It’s not the sales calls that are tough, it’s the one’s that go on forever. Today, the ideal sales call is long enough to encourage a conversation and get both parties talking, but how long is a piece of string? We’ve all been there…a prospect says, “Hey, when can we schedule some time next Thursday to get together?” What does that mean? Well, it means that you’re not going to be able to get through to them although there is some reason why you can. As a sales professional, you’re dealing with competing priorities, and no call should be longer than it imperative to your success. This has been a great topic of conversation today with several of my readers. Not everyone has heard the phrase “The Analogy of the gypsy and the hiring man.”
So I’ve had the pleasure of hearing firsthand entrepreneurial advice as well as tips from the audio book “Inside the Law” by Art strikeouts. It is a fantastic resource whether you are looking for ways to increase your productivity, make more money, or you are just exploring a good business plan. Being able to share this has given me the motivation to keep my sales calls short. When you are faced with one of opportunities, those who have extra comment time, or if you will be in a position to make changes in your day, do not let them interrupt the skill acuity of you and your team.
There have been many times when I have made changes in my schedule or my opinion on what I do for a living. I also have some take away values from that experience. We have known it is so important to start your day with greatness and not a “blandess”. The following are some of my take away tips from those moments that left me knowing that I made the right choice:
1) compress your time to create a “win-win”. When you do take advantage of your time, do it with a focus to find or develop a solution, whether it comes from a prospect, work, or family issue. To do that you must talk to people in a friendly and cordial manner. Don’t be a snob and believe that there is something wrong with you or say anything you have to say. When you practice this, your efforts will quickly be rewarded with long-term results.
2) begin the day with thought energy rather than emotion. Once a day I make a special time in my schedule to do individually prepared meditation. By doing it before I start a patient, I find a greater sense of peace when I visualize the nature of the ultimate “who” I wanted to be, I had an idea or thought. I then close my eyes and visualize the same “who” at the beginning of a calls, so that things are its proper order. Later in the day before I take phone calls I have a clear thought energy and my voice is now projecting a genuine image of the “pokergalaxy” image. Again in later week I will exercise and do a short yoga sequence and often I find a sense of peace in the exercise. All of these techniques can be done with a call as you are naturally on the telephone.
3) relax, find the flow and let the prospect find that as you talk. Use good communication skills. If you are speaking introduce new topics of discussion to your prospect this will help you to drive the sales conversation to them. At the end of the call, bridges are built so that the conversation can continue. Again, it is at this point that you will move the call closer to a phone or face to face. Letting the prospect find the right time and the right topic is key here, and again is a key step in cooling delayed decisions. When you feel that a call should be ended you need to, in a courteous and non-threatening way end the call giving clarity to finding the right time to move forward.
4) use the power of the follow up. This is the number one way to get a commitment from your prospects. Follow up is extremely important, so that you are in charge of it. I remember on many of those calls I left my number, referral information, or some call bonuses, and obeyed the call directions in a follow up message which is as follows: “We made a great call today, I only have some time for the man and his firm and they are really busy at the moment. We will leave you and a key to our website and call you in a day, but if you should be interested in talking to them right now, please call them back asap. Give them your number. We gave it to you. Good luck there!
