aren't only necessary because they help people remember what to say during presentations and meetings. They also play an essential role in helping businesses close deals and increase profits. Here we will explain some key components of sales calls so that you can create better pitches and boost conversions on your website and offline marketing materials.
A sales call is simply defined as a phone conversation between two parties where at least one of them wants to buy from another party. The first step towards making a sale is identifying if both sides want to work together. To know whether this is the case, ask yourself: "Do I really want this person as my client?" If the answer is yes, then go ahead and schedule a meeting. But before you set up any appointments, be sure to understand more about how things usually happen during a typical sales call.
Typically, a professional salesperson makes a cold emailing by sending out a message to potential customers through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., explaining who they are and why they're calling. This is known as lead generation. After generating leads, salespeople use different strategies to approach prospective buyers, such as using warm emails, following up with inquiries via social media posts, or even hosting live events. Once a buyer approaches them, however, salespeople should follow certain steps including setting expectations, listening, understanding needs, presenting solutions, asking questions, and closing offers.
There are several types of sales calls depending on the type of product being sold. For example, B2B (business-to-business) sales involve higher ticket purchases than consumer products while B2C (consumer-to-consumer) require lower prices due to larger orders. Sales calls may last anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour, though longer ones can sometimes take place if they result in bigger contracts.
Once a customer accepts your offer, sales representatives typically meet face-to-face or over video chat. However, remote working has become increasingly common among companies nowadays. While it might seem like teleconferencing isn't good enough, studies show it actually increases trust levels between partners once users recognize each other. In addition, videoconferencing allows employees to see and feel their counterpart's body language during conversations.
While salespeople don't always sell directly over the phone, they still try to find creative ways to convey information during presentations and meetings. One way is to leverage tools such as slideshows, whiteboards, flipcharts, or online presentation platforms. Another trick is to break down large ideas into smaller sections so that listeners can process them easier. When doing so, keep the order simple, clear, and concise. Presentation skills matter!
The main goal of every successful sales campaign is to convert interested prospects into paying customers. Before launching any promotion campaigns, you must carefully plan everything inside and outside of traditional sales channels. Make sure you prepare thoroughly beforehand since it could take weeks or months until you start seeing results. Below are five factors to consider when creating a sales call.
1. Know Your Audience
Before approaching anyone, identify exactly who would benefit most from your product or service. Consider the demographics, psychographics, pain points, goals, and challenges specific individuals experience daily. Then think about how your solution can solve those problems. Next, figure out who your target audience members are and learn more about their buying habits and preferences.
2. Determine What Type Of Call Is Best
Decide whether you'd prefer to book a telephone conference or conduct an online webinar instead. Also decide whether you'd rather host a virtual event or send someone else to present on your behalf. These options can vary widely based on your budget and objectives, but knowing which to choose requires careful consideration.
3. Create A Clear Purpose And Objective
Write down your primary objective for the call and define what you hope to achieve within its timeframe. Similarly, determine the outcome expected after completing the call. Be as detailed as possible here. Think about what benefits your prospect will get from purchasing your services or products and describe them in detail. Write down actionable tasks, deadlines, and deliverables that were agreed upon during the discussion. Don't forget to mention any concerns or objections brought forward by participants during the session too. Lastly, ensure you clearly communicate how much money you expect to receive upfront and how long payments are scheduled to take.
4. Plan Ahead & Prepare Materials
Planning is crucial, especially when it involves complex subjects. Take extra care to avoid rushing through topics without taking adequate breaks. That said, it's best to spend ample amounts of time preparing materials for your sessions. Use pictures, videos, diagrams, graphs, charts, infographics, etc., to illustrate concepts and ideas. Keep in mind, visuals are extremely helpful when talking about sensitive issues. On top of that, prepping documents digitally will save you hours of back-and-forth discussions later on.
5. Track Progress With Metrics
Including metrics in your agenda is the easiest way to track progress during the course of the call. Set KPIs for everyone involved, measure performance against benchmarks, and adjust accordingly. Encourage team collaboration by assigning responsibilities for particular actions. Finally, establish milestones for future updates.
6. Follow Up Immediately Following Meetings
After the conclusion of your sales call, check in with your contact personally. Send thank you notes, recap achievements, and discuss next steps. Find out if anything went wrong and fix mistakes right away.
Nowadays, most sales reps open sales calls with a standard greeting followed by a brief description of themselves, company, and products/services available. Although this method works fine, you shouldn't underestimate the power of personalization. According to research from Hubspot, 55% of consumers preferred personalized greetings compared to generic ones. So, customize your opening statement to match your brand personality and tone.
Another reason why personalization matters is that it helps listeners distinguish real messages from spammy links sent to contacts' inboxes. Even if recipients haven't seen any previous communications, they can tell apart genuine notifications from fake ones thanks to unique references, phrases, images, and logos used.
Here are three useful tips that will help you craft a memorable beginning to your sales call:
Use short sentences to grab attention quickly.
Keep statements relevant to current circumstances.
Avoid clichés and filler words like "kind", "really" or "amazingly".
It goes without saying that content is critical when dealing with complicated topics. During presentations, listeners tend to tune out background noise and focus solely on what's happening on stage. Therefore, speakers should speak slowly and enunciate properly. Additionally, pay close attention to grammar and sentence structure. Avoid run-on sentences, passive voice, incomplete thoughts, and vague wording.
