What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word sales call? A typical voice of a salesperson greeting you and straight away starts selling their product/services, right? All of us get such kinds of calls on a daily basis from banks or other stores regarding their offers and plans. But only a few salespeople capture customers’ attention and keep them engaged till the end of the call. They know well how to make a sales call more interesting and effective. Though salespeople are given training on sales pitch scripts, how they make use of it in a span of a few minutes calls decides the outcome. Let’s discuss a few tips to make successful sales calls.
How To Prepare For A Sales Call?
If you are an inside salesperson, sales calls are a part of your daily activities. So, you have to virtually converse with different people from different places. Some may show interest, others may be reluctant. You need to handle all of them with patience and confidence. 5 things to do on every sales call are as follows:
- Research well about the person and the company.
- Based on the industry, prepare a personalized sales pitch.
- Be clear with your objectives.
- Maintain a confident tone.
- Think of the possible questions and prepare the answers.
Keep these points in mind and get ready for the sales call. There are salespeople who can literally close the deal in a single phone call. It all depends on the willingness and dedication of the salesperson.
4 Tips On What To Do Before A Sales Call
There are two types of sales calls namely cold calls and scheduled calls. In both cases, your objective is to sell your product/services. Hence, be prepared to face questions, doubts, and objections from the prospects. Here are 4 insider tips on things to do before a sales call:
- Get Things Ready
Clear your table and keep a pen and paper handy. Keep all supporting documents like product brochures, testimonials, etc with you. You may not know what doubts your prospects will ask. Have a water bottle by your side as some sales calls may extend longer than you expect.
- Prepare a customized demo
Know the client well by checking all these:
- Company website – About Us, Vision sections in particular
- Company’s LinkedIn page to add valuable information
- Client industry to know the possible challenges they are facing
After doing your research, prepare a customized sales pitch that will address the customer’s pain points. Focus on providing solutions to the client rather than just highlighting your product features. A simple, straightforward pitch will grab the attention more than a complicated one.
- Note down the key points
From your research, note down the key points so that you can cover them without fail. Also, mention your competitive advantage, a distinctive feature that was a hit with your customers. Tell how they find it helpful for their business.
- Keep a precise CTA
Write down one clear CTA (call to action) and communicate it with your prospects. Some salespeople confuse their prospects by mentioning more than one CTA in their sales pitch and even interested prospects may drop off. To avoid such situations, be clear with your CTA and guide them with the next steps.
4 Tips On What To Do After A Sales Call
- Send a confirmation email
Soon after the sales call, send a confirmation email thanking them for their time, a few lines about your product or service, and end with the details about the purchase like links and attach the product brochure and other important documents for their reference. As you may talk to N number of customers a day, it is important to send an email immediately after the call so that you don’t miss out on any.
- Schedule follow-ups
Set reminders in your calendar for consecutive follow-ups after the initial conversation. Design a template and keep it ready to send. This saves you time and on the day of follow-up, you can just tap on the send button. Remember, business people will be busy with their commitments. Only through consistent follow-ups, you can close the deal.
- Note down the takeaways
If a prospect rejects your product citing strong reasons, note down them and your learnings from the call. Being emotionally strong will help you handle objections in sales. If a customer says that they are genuinely interested in your product but can’t allocate a budget right now, note down their details and contact them later.
- Engage with your customers
Give importance to engaging with your customers after the sales call. Avoid sending only sales emails to your customers. Instead, send them valuable information, business insights, and newsletters on their industry-related topics to get their attention. This will give a picture that you take time to understand their business challenges and try to help them.
Final Thoughts
Today, technology is so improved that more than 80% of the sales process became online. Video conferencing, social media marketing, and other online resources made it possible. But, even today, cold calling works for many businesses to reach more customers from remote locations. Once you train your inside sales reps on how to prepare for a sales call, help them implement in a practical scenario. Sales calls are a great way to learn and gain experience in sales. Make use of them for your business to achieve your revenue targets.
