Sure, relationships rule in the world of sales. But when push comes
to shove, it is almost always about the number of calls you make each
day. As I work with sales people in companies large and small, there
seems to be a common theme these days…sales people “think” they are
making the appropriate number of phone calls to make goal and they are
not. So, how do you know? First, as a sales person, stop lying to
yourself. It is easy to track and determine the number of outbound
phone calls you made today. Next, as a sales manager, listen and track.
Sales people, determine your call to close ratio. How many phone
calls does it take for you to get that phone call to a meeting and then
the meeting to a proposal and then the proposal to a sale? You make 20
calls and get one meeting. Ok. Not bad. 1 in 10 meetings close to a
sale. Ok. If your goal each month requires that you close 20 sales, you
will need to make 400 calls and have 200 meetings. Yikes! So, what are
your next steps? Making 20 calls to get to one meeting is not horrible,
but you need to tighten up that gap. Increase your quality of call.
(More on quality below.) Share success stories; offer the prospect a
reason or incentive to let you in the door. Next, you need to have great
meetings. Know your prospect. Now, what you can do to make their
life/job better. Go in with a goal in mind. Listen with intent to learn
the clients’ needs. Do not pitch! Great media sales people talk 20% of
the sales call and listen and ask questions during the rest.
Now, before we go any further, lets answer the question about quality
vs. quantity. Every call needs to be of good quality. Quality is
another piece of the puzzle. What to say? How to say it? Are you
meeting a need? Leaving a voice mail that offers a solution? Etc,
etc. But, BUT... very often sales people will say, I would rather make
10 quality calls than 20 bad calls. Dah. Don't make 20 bad calls.
Make 20 great calls! If your "get to a meeting ratio" is 1 in 20, leave
19 great voice mails too.
Sales Managers, if you can hear
a pin drop in your office, you have an issue. Unless all the sales
people have doors of steel that are sound proof, you have an issue.
Outbound call volume might be your single greatest issue. With that
said, a call is not a call. Great sales calls require skills and those
skills come from training. Instead, most sales people simply pitch
features, advantages and benefits. As Stephen Pia once said, your sales
people need to become meeting maniacs. They need to get those calls to a
meeting. Sales is a numbers game and the more meetings, the more
chances of closing. Are you tracking their calls? Are you listening to
their calls? Are they asking the 10 critical sales questions? (Ask me
for more on the 10.) Do you review their calls? Do you make them use
your CRM system?
All in all, when sales fail, it comes down to
what I like to call the 5 P’s of successful sales: Product, People,
Process, Pitch and Price. When any of these are in “off”, sales can be
off as well.
So, get under the hood and figure out why the engine is not running smoothly.
--Ryan
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn is President and founder of Brain
Swell Media, an internet coaching and consulting firm that helps
business owners and publishers make money online.
http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
Ryan R. Dohrn
President/Founder
Brain Swell Media LLC
http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
803-867-3769
Follow him on Twitter.com/ryandohrn for daily tips and advice.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandohrn
Brain
Swell Media, LLC is an interactive media consulting firm. We focus on
five key business areas; online strategy consulting, website
development, search engine optimization (SEO), video production and
online sales training. We provide business owners and publishing
companies with the tools and resources they need to optimize their
presence on the Web and boost revenue.
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