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Make Every Conversation a Sales Call

Written by: Peter deLisser

Article Overview: Sales people are the best communicators in the world. Why are they the best? Because the average business manager has to handle up to 200 messages a day - face to face, voice messages, emails, telephone and video conferences, staff and team meetings. They do so with no planned format for success. Sales executives handle the same 200 messages but they have a format for success. It is called Make Every Conversation A Sales Call. Their format starts with the basic facts of life.

Make Every Conversation a Sales Call

Sales people are the best communicators in the world. Why are they the best? Because the average business manager has to handle up to 200 messages a day - face to face, voice messages, emails, telephone and video conferences, staff and team meetings. They do so with no planned format for success. Sales executives handle the same 200 messagesbut they have a format for success. It is called Make Every Conversation A Sales Call.

Their format starts with the basic facts of life.

Facts Of Life

- Every sales conversation has a specific objective

- The real conversation starts when the prospect says "NO'

- It takes 3 to 5 "No's" to get to a"Yes"

- Practice is required to answer expected "No's"

- Every conversation ends ONLY when there is an agreement



Real Conversations Start When Prospect Says "No" A skilled sales manager relayed an experience that drove home that the real conversation starts when the prospect says "no". He was making a sales call on a large prospect currently using one of his competitors. After small talk, the prospect made this request. "I assume you know the strengths of your competitor. Please tell me what they are." The sales manager had a brief reaction of panic. The last thing he wanted to do was build a case against his own company. But he had to answer the first "no" so he could get to the "real" conversation. When he finished telling the prospect the competitor's strengths, the prospect responded, "Obviously you know their strengths. Now tell me your strengths." He answered the real conversation - and walked out with a new customer.

Practice The Expected "No's" Before A Career Sale

Another skilled sales manager lost a career sale because he forgot to practice expected "no's. To get promoted he had to complete a 2 part process in front of a group of Regional Sales Directors and a Vice President. In the part two question and answer section he apparently looked tense, unconfident and answered tersely. (He was upset having to justify his already successful accomplishments). Now he will have to go through the same process again to get promoted. His sales coach made this statement. "Your next promotion is guaranteed if you know the answer to the next question. If you plan for the second part of your presentation to be responding to expected '3 to 5 no's, what will you do differently?" The sales executive laughed out loud. He instantly knew he had blown the question and answer part in his career sale because he forgot to make it a sales call -handling 3 no's (questions) to get to a "yes'(his promotion). He knew he had the skills. Now he will spend time practicing turning "no" expected questions into a"yes"promotion. (Turn Page)

Meaning Of Sales Call is in 55% facial/body gestures, 38% tone and 7% words

A sales executive's most difficult sales call of the week is the Sales Vice President's meeting. The challenge- How do you make the VP staff meeting into a Sales Call when you are on the phone in London and the rest of the staff is sitting together in New York city. He has to make up for an unrecoverable 55% disadvantage. Communication research tells us that the understanding of every message depends 55% on body and facial gestures, 38% on tone and only 7% on words. Sitting in London he automatically misses 55% of every thing said in the staff meeting. He can not see facial and body reactions to his contributions or the contributions of others.. To make up for that 55% loss in reaching his own objectives, he has to sharpen his use of tone (38% of the message). His tone is clearer and sharper when he uses tonal sentences like "I am disappointed. I got cut off in the middle of my sentence:" "Is everybody as enthusiastic about that idea as you sound? "I strongly endorse you suggestion". Tonal quality is risky. One risk is people in New York may react uncomfortably, including the Sales Vice President. The other risk is to sit in London and lose the sale by misinterpreting much of what goes on in the meeting.

Every Conversation is a Sales Call - Internally As Well As Externally

Internal prospects - leaders, peers, staff members - are no different than external clients and prospects. They do not expect to get all their needs met, but they do expect people to understand them, to answer their questions and come to an agreement at the end of a conversation. Company results will not only include an increase in sales but satisfied, trusting, employees when internal conversations have a defined objective, a full exchange of information, 3 to 5 no's considered and an agreement to agree or not to agree reached. At that point everyone will be doing what the best communicators in the world already do. They'll be Making Every Conversation A Sales Call.

Related Articles
  How to Avoid 4 Key Sales Objections
  What "Better Questioning and Listening Skills" Do Sales Reps Really Need?
  When They Answer The Phone
  Cold Calls - A New Way to Open
  Sales Talk Versus Sales Babble

Article Tags: handling objections, sales executives, successful results



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