Posts Tagged ‘Time Management’
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.
Missing appointments? This Tool can Help
Last week I scheduled an appointment with a renovation company to go over possible work, get an estimate and get it started. I am asking this of someone who I have worked with before, so the odds are good I will hire them again, and home renovations is not chump change.
But they ‘forgot’ about me and never showed up. When I called because I wanted to check on when they were going to be there, I was told “Oh I completely forgot, sorry. How about Friday morning?” This could be enough for some people to say forget it, you missed this appointment, how will you be when it comes to doing the work? Your presence for consults or estimate say a lot about how you work – making them appointments you should never miss, never forget. I will give them one chance, and frankly if they are not here when noted; I will be writing them off.
As a small business owner working in a any business but even more so a business like home renos or other work where you get calls for estimates and have to followup on these you need an easy reminder / appointment calendar system. This is a must if you don’t want to miss out on business.
Most likely you have it already and just do not use it. Few people working in the trades these days go without a cell phone or smartphone, they are on the go and do not want to miss call or be unreachable. That phone is the answer. Almost everyone of these devices has a calendar system of some sort. USE IT! Make this calendar your friend.
- Learn how to enter appointments in your calendar and set reminders as well.
- Have reminder times that make sense. If it takes you on average 30 min to get to an appointment (if in person) then set your reminders 1 hour ahead. Give yourself reminder time to be on time, if you forget a lot.
- Use it immediately. If someone emails, then move that email to your calendar and setup the appointment. Or once you hang up the phone then enter the name / info into your calendar right there. DO NOT do one other thing until this has been done.
It’s all about keeping yourself organized no matter what line of business you are in. I have even started getting my 12 year old son to start using his phone for his homework / assignments. It’s the one device he always has on his person, so we’re using it to make certain he stays on track.
What tools are you using to stay on track? Please post a comment here with other tips you have to share.
Being on Time says a lot about your Work Ethics
Time Management – Phone Calls at Work
How to keep personal phones calls from interrupting your business
If you depend on the phone for business, you need to find a way to keep the lines clear for business. If not, you can find yourself getting annoyed, frustrated and less productive. Take note of how many calls a day you take or make that are related to your business. Then write down the amount of personal phone calls you get that interrupt your business calls and work day. This will give you an idea of the importance of the calls and how much time you spend on each.
The one thing that you have to do is figure out a plan that will help you keep your calls in order. You don’t want to be interrupted when you are trying to talk to a potential client and have the beep of call waiting make the prospect lose focus on your conversation. Interruptions are considered something that is ‘not necessary now’. Of course you want to know immediately if you have a death in the family or if something bad has happened but there are certain things that you should not bother with at work.
It is important to figure out what is getting in your way and stop it. Most of the time, people find out that friends and family may be causing a dip in productivity – especially when you work in a home office as I do. Ignoring the problem will not help you at all.
One day I had a relative call during a training session with a client and I had forgotten to turn off call waiting (my practice during important calls). Lucky it was a good and patient client. My relative called my office line, home phone, cell phone and then the office line again. At this point I excused myself a moment and took the call only to ask her “Are you dying, is Mom in the hospital? If not I am talking with a client which is why I did not pick up any of the phone lines and you need to leave me a message.” She apologized when we talked later that night and it has never been a problem since.
Some options?
- Having two different phone lines may be the right answer if you want to ensure you receive personal calls.
- You might want to answer personal calls only on your cell phone and the business calls managed by your office line.
- If you are working away from a desk you may want to have two cell phones on you at all times. Then one would be used for work only and the other would be for your personal calls to be handled.
If two phones are not an option you may just want to keep your cell phone off during the day so that you are not bothered with personal calls. This may be the best way to handle the problem of being bothered when you are trying to make or receive calls.
Remember running a successful business is one thing that you do not want to forget about. Make certain you are putting enough time into your clients and business and not talking on the personal line all the time. Some tips to help you manage these types of call or interruptions are:
- Mark off certain times of the day for your personal time. You might want to make all the calls that you need to for business in the morning or before two in the afternoon so that you are not being bothered with other things.
- Let people know your schedule so that they are not calling during the important times. This is going to help eliminate the problem calls that you are getting so you will not have to stress over it.
- Use Voice Mail or let the machine get the calls that can wait.
- Use Caller ID to help you make the choice of a call that can wait or not. Turn it off during very important calls where the beep can be distracting.
- If you have a problem caller – tell them otherwise they will never change their calling habits.
Learning to manage your time is one of the most efficient ways to make your career soar. You want to be able to have time to work on your business as well as give your family and friends time too. The only thing that you can really do to rectify the situation is make time for both. Figure out a plan of action that is going to work best for you and never let either one interfere with the other.
What tips to you employ to make certain you can connect with family and run your business?
Staying Productive: The Magic of Checklists
What do emergency room physicians, airline pilots, and kindergarten classes all have in common? They all use checklists to make sure they’re doing the right things at the right time. While they’re not sexy or fashionable, checklists are the backbone of many a successful business. Here are some ways checklists can help entrepreneurs keep their businesses running smoothly and productively:
- Checklists provide a guideline for outsourcing or delegating.
Want to outsource slideshow creation to a contractor? Send them the details with your “slideshow creation” checklist, and they’ll know exactly what you want them to do, in order. - Checklists make it easy to replicate best practices.
Once you’ve pinpointed the exact way to create killer sales pages, you can document that and do it over and over again. Brilliance! - Checklists save time by eliminating the “what’s next?” stage.
You know when you finish one thing and have to stop and think, “What the do I do next?” Or “What did I forget?” Well, with a good checklist you won’t have to do that anymore. You’ll know. - Checklists ensure that everyone is on the same page.
When you’re collaborating with partners, assistants or virtual assistants, it’s easy to lose sight of who’s responsible for what and when. Checklists make it easy to assign tasks and remind yourself the proper order of execution.
Not all checklists are created equal, though. Research has shown there are a few key ingredients for making good checklists:
- Keep it to one page. Longer checklists are intimidating and make it easy for people to get lost. Or they’ll avoid using the checklist because it’s just too darned long.
- Be specific. Especially if you’re outsourcing or delegating, you have to leave no room for ambiguity.
- Test it out. Once you’ve created what you think is a great checklist, give it a go. See if you’ve left anything out or put too much in. Then refine it and test it again.
- Have someone else test it. Of course, you know what you mean by “add graphic to web page,” but will someone else? Give it to someone else to test and see what they come up with, where they get stuck, and what works well.
- Use it! Checklists don’t do any good if they’re languishing on your hard drive. Use them – and if you find yourself NOT using them, ask why. Is it too complex? Too self-explanatory? Too simple? Then use that information to create a better checklist.
While checklists won’t solve all of your productivity issues, they are a fantastic way to simplify complex information and provide guidance for outsourcing. They can be a bit time-intensive to create, but the time that you’ll save on the back end will be well worth the effort.
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