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Creating a Common Goal for Every Call
| Guest post by: Patrick T. Malone |
Article Overview: The opening of a sales call sets the tone for how the rest of the conversation is going to proceed and very often has a significant impact on the outcome. Knowing the most effective way to begin each call is critical to your success.
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Free Download - Commitment or Agreement? By Patrick T. Malone |
Creating a Common Goal for Every Call
The opening of a sales call sets the tone for how the
rest of the conversation is going to proceed
and very often has a significant impact on the outcome. Knowing the most effective way to begin each
call is critical to your success.
After the initial banter, when you are ready to get to
the business of the call, we believe there are three critical elements that must
be present to create a common goal and set the stage for a productive call –
your confidence, an invitation to neutral and an acknowledgment of the customer
as the decision-maker.
Confidence
Never discount the power of your own conviction. Your
customers/followers are buying your confidence first and then buying your
product, service or idea. So you must really believe in what you are
advocating. If you only think your idea is good, others will think it is good
also but they will not buy it. The old adage “I can sell anything” may have
been true at one time but not today. Buyers have more information and are more
sophisticated than ever before. They demand your confidence and more. When the
conversation begins your customer is thinking, “Why should I care?” or “what’s
in it for me?” The sooner you answer
that question the quicker the customer will focus on what you are saying. Here is
an example:
“I
believe that (insert benefit to customer) by (insert product/service).”
An Invitation to Neutral
We can dream about all our customers being ready to buy
but in today’s competitive environment the best we can hope for is the
opportunity to make the case that our product, service or idea are worthy of
their consideration. So the invitation to neutral might be:
“Let
me show you how (insert product or service) is
designed to (restate benefit to customer).”
An Acknowledgment of the Customer as the
Decision-Maker
For many reps this last element will involve the greatest
struggle and here is why. Your current mindset is focused on getting to YES. I
am now going to ask that you focus on getting a decision – a well-informed YES
or NO. If you focus on getting a YES you
have engaged in a “win-lose” game. Your customer wants to make a decision and
if your mission is to get a well-informed committed decision then you both win
regardless of the decision. So it could sound like:
“Then
you can determine if (insert your product/service) is right for your practice.”
Now put it all together and assume your next clinic has
been experiencing vaccine reactions and .You might start the business conversation
by saying:
“I
believe that you can provide your clients with a safer vaccine alternative by switching
to the XYZ line of canine vaccines. Let me show you how XYZ vaccines are
designed to reduce the risk of reactions then you can determine if it is right
for your practice.”
You will improve your success rate by establishing a good
solid decision goal for every sales call. Try it for yourself and then decide
if it will help you satisfy your customers while reaching and exceeding your
quota every year.
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Article Tags: Common goal, opening
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About the Author: Patrick T. Malone RSS for Patrick T.'s articles - Visit Patrick T.'s website Patrick Malone, a Senior Partner with The PAR Group, has more than 35 years experience in operations, customer service, and sales management. As a key member of the PAR team, Patrick has trained and consulted throughout the world with a wide range of organizations including The American Cancer Society, Banfield-The Pet Hospital, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, DuPont, Ft. Dodge Animal Health, Hewlett-Packard, International Securities Exchange, Novell, Sensient Technologies, Siemens Medical, SOLAE, The United Way, and Verizon Wireless. A frequent speaker, he has presented at the Frontline Forum at American School of International Management; Argosy University; the business schools at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University; ASTD; numerous Universities; PMI; Association of Information Technology Professionals; Healthcare Businesswomen's Association. Educated at John Carroll University, Patrick is a member of the CEO Action Group of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Legislative Subcommittee, Small Business Growth Council and the Professional Services Executive Roundtable. Patrick is the co-author of the new business book Cracking the Code to Leadership. Click here to visit Patrick T.'s website   The Missing Link How People Can Know Everything about Customer Service and Still Not Be Able to Do It Understanding Decision Making NIQCL it for understanding Stop trying to be interesting and be INTERESTED Creating a Common Goal for Every Call |
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