sales
4 Tips to Keeping Focus during a Sales Call or Consult
Consults, Sales Calls, Consultations…
They have different names but their purpose is the same for all…you spend time with a prospective client to determine if your services will fits the needs they have and if you want to work together (make a sale).
There is a point to every sales call or consult that is like the saying “sink or swim”. There are many ways to ruin a sales call and beating around the bush is just one of them. You need to make sure you get to the point and stay focused on the purpose of the call.
You don’t want to spend too much time during a sales call or consult or you risk the prospect losing interest and can also end up giving away too much information. This was something I found I did … A LOT! It’s easy to get talking and lose control because you are enjoying the conversation. But time was an issue for me and not wasting it, was a goal I had.
After a year in business I made a few changes with regards to my consults and since then I have been able to make much better use of my time during these calls. The solution?
A consult process and an agenda tick sheet for each call to be as effective as possible. 
Here are my Top 4 Tips to Keeping Focus during a Sales Call:
1. PRE-Consult Info: One of the most effective tools I do is to send a consult form to everyone looking to have a call with me. The form includes all relevant background information I am looking for when talking to prospective clients. I find this fills me in on a lot of the information that clients want to share about their business. I find if I have the info up front then I have a better idea of their business and their needs.
2. Consult Questions on a Form: The best way to spend time during a consult or sales call is to have an agenda. I created myself a consult form that contains a lot of the normal information I want to learn about a client and the questions I want to ask based on the background I already know. Most of the form is setup like a checklist, so I write less information as opposed to ticking or circling answers. With the form by my side I can keep on track during the call and better spend our time together. If the conversation gets off topic, I use this form to get me back to earth and to keep the focus during the call. It also helps that I have many areas I ask questions and have a lot of the standard answers. I only need to circle the answer from the client. Saves me time and helps me keep better notes.
3. Services & Benefits info: My consult form also has areas on it that remind me of the benefits I want to share about our services and how they can help the client. I keep a list of prices as well so I am not thinking about them as the list is right there in front of me.
4. Set a Time Limit: My consults are free but if I didn’t keep them to a time limit I would have many hours a month spent on these calls. Not every call converts into a client; so keeping them focused is essential to remaining productive. I let prospective clients know how long my free consults take. This sets the expectations up front as to how much time is needed. If it goes over (and occasionally it does) they are appreciative of the extra time I spent with them. The form helps a lot to keep me to a shorter time on the calls. It is easy to lose track of where you are and one look at the form and I know what to ask about next.
My process and form mean that I now have an agenda to follow and the time is focused on the real issues at hand. It keeps clients from getting confused with too much information and me learning how I can help solve their issues.
How do you make your own process and forms?
Look back at your notes from the last 5 sales calls or consults you have had. Take note of the common information you wanted to know and the questions you asked. Using this information you can setup two documents; one to gather info prior to the call and one to use during the call. Make certain to include a part on the form that lists your services, benefits and prices. You may not always refer to this part as you get more familiar with your process, but it’s always good to have the notes there to back you up.
Good luck with your Sales Process, and let me know how your first call goes once you have tried this method.
Guess this Four Letter Word… and Win
I’ve decided to have a bit of fun with this post. It was inspired by the CEED workshop I attended last night – Entrepreneurial Trinity by the Phone Lady.
Mary Jane Copps is the Phone Lady and she trains people on how to communicate on the phone whether you are the receptionist, customer service, sales people or business owner. It was a great workshop, Mary Jane had some fantastic tips, as well as helping many of us figure out an effective way to make a sales call.
Sales Call, not something I really think of myself as doing as a virtual assistant – and most in the class were thinking – Not the Cold Call! But really, these skills can be used for times when you have to “sell” your services to others; returning inquiries about your services, meeting new people who ask “what do you do” or any time where you need to talk about you and your business to others.
One big tip Mary Jane had was a word that she wants everyone to stop using. She told us to take it out of our conversations where we are selling our service or business. And this is where the “fun” part of this post begins.
The first person to guess the word (leave it in a comment her on the blog) will win a prize. I’ve teamed up with a colleague, Maria Erman, of Maria Erman Photography, she is donating the prize -a print of Fisherman’s Cove here in Nova Scotia. Read the rest of this entry »
Sales with pain…
I always learn something at the CEED workshops I attend, and this week was no exception. It’s funny… many times as the speakers start out on something that seems familiar, I think, ‘Oh we did this a few weeks ago with someone else’. And then, they continue on and I find it’s got a different twist on it. There is always something new to learn in life.
This week the workshop was put on by Tom Jackson of Sandler Training. Tom uses his years of experience in Sales to train people and teams how to better their Sales processes. There were many parts of this session that were helpful, but the one that stood out to me was the area where we worked on our “30 Second Commercial”. With my networking this is something I am always trying to improve and Sandler’s method is great for making the point. Read the rest of this entry »
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