“There is an increasing trend of people wanting to receive phone calls when they want them – let’s respect that”
On today’s Coachcast we look into the importance of properly managing your sales calls. Read on and listen to the Coachcast.
Today is Sales & Marketing Tuesday and we are going to talk about making sales calls. I see a lot of people dropping the all important habit of making that personal connection during the sales process and opting for the email contact instead. This is a huge mistake, people want to do business with someone they know and trust.
So to make sure we build that relationship with our existing, past and potential clients we need a system to manage our sales calls. We must consider our time and theirs as we look at how to accomplish this important task. Think about how you feel when people call you and what you want from them. The only caveat is if you are one of these email type people, don’t assume that others want that.
As Elite Contractors we need to plan this properly and we want to be in the middle on this part. Being the contractor that doesn’t call at all sends signals that we really don’t care and being the one that calls 3 times a day is annoying. So this is one of those times where I tell you to be in the middle.
Now, that doesn’t mean we can’t raise the bar here too. We will do that by being overly respectful of our client’s time. We will plan our calls to them in advance and show them that we respect their time and will work the call into their schedule.
[tweetthis]People want to receive sales calls on their time not yours – let’s respect that.[/tweetthis]
To be sure we execute on this we need to block out times on our schedules every week for making and receiving sales calls. You should allow a little time each day so that you can respond to any calls within 24 hours. If you block out 15 to 20 minutes, several different times during the day you will have plenty of time to make these calls.
Prior to making any calls at all you need to schedule the call with your clients. If your relationship with them allows I recommend sending them a text and asking for a convenient time for a call. Be sure to tell them what the call is about and how long (BTW – 10 minutes max.). If you can’t text then try to use social media or email. If you need to call them to schedule this then make the first call only to schedule the follow-up. Be prepared for your call in case they say “Now is a good time”. That is an awesome sign that they really want to talk to you so don’t get caught off guard.
Be sure to properly plan for these calls. I want you to open the call with some general discussion that is personal, the level of personalization will depend on your relationship. By opening up with something personal you are building that relationship and trust. I had a sales call with a client last week, prior to calling him I happened to see where there was a seafood festival in his area that coming weekend so I used that to open the conversation. I have not built my relationship with him yet to the point that would allow me to ask about family but I could ask if he was attending the seafood festival that weekend. Which by the way he was and he was very excited about it. Turns out he goes every year and loves it. (I am quite sure that I had a positive impact with that question) So be prepared for you call, start with something personal then move on and be specific with what you want to learn from the call. If you are checking timelines, etc. it is helpful to explain why that is important first instead of just asking.
So, don’t miss out on the opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors with properly managed sales calls. Start taking action today.
Take-Action Items
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Schedule time each week for sales calls
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Plan and pre-schedule your calls with your clients
Outline
Managing Sales Calls
What:
- Sales calls are important tools if done properly
- Schedule your time and respect your client’s time
Why:
- managing this process properly can set you apart from your competition
- Showing your clients you respect their time is extremely important
How:
- Block out time on your schedule for making sales calls
- Make time every day so that any follow-up calls occur within 24 hours
- Pre-schedule your calls with your clients – don’t just cold call them
- Plan you call – know what you want out of the call and explain why it’s important
