sales 101

So you finally got that “hot lead”. They’re interested; they’ve been vetted and would be a good potential fit. The call has been scheduled. This is your first impression…make the best of it!

Preparation is key, and often times the first call is going to set the tone for your future interactions and influence the prospect to proceed with your company or eliminate your company from consideration.

The key to having a productive first call includes: doing your research, being prepared, taking thorough notes, and being transparent. 

(See my post about the “Transparency Sale” methods  for more detailed tips on what being "transparent" means):  https://jennmeansbusiness.com/tools-for-success  

How to prepare:

Do your homework. You should never ask a prospect a question that you can easily find on their website (ex. How many locations do you have?). This not only gives the impression that you haven’t researched them at all, but also wastes valuable time (sometimes you only have a few minutes) that could be spent on other deep-dive discovery questions.

Know who the players are. Scan their website, look at Linked In, etc. Find out the titles/roles of the people with whom you will be speaking. And know the names of other important people (ex. the executives), so if the prospect name drops, you can potentially know who they are talking about and show that you are familiar with that person. (ex. Oh- you said your boss Steve? Do you mean Steve Smith the COO?)

Look for connections. Have you talked to anyone in this organization in the past? Can you establish any “street cred” in regards to prior discussions? (ex. I remember from our previous conversations last year that your fiscal year begins in July-- is that why now is anappropriate time to consider this project?”)

Have a cheat sheet in front of you. You’ve done the homework, so make sure that you have your notes in front of you and accessible while on the call.

During the Call:

Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions. For example, don’t be afraid to ask: “If you don’t mind my asking, what other companies are you considering through your evaluation process”? Worst case--they may tell you that they don’t wish to share that information. However, often times, the prospect will let you know. It doesn’t hurt to ask!

Be sure to ask them how they heard about you. They may have just googled you, or they may have been sent to you. Data is power (especially for your marketing team), so it’s important to know which efforts are paying off and track it if possible.

Pay attention to referrals. Referrals are KEY to any organization. Referrals also provide “intel” as to what they have probably already heard about. Always remember to thank your referrals as well, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

Listen more, talk less. Ask them general questions (ex. So what major problems are you trying to solve? What are the biggest pain points with your current system? What is the planned or expected date of implementation?)... but listen. Pauses, although awkward at times, encourage people to fill the empty space. If you allow them to, they will elaborate and will often share even more than you had hoped.

Take Notes. Again-- you are establishing trust and rapport from the beginning. You want prospects to know that you heard what they said, will remember what they said, and care about their organization individually. It’s always better to have too much information documented than not enough.

Thank them for their time. It doesn’t matter if it’s the office assistant or the CEO. Treat everyone with the same level of respect and show that you appreciate their time.

Establish a next step before you get off of the phone. So you’ve gotten the info you needed; hopefully, they have gotten some more information that they wanted. Now where do you go from here? Just ask and establish a path.

Effort goes a long way, and people will appreciate that you’ve done your research, made the best use of their time, and seem to be familiar with their organization. This establishes trust and rapport from the beginning and sets you up for more positive and productive discussions/steps in the future.

Even if the prospect doesn’t wind up turning into a client, you have not wasted your time. Just because they may not move forward with you doesn’t mean that they may not still recommend you to someone else or remember the experience that they did have with you should you be a better fit in the future.