Also, don't hesitate to add humor. People enjoy hearing stories, funny anecdotes, jokes, and witty remarks, particularly when discussing difficult subjects. Remember, keeping things lighthearted never hurts either.
Overall, your aim should be to connect with your listener emotionally. Let him or her relate to you and your story, build rapport, and form trusting relationships.
In any industry there's an old saying "if you want something done right, do it yourself." In business that translates into "you get what you pay for". A lot of times we see this with respect to our products or services but have less understanding when applied to ourselves as professional service providers (i.e., consultants). When I started my consulting career over 20 years ago I was taught to always deliver top-quality work on time and within budget. However, if someone asked me how much money they spent while working together, I had no clue! That lack of transparency can be detrimental to our clients' bottom line because they may feel like they're paying too much even though their perception differs from actual cost.
The same goes for us as professionals. We need to understand exactly how many hours and dollars were invested by each component of our client interactions so that we can position ourselves accordingly and charge appropriately. The key here is to know where our efforts fall along the spectrum between value vs. price, which determines whether we're perceived as being high quality low-cost solutions or cheap knockoffs. But before we dig into those areas let's review some basic principles about qualifying prospects to help ensure that every aspect of our selling approach has strong foundation:
If you've ever been through the hiring process then you likely heard the phrase "the interview" mentioned several times. This concept applies just as well to sales calls. There are five primary steps during the qualification phase: Discovery, Assessment, Analysis, Solution Development & Implementation. During discovery the customer seeks out information pertaining to his/her situation. As part of discovery questions such as needs assessment, pain points, goals, etc. are typically answered. These types of questions will help identify both current issues and future opportunities. At the end of the day, the goal is not only to gather data about the problem at hand but also uncover ways to solve problems using a variety of approaches. Salespeople who are able to assess customers' situations effectively are valuable assets to any company. They can easily determine if a potential solution is worth pursuing further.
Qualifying a prospective buyer involves asking questions designed to learn more about his/her situation. It provides insight into various options available and helps narrow down possible choices. Once enough relevant information is gathered, the sales team members begin developing a few viable alternatives. Prospects should be approached based on specific parameters established throughout the discovery phase. For example, it would make little sense for a software developer to offer assistance with creating a website unless he understands the type of project the customer wants to accomplish. If there are multiple projects going on simultaneously, determining which one gets priority becomes critical. Understanding of the overall vision plays a major role here. By knowing what their priorities are, buyers become better positioned to choose among competing vendors. So remember - don't pigeonhole people based solely on job title alone. You never know what kind of challenges await them once they arrive home after dark.
A qualified prospect is anyone willing to invest in improving their situation via improved processes, systems & procedures, new technology, etc. Qualified prospects possess sufficient knowledge, skills, abilities & resources to implement changes successfully. According to research conducted by Oracle Corporation, 85% of companies believe that having access to skilled individuals is important. Buyers often seek technical expertise that includes IT experts, designers, developers, architects, analysts, QAs, marketing specialists and others. To avoid wasting everyone's time, candidates must demonstrate that they posses the required skill sets needed to complete the assignment. Those without proper credentials risk either losing credibility or getting passed up for other jobs. Another good way to gauge candidate qualifications is to ask them to provide references from past employers. Ask them to send you copies of previous performance reviews. Make sure to keep track of referrals obtained so that you could follow up later.
1) Problem Identified - Does the prospect clearly describe his/her issue(s)? Is it clear what the desired result is? Do they explain why their existing system doesn't meet their requirements anymore? Are they aware that changing things around isn't necessarily easy? Or maybe they aren't familiar with certain terminology. Either way it's best to spend extra time clarifying ambiguous statements. Remember to take notes during the conversation. Write down everything said including names, dates, phone numbers, emails, etc. Keep records of ideas discussed to refer back to later. 2) Needs Assessment - What is the most pressing concern? How long has it been since they last updated their system? Did they consider upgrading their hardware recently? Were they planning to upgrade anyway? Have they tried doing maintenance themselves in the past? Who else does the same task? Why did they decide to go with that vendor? Has anyone else used that product or similar ones in the past? Was it successful? If yes, how was it implemented? If no, why not? 3) Solutions - Now that you've identified the problem, assessed its severity and prioritized tasks list out a few viable options. Use this opportunity to educate prospects on different methods and technologies. Also show interest in helping them develop creative solutions. Let them know that you'd be happy to assist them with finding a suitable answer. Don't try to sell them anything yet. Just focus on gaining agreement first. Never assume that your competitors already got the deal. Always ask upfront for permission to contact references. After establishing rapport, present your proposal and set expectations regarding fees. Get feedback from the prospect regarding what worked well and what didn't. Then adjust accordingly until the sale closes.
Using these guidelines will help improve your ability to identify prospects that require fewer calls, lower number of meetings and longer closing cycles. Not to mention save money on wasted travel expenses! Plus, you won't miss another great opportunity simply due to poor record keeping. With today's economy growing tighter than ever, smart businesses look for innovative ways to cut costs. And, according to Forbes Magazine, spending more time talking with qualified leads instead of cold calling saves $10-$20 million per year.
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