|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |  |
|
Your pre-call & post-call checklist
Written by: Sue BarrettArticle Overview: How well did your last sales call go? Did you achieve what you set out to achieve? Do you know what your next course of action will be with that customer/prospect? Do you have evidence that a real sales opportunity exists? Using a pre-call and post-call checklist is a very useful process when assessing the effectiveness of your sales calls.
 |
Free Download - How Your Procurement Practices Affect Your Sales and Brand By Sue Barrett |
Your pre-call & post-call checklist
How well did your last sales call go? Did you achieve what you set out to achieve? Do you know what your next course of action will be with that customer/prospect? Do you have evidence that a real sales opportunity exists?
Using a pre-call and post-call checklist is a very useful process when assessing the effectiveness of your sales calls.
Too many sales people, however, invest too little time thinking about and planning their approach to developing prospective sales opportunities. Many sales opportunities involve a range of variables that need to be accounted for and acted upon if they are to achieve a successful sales outcome.
Most of us do not work in businesses where you can get an immediate sales result from one contact only. There are often several steps to achieving a successful sale, and like a good chess player you need to think several steps ahead.
So why leave your sales opportunities to chance?
Showing up with little or no plan leaves you looking unprofessional in the eyes of the customer. And you can't afford that in today's tough and competitive market place.
You may like to use the following checklist to maximise your sales efforts.
Pre-call checklist:
Questions to consider before calling on a new prospect or an existing customer:
- What is my call objective?
- Who do I need to speak to in this business/division/partnership/family?
- Who is the key decision maker(s)?
- Who is a main influence(s)?
- What potential obstacles exist that will threaten the sale?
- What stage am I at in the sales cycle?
- How will I open the call?
- What information do I have?
- What information do I need to find out?
- What sort of objections emerge out and how will I handle them?
- What's my fall back position?
Questions to consider when reviewing your customer sales interaction:
- Did I achieve my objective?
- What went right?
- What went wrong?
- What information did I gather?
- What evidence do I have that this is still a viable sales opportunity?
- Did I advance the sale to the next stage?
- What will be my next move?
- Who else needs to be involved in the process?
- What else do I need to do to progress the sale to the next stage?
- When am I next going to see or speak to this customer?
- What will be my next call objective?
- It allows you to determine where you are at in the sales process with that particular customer, paving the way for key action items.
- It results in a process of continuous improvement, allowing you to continuously improve upon your prospecting skills as you review what worked well and what did not work well.
Related Articles
Strategic Internet Marketing
Sales Tips-"You Want Fries With That?"
Hire On Attitude Not Skill
Opening a New Office Location
Versatility: The Door to Opportunity
Article Tags: checklist, opportunities, postcall, precall, prospecting, sales calls, sales effort, sales opportunity, sales prospecting, success
|
About the Author: Sue Barrett RSS for Sue's articles - Visit Sue's website  Sue is one of the leading voices commenting on sales today. Sue has a unique way of getting to the heart of the matter - she combines extensive knowledge, research, insight, and practical experience with a deep sense of compassion to bring forth a more enlightened way of thinking and participating in the world. This makes her stand out from the usual crowd of existing business commentators. Her ability to distill complex ideas and relate them to life's everyday challenges and opportunities has audience members and readers leaving with a stronger understanding of "self" and how they can begin to achieve excellence through purposeful action. Presenting and writing on a wide range of topics about the world of 21st Century selling Sue's presentations and articles include sales philosophy and culture, sales leadership and coaching, sales training, selling skills, resilience, neuroscience in selling and more. Sue's articles are some of the most widely read in Australia and she is gaining a following overseas as well. Besides publishing on Barrett Sales Blog site, Sue has been the lead sales writer for www.smartcompany.com.au since 2007, and is also regularly published on other highly regarded publications such as Australian Anthill Magazine, Niche Magazine, Marketing Mag, Business Chicks, and Business Deals. Click here to visit Sue's website   Whats the right incentive scheme for my sales team Men are from Mars Women are from Venus Why hiring or keeping the 600lb sales gorilla is a mistake Where is your inner six year old when you need them Think you can get away with it Think again |
Related Forum Posts
Re: 10 Tips to Start an Online Business
- Thanks for the tips Anya101. They make a useful checklist for anybody building a new website or starting an online business.
Re: Want to outrank your competition? Research guide
- Hey Jeremy,
Those are all great tips... so I say well done for creating an effective guide to outrank your competition.
You provided a great checklist of things that we should all look for when spreading out into new niches or even when deciding on what keywords to shoot for in our current niche.
Thanks for sharing with us.
To answer your question:
I usually check the top 10 sites for any given keyword. I check on-page factors (not HTML) and the Page Rank of those sites. I usually don't go as in-depth as I should regarding off-site factors like number of backlinks, etc.
I usually decide from the on-page factors along with monthly search volumes for a chosen keyword if it's worth pursuing. With a little work and elbow grease it's not hard to outrank the competition. I also try to focus on long-tail keywords more so when trying to rank certain blog posts.
The Old Girl's Network - (2003)
- Haven't read this one yet...
Contents
A business of one's own: setting the stage
Passion: Turning what you love into a real business
Vision: Bringing Your Idea Into the World
Pioneering Spirit: Discovering new frontiers
Tenacity: Passions Bulldog
Raising Capital: Translating your vision into dollars and cents
Focus, feedback and flexibility
Leadership lessons
Life after the survival stage: Managing onward
There's a Took Kit in the back that has lots of good stuff, including:
Outline for competitive analysis: the basic issues to address before starting your company
Outline for executive summary and business plan, with sample summary
Explanation of non-disclosure agreement
Milestone setting
"Do you have what it takes" quiz
Sample financing term sheet
Due Diligence checklist
Sample advisory agreement
Process and systems review
Outsourcing overview
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
by: 
Leadership Essentials
February 2012 Top 100 Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter
Identifying Future Leaders: Creative Leadership Development Strategies in Tough Times
The Chain of Habits
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Are You Listening?
Track Your Time for Increased Productivity
How Many Buckets Do You Need for Retirement?
Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.