Editor’s note: Paul Kirch is CEO of Actus Sales Intelligence, a Fort Worth, Texas, business and sales consulting agency, and Actus-360, a technology services providor. He can be reached at 214-295-6111 or at pkirch@actussales.com.
It’s harder now than any other time in recent history to get your buyers and potential clients on the phone. And when you do reach them, they’re distracted, juggling several other tasks that all seem to have a higher priority than you. Despite all of this, the telephone is still the No. 1 sales tool at your disposal.
Unfortunately, very few are leveraging it properly. If you’ve ever spent time calling prospects, you know how valuable an attentive recipient is. You may feel as if you need to close a sale on that call, for fear you might not reach them the next time. Truth be told, I commonly see two approaches by salespeople - the first being an aggressive approach, which perhaps reeks of desperation. Have you ever uttered the words “I’m calling to find out what opportunities you have for me?” Not only is that presumptuous but it’s also selfish. The other position that most salespeople take is very weak. Too often we let the other person off of the hook easy. If you’ve ever heard “We’re happy with our current supplier” or “We don’t have anything right now, but we’ll call you when we do”, you’re not alone. However, if your response to such statements is “OK, can I call you back in six months?”, then you’re missing a golden opportunity.
Make a game
I’ve learned to make a game of the selling process. It’s fun and it also keeps me challenged. If it’s an unsolicited call, I know that the goal of the person on the other end is to get me off of the phone without committing to anything. Often their objective is to let me down easy without being rude. Of course, some individuals choose to be rude during the process but that’s just part the game.
To have the best chance of winning, I come into the calls with a different objective. I’m looking for a commitment and I’m generally not keen on hanging up without it. OK, let’s be clear: I said “commitment” not “sale.” There’s a big difference. A sale is a form of commitment but that almost never happens during the first conversation. What kind of commitment am I referring to? I’m always looking for a commitment to the next step.
When playing the sales game, you can’t win if you don’t keep the relationship moving toward a sale. To do this, you must always provide value and be focused on an end objective. Salespeople often take a soft refusal and move on to the next name. Instead, I recommend working on getting to know your prospects and their business needs. Not all opportunities are equal so it’s important you’re gathering as much intelligence as you can so you can prioritize where you spend your valuable time. By understanding the size of each company, their budgets and any opportunities that they might have, you can make intelligent decisions on where you invest time and resources.
A low-hanging-fruit mind-set
It’s normal for a salesperson to focus on getting the sale, since that’s usually how they are measured or compensated. The problem with this mind-set, however, is that it puts pressure on something you really can’t control in the early stages of relationship building. This leads to a low-hanging-fruit mind-set, where only the easy opportunities are pursued. Unfortunately, there’s very little long-term reward from the easy sale, as you’ve not established credibility and there’s almost no relationship. That doesn’t mean you shy away from something falls into your lap but it’s a good idea to keep it in perspective and focus on building a deeper relationship.
Salespeople searching for the easy opportunities tend to cast a wide net, hoping that if they reach out to enough people they’ll see some positive results.
Armed with a next step
Knowing the next step in the process is a critical component to success. By pre-call planning, you can make some assumptions on where the conversation might go and be armed with a next step in mind. More critical than knowing where you want the call to go is understanding how to drive the conversation toward that end goal. Remember, you’re after a commitment. This means a yes. For example, if you make an introductory call, your goal might be to schedule a presentation. Go in knowing that’s your objective and keep the conversation moving toward that point.
You might still hear “We’re happy with our current supplier.” That’s fine. At that point you can ask them why and look for ways you can provide better value. You can even try stating something like “I understand that and appreciate your position. Do me a favor and let me walk you through a 30-minute presentation so I can show you how we are doing some different things to help you shine in the eyes of your customers. Can we schedule this for next week?” That approach can take you to the next call.
Unfortunately, what I hear so many salespeople say is something like “OK. Well, can I call back in a couple of months to see if anything has changed?” This response will not guarantee any next step and it puts you in an incredibly weak position. They might still say no to my recommended response but a no there is much more valuable than a yes to the second example. After all, if you do call in two months, their situation will likely be the same and they might not even remember you. If they don’t want the presentation, you can still work to get a next step scheduled. Closing business is hard if you rely on weak follow-up tactics. It becomes much easier if you take a more controlling position and guide the sales process.
When the person on the other end of the phone tells you that they don’t have anything right now, how can you pursue this? First off, remember that the game for them is to get you off of the phone. Therefore, they might be telling you they have nothing as a means of dismissing you. Or business might legitimately be slow. Either way, I encourage you to take a different approach and start laying the groundwork. By stating “I understand there’s nothing now but you mentioned you’d let me know when you had something. That tells me there’s interest. So, I’d like to walk you through our onboarding process to get that out of the way. My next step is generally _____. From there, I’d want to introduce you to my operations team. Assuming it fits your schedule, I’d like to set up a brief call to go over _____. This way when there is something, we’ll be ready to help you. In the meantime, I’d like to send you a sample report which will showcase our unique outputs.” Show them you want their business and get serious about getting to know them. Don’t just provide value - provide the most value. You can’t do that if you’re just taking a soft refusal and moving on.
Find greater reward
The telephone is a powerful instrument in sales professionals’ hands. Even if you choose to use it sparingly, you’ll find greater reward by knowing your next move and learning how to ask for a commitment. Why is this critical? If you’re not top-of-mind when an opportunity arises, your competitor likely will be. Each small commitment bonds them closer to you and keeps them engaged.
Make your sales efforts a game and have fun with it. You’ll find that it keeps you motivated and focused. It will also make it easier to handle rejection. One of my favorite sales game reminders is that every no is closer to a yes. Learn to embrace rejection since you know you’re closer to a victory. There’s no guarantee you’ll win every time at the table but by taking a stronger position and learning to develop a next-step strategy, you’ll never lose the game again.