• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Submissions
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jan 29, 2023
  • Startup
    • Creating a Plan
    • Funding a Startup
    • Franchise Center
    • Getting Your Office Ready
    • Making Your Business Official
    • Marketing Your New Business
    • Personal Readiness
  • Run & Grow
    • Customer Service
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Legal
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
  • Leadership
    • Best Practices
    • Communication
    • Green Initiatives
    • Open Culture
    • Strategic Planning
    • People Skills
  • Sales & Marketing
    • Advertising and Lead Generation
    • Marketing Innovations
    • Marketing Plans
    • Online Marketing
    • Relationships
    • Sales Activities
  • Finance
    • Budgeting and Personal Finance
    • Payments and Collections
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Pricing Strategy
    • Working with Investors
    • Working with Lenders
  • Tech
    • eCommerce
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Security
    • Tech Reviews
    • Telecom
  • Shop

SmallBizClub

Helping You Succeed

taxbandits banner
Home / Sales and Marketing / Sales Activities / You’re Not Ready for That Call!
You’re Not Ready for That Call!

You’re Not Ready for That Call!

930 Views

Aug 12, 2019 By Dave Brock

Somehow, it seems that a post on preparing for sales calls/meetings would be totally unnecessary. One would hope all sales professionals would have a plan for every call, if only to manage their own time very well.

When I talk to sales people about the importance of sales call/meeting planning, the responses tend to fall into two categories.

The first category is “the voice of experience.” These sales people look at me, roll their eyes, saying, “You don’t understand, I’ve been selling for year, I’ve made 1000s of calls. I know how to get it done!”

The second category responds, “I’ve got a call plan (usually a script), this is what I want to tell them about our products/services?”

The first category is problematic because it’s typically a random walk through the customer buying process/sales process. These sales people rely on their ability to react and respond, rather than guiding the customer through their buying journey. Typically, the sales cycle for these people, or number of calls to close (not necessarily win), is very long, and their win rates are very low.

The second category is problematic, as well. These people have a plan, they know what they want to accomplish, but their goals/objectives are all about them. It’s always about them, their company, their product. They have an urgency to tell, perhaps disguised by cleverly worded discovery questions that elicit just the response they need to get into pitch mode.

Regardless of how we plan or don’t plan, we are never prepared to answer a single question: “What’s in it for the customer?” Stated differently, “What does the customer get as a result of investing their time in the call and does that create value for them?”

Until we can answer that question in terms meaningful to the customer, we aren’t ready do make that call or have the meeting.

In answering this question, we are forced to change our perspective and our preparation. We have to understand the customer well enough to know what’s important to them—not what we think should be important to them. We have to understand what they value, what they are trying to achieve, what stands in their way of achieving it, and whether they even care.

If we don’t know these things, if we can’t articulate how our call will help them in achieving those things, we aren’t ready for the call. As a result, we waste the customer’s time and ours.

We have to think about this for each call or meeting we have. If we can’t answer the question in a meaningful way, we aren’t ready to make the call and should reschedule it.

Do you know, “What’s in it for the customer to invest their time, now,” for every call/meeting you have?

Filed Under: Sales Activities Tagged With: Planning, Relevant Benefits, Sales

Source: Partners in Excellence

Dave Brock

Dave Brock

Dave Brock is the founder of Partners in EXCELLENCE, a consulting and services company helping to improve the effectiveness of business professionals with strategy development, organizational planning, and implementation. Dave has spent his career working for and with high performance organizations, ranging from the Fortune 25 to startups, including companies such as IBM, HP, Nokia, AT&T, Microsoft, General Electric, and many, many more. The work Dave does with business strategies is closely tied to personal effectiveness of the people in the organization. As a result, Dave is deeply involved in the development of a number of training and coaching programs.

Related Posts

  • “Sales Are Math,” Selling Isn’t!
  • What Deals Can You Get Shopping at Meijer?
  • People, Not Products, Are the Key to Your Success

Primary Sidebar

Random

How to Decorate Your Email Signature in Gmail

Jan 27, 2023 By SmallBizClub

6 Ways To Optimize Work Schedules of Your Team Members

Jan 27, 2023 By SmallBizClub

Is Local SEO Worthwhile for Small Businesses?

Jan 26, 2023 By Annie Button

b2b-marketing-must-become-more-humanly-relevant

Building A Winning B2B Sales Enablement Strategy In 2023

Jan 25, 2023 By Michael Dunlop

employers-face-stiff-affordable-health-care-act-excise-taxes

5 Simple Tips Employers and Insurance Providers Need for 2023 ACA Reporting

Jan 25, 2023 By Stephanie Glanville

Footer

About Us

Small Biz Club is the premier destination for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To succeed in business, you have to constantly learn about new things, evaluate what you’re doing, and look for ways to improve—that’s what we’re here to help you do.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 by Tarkenton Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms | Privacy