Practice & Preparation Increase Self-Confidence
No matter how many times you perform a task , even a repetitive task (like making a sales call), a few minutes of practice and preparation will make a perceptible difference in the quality of your performance.
Before a baseball game, both teams come out of their respective locker rooms and onto the field of play to practice essential parts of the game, i.e., fielding, hitting, bunting, throwing, etc. — things they have done practically every day since childhood. The great majority of these players are so good at what they do that their respective teams pay them millions of dollars to play. Yet they still practice and prepare before each game.
Golfers are similar. All professional golfers who qualify for a tournament spend anywhere from an hour to several hours practicing a variety of shots they are likely to have to execute during the upcoming competitive contest.
While sports require more physical coordination than selling, both require quick thinking and the ability to execute flawlessly. The obstacles both salespeople and athletes encounter are, for the most part, predictable. As an example, how long has it been since you heard a prospect give you a new reason for not doing business with you? After salespeople have been selling for, say, 12 months, they will have heard just about every objection they will hear in a lifetime.
In sales as in sports, it's the "same old, same old" hurdles that must be dealt with, but none of these professionals ever get so good at what they do that they can perform their craft as well without practice and preparation as they can when they take the time necessary to practice and prepare.
I received a call a few days ago from a writer who wanted to interview me for a story he was doing on negotiating. I jumped at the chance because if there's anything I feel comfortable discussing in depth, it's the art of negotiation. When the morning rolled around that we had scheduled for the interview, I sat down at my computer and jotted down some of the key questions I anticipated the writer would ask. Then, to make sure that the words would be on the tip of my tongue when he asked his questions, I also took a few minutes to jot down succinct answers so that I wouldn't have to fumble for just the right word to make my points.
How about you? Do you take time to prepare for a sales call by anticipating the questions your prospect will ask and how to best answer each?
If you've made previous sales calls on a prospect, review your notes from the last sales call and think about opening your next conversation with a statement like: "...before I came to work this morning, I reviewed my notes from the last time you and I were together. You shared with me some legitimate concerns that I did some research on, and I would like to share with you some evidence I was able to put together that I believe will alleviate several of your concerns..."
JOINT CALLS
A mistake many salespeople and sales managers make is failing to prepare for joint customer calls and/or customer meetings. Consider the following helpful hints:
• Review notes from previous meetings to remind yourself of the highlights of those meetings.
• Determine who the decision-maker is if meeting with more than one person on the customer's team.
• Prepare a list of questions that you want to get answered during the meeting. Make sure that the answers to these questions will give you insight into this prospect you need to be more effective.
• In advance of the meeting, determine who will open the conversation, who will take the lead and at what point another member of your team will take the ball and run with it. Avoid interrupting each other.
• Whoever's job it is to open conversation should memorize the first few sentences so you sound as comfortable and as professional as possible.
• If the customer raises objections to doing business with you or your company, consider asking the question: "...if it were not for [that reason] are you telling me that you would do business with us?"
• If you are having difficulty finding out exactly what is standing between you and an order from this customer, consider asking the question: "...if you don't mind my asking, what is preventing us from earning a piece of your business?"
Art the Prospect: "Joe, you don't turn RFPs around fast enough for me to do business with you..."
Joe the Salesperson: "That's the very reason you should do business with me, Art. I don't just take a quick look at an RFP. I spend the extra time it takes to not only give you a quality estimate, but also make recommendations that will help you reduce labor and waste..."
Identify situations that would be appropriate for you to use this response.