Do you follow a recipe when it comes to your sales calls?
There’s a great value in being able to improvise when you make a sales call, but there’s also value in staying with tried and true strategies that will help you make the sale.
If you’re working in an outbound call centre, you can do your sales homework and still sound natural and personable on your call.
Consider Common Questions and Answers
Before you call, you have some work to do. When you’re working in an outbound call centre, you ask and receive a lot of questions and answers. Write them down!
Review them so that you know what the common questions are, and work with your entire sales team to determine how you’ll answer these issues or respond to those statements.
Gather Information About Potential Leads
Cold calling can be hard. Why not turn your cold call into a warm one?
Before you call, contact several members of the company that you’re trying to sell to and ask them questions about their business. Let them know who you are and why you’re calling.
Your goal is to gather information to help you determine whether that company needs your product.
For example, you might sell a tool that helps companies optimise their websites and blogs for search.
You can ask what tools the company is using now, how they fill them, what needs and gaps they see, and who you should speak to about filling those needs.
Create a Sales Script
You don’t want to talk by rote, but you do want to communicate the value of your product to your leads.
How can you do this? By creating a sales script that helps guide you through the sales process, you free your mind to listen to what the customer has to say.
You’ll be less worried about forgetting something and more able to focus on the customer’s questions and needs as you move from script to improvisation and back again.
Build a Relationship
The goal of your sales call is to recruit a loyal customer, not just sell a product.
The purpose of your sales call may be to sell a product, but it’s about much more than that.
It’s about building a relationship.
When you do call, be honest about why you are calling. Introduce yourself, and make an offer.
You might provide information about your industry, ask questions about the client’s situation, and offer to pair your insights with your lead’s needs.
Listen to Your Leads
Sales are about talking, but it’s also about listening.
In fact, the more you listen, the better informed you will be.
Listen to your lead’s needs and questions, and you’ll be able to understand better your prospect, their company and how your products can or cannot fill those needs.
Be Non-Threatening
If possible, try not to move into a focused call to action early in your relationship with a new sales lead.
Make an invitation to meet or talk further so that you can share additional information.
By showing that you have services and information that are of value to your lead, you can establish a long-term relationship rather than a one-off sale.
As you create your business strategies, you need an ally. Internal Results can work with you to help you get the business that you need.
