plus 7 rules for telephone meetings.
by rob nixon
i have been actively selling something since the age of 14. that’s 30+ years of selling.
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i have been formally trained in courses on how to sell. i have attended more sales seminars than i care to remember. i have read countless books and listened to audio programs on the science of sales. i have sold over the phone, on the shop floor in retail, from a seminar stage, one on one, one to many and via webinars.
i have always been good at sales because i use some simple systems that i have learned and fine-tuned to keep me on track.
i have never shared some of these systems before to anyone except my own sales team. i thought you might like some of the “secret sauce” of my selling systems.
sales system # 1 – getting through to the owners
owners of businesses are busy people. they are our buyer(s) and they are the ones (and the only ones) you need to speak with. if you do a sales meeting with anyone but the ultimate decision maker(s) then expect to do the meeting again. but you have to get through to them to start the conversation and build the relationship.
i find that using the concept of a pre-booked telephone meeting will help enormously. i remember sitting in an airport lounge once where i made 26 telephone meetings (via reception) in the space of one hour. i simply smashed the phone, booked the meetings and then sent them individual confirmation notes later.
if your target owner has communicated with you somehow via a marketing report download, a seminar or has made an inquiry of some sort then it should be easy to get through. but you don’t necessarily want to speak to the owner right away. you might need 15 minutes and if you randomly call you may only get three.
your script goes like this:
“hi mary (person who answers phone), it’s john james calling from xyz firm. bob was on our website and he downloaded a free report we offered and i wanted to catch up with him to discuss it further – but not right now. what i’d like to do is find 15 minutes that works for both of us and i’ll call him at that time. do you have access to his planner so we can schedule the phone appointment?”
or if you get through to bob right away:
“hi bob, it’s john james calling from xyz firm. i wanted to catch up with you for 15 minutes on the phone – but not right now. what i would like to do is book a telephone meeting with you to discuss how we can help you improve your cash flow and grow your revenue. have you got your schedule handy so we can book a time over the next week or so?”
rob’s rules of telephone meetings;
- use an odd time – say 10:10, 9:15, 9:20, 11:25.
- send an email to prospect stating the meeting time.
- always call out – do not let them call you – ever.
- always call precisely on time – watch the second hand before you dial.
- always announce yourself to reception: “bob and i have a prebooked phone appointment at 9:15 a.m., which is now. can you put me through, please?”
- if bob is not available then do not let him call you back. simply state “that’s ok, i’ve got a pretty tight schedule like bob, can we reschedule and i will call again then?”
- never leave a message for someone to call you back. it’s lazy sales and invariably if they do call you back then it’ll be at the wrong time.
sales system # 2 – meeting worksheet
most accountants i have met use an interview pad of some sort in meetings. it’ll have space for the client details at the top and then typically it will have blank ruled lines for note taking.
the really good salespeople i know are prepared for the meeting with a process flow of how the meeting will work. the really, really good ones will take that process flow and make it the interview pad. that way you always remember your process flow and get to the conclusion you want faster. here is an example of an interview pad that you could r&d:
sales system # 3 – sales nurturing system
your prospects are busy people. they have demands on their time every day and most days they have salespeople attempt to sell to them. you are competing against a lot of noise, interruptions and constant bombardment of information. although the prospect may have met you, downloaded a report from your website or even attended one of your seminars –
although the prospect may have met you, downloaded a report from your website or even attended one of your seminars – assume they have forgotten who you are. to get them to remember you in between calls you need to be memorable. the way to do that is with a nurturing system that happens immediately after the first contact and does not end until they buy or die! here’s how it works.
sales system # 4 – return on investment-based selling
roi-based selling is when you establish a starting point with a current financial model and then plan the future by altering the base numbers that are input-based numbers. then your solution is the answer to helping them to achieve the result.
an example would be to use the growth equation in panalitix to sell to them. or using the business strategy map (send me an email and i’ll send you a free copy) and altering the numbers. or you could simply use a whiteboard, flip chart or a conversation.
you can use roi-based selling in situations such as:
- revenue improvement – key drivers being client numbers, transaction frequency and average transaction value
- profit improvement – key drivers being revenue, costs and efficiency (ahr, write-ons)
- cash flow improvement – key drivers being profit, inventory and receivables
example – revenue and cash improvement:
the key to roi-based selling is to get the prospect to volunteer the numbers now and the numbers of improvement.
sales systems like these will help you enormously in your ultimate pursuit, which is to make sure every client is buying every service they need that helps them achieve their goals.