The stereotypical description of a “good” salesperson is his or her ability to talk. Granted, good communication skills are extremely important in successful selling, but there is far more to it than just that ability. Salesopedia.com posts What to Know Before Every Sales Call which details common sense goals for each sales call.
A dramatic shift in selling today involves prospect expectations. A salesperson is expected to understand general market conditions for a prospective company before contacting them. The salesperson also needs to have a general qualifying system to discover the information needed to either move forward or move on. What doesn’t work is the salesperson who believes they can simply talk their way through a sales call.
So here are the 6 questions each salesperson should ask before each sales call:
1. What is the prospect’s current situation?
2. What are my business development goals for this client or prospective client?
3. What is my desired next outcome?
4. What are my relative strengths?
5. What are my relative vulnerabilities?
6. What actions do I need to take before the next call?
The author elaborates on each question in more detail within the article. The one I want to call out is number 3 because it is often overlooked or assumed. From the article:
Sounds simple enough, but this question is so often overlooked by professionals before they meet with clients or prospects. Our advice: if you don’t know what you want to get out of your meeting with them, don’t get out of the (proverbial) car (credit to Mack Hannan and his book If You Don’t Have a Plan, Stay in the Car).
That topic is difficult to comprehend since most salespeople will oversimplify their goal – I want to close them, I want to provide a quote, etc. Wrong. Each meeting needs a goal beforehand. A lack of a goal often leads to rambling salespeople trying to talk their way to a conclusion. Have a plan. Have a selling system. Work your plan.