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How you spend the last few minutes before a sales call can have a huge impact on that call’s outcome.
Are you trying to cram in too much last minute prep? Are you letting the main objectives of the call slip out of focus? Or are you outlining a concrete strategy, focused on moving the conversation forward?
Everyone’s pre-call ritual is a little different, assembled from years of experience and experimentation. You learn from trial and error what works best for you. Often these new ideas come as a result of watching the techniques of others and trying things out for yourself. What you’ll find yourself with is a unique strategy that delivers real results.
We sat down with 5 sales experts for our new e-book, Sales Experts Answer the Toughest Sales Success Questions, to see what their pre-call rituals consist of and what the average salesperson can do to help ensure success.
“Be crystal clear about your objective for the call. Do not check your e-mail or voicemail. This is your time to focus on the call without distractions. Be ready to listen and comment on what the customer says. Top salespeople listen, ask good questions, and leave with action steps for both the customer and themselves.”
-Joanne Black, Founder of No More Cold Calling
It’s not always about having a list of the most poignant questions. Know the direction that you want the conversation to head, but allow the prospect to take you there.
“Get some water. Calm down. A few minutes out you don’t have time to do research, check your facts, or hone your sales pitch. So do a little more research if it makes you feel better. Check your notes.”
-Dan Waldschmidt, Managing Partner at Waldschmidt Partners
You should have most of your prep work done long before the meeting. This gives you time to review the preparations you’ve already made and mentally prepare yourself.
“Take a minute to consciously review your plan for the call and do a final mental walk-through of your upcoming interaction with the customer. What are your goals for the call? What are the critical questions you need to ask? What is the information you need to provide to ensure that the call has a positive outcome for the prospect?"
- Andy Paul, Sales Process Expert, Speaker, & Author
“Start in the CRM. Check any historical notes or details from previous interactions. (4 minutes) Check out their blog or Twitter account and look for images. You can learn a lot about someone from the pictures they post. (2 minutes) Do a company search. Find the blog. What is the company posting about? Now go to Google News and type in the company name. Consume knowledge. (4 minutes) With 5 minutes to go, take all this info and craft a hypothesis of needs. Take a deep breath and call the prospect a minute early."
- Kyle Porter, Founder of SalesLoft
Go the extra mile and really do your homework on a prospect. They’ll be blown away at the effort you put into your research and you’ll start your relationship on a positive note.
“Be focused, be relaxed, be yourself. I recommend the following: settle yourself down, clear your head of extraneous stuff, and have a conversation with yourself! Visualize the meeting in your head, rehearse and have a walk-through. Then breathe, shake your arms and legs to get your circulation going, the same way you see Olympic track athletes do before they settle down into the starting blocks.”
-Babette Ten Haken, Founder of Sales Aerobics for Engineer
Your mental state is important when you’re prepping for a sales call. Take the time to calm yourself and get your mind right.
For even more expert advice, download the full e-book below for all the answers.
