February 11, 2022

How Do You Make Your Sales Calls More Effective?

Having trouble making successful sales calls? Follow these 10 sales call tips to ace your calls and drive more conversions.

Ainsley Lawrence

Reading time: 6 minutes

Sales calls are an essential part of the sales process, but they can be challenging to plan and execute effectively.

When making a sales call, there are many things to keep in mind, such as the customer’s relationship with your company, their buying process, and what you can do to help them close a deal.

This article will discuss 10 of the most important tactics to consider when making sales calls and how salespeople can get more results from their prospecting efforts.

10 sales call tips

Research and prequalify your customers

Before making a sales call, it is essential to research your customer and prequalify them as a lead.

By doing this, you ensure that the person on the other end of the line will be interested in what you have to offer and help make sure they are qualified for an appointment or follow-up calls with more information about your business offerings.

Some things to consider when prequalifying customers include:

The industry they work in (if known)
Their position at their company
How long they’ve been working there
What kind of products/services would appeal most strongly to them
Whether or not there’s any conflict between their needs/wants and what is currently being offered by competitors

Discovering the answers to these questions will help you determine if this person is a good fit for your company’s offerings.

Plan your call effectively

Once you have determined that a customer is worth pursuing, it’s essential to plan your call effectively. This includes knowing what you want to say and how you want to say it.

You’d want to prepare a script to take into each call. This is not to say that you should memorize the script word for word. Instead, use your script as a skeleton for your conversations and come up with multiple scenarios.

Also, when making a sales call, always remember these two important concepts:

The Rule of Thirds

In any conversation, most people only pay attention to one-third of what is said.

That means that if you talk for too long without giving the customer a chance to respond, they are likely to tune out or lose interest. To keep them engaged, be sure to allow them plenty of time to speak and ask questions.

The AIDA Model

This acronym stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

When making a sales call, you want to make sure that you are capturing the customer’s attention early on, building interest as you go along, arousing the desire for what you’re offering, and finally asking for their business.

Quickly establish rapport

One of the most important things to do when making a sales call is to establish rapport with the customer quickly. This means being friendly, personable, and showing genuine interest in them and their business.

There is a saying that goes, ‘people buy from people’. This means that customers are more likely to do business with someone they like and trust over someone who’s pushy or aggressive.

Be sure to smile (yes, smile), make eye contact, and use their name whenever possible to help build rapport. The quicker you establish trust in the relationship, the more likely they are to do business with you.

Stay positive and upbeat during the call

It’s important to stay upbeat during the call, even if the customer is challenging. Having a negative attitude will only make it harder for you to close a deal.

Instead, stay focused on what you can offer them and what benefits they will receive from doing business with your company. Be sure to have solutions ready for any objections they may raise, and always be prepared to walk away from the sale if it’s not a good fit.

Potential customers can sense whether or not you’re feeling good about yourself and your abilities, so it’s imperative to stay upbeat during the call. Having confidence in your sales technique puts the other party at ease and makes them more likely to feel comfortable in discussing business-related matters over the phone.

Listen more, talk less

When making a sales call, it’s important to remember that the customer is the most important person in the room. This means listening more and talking less.

Be sure to allow them plenty of time to speak and ask questions. If you do most of the talking, they will not have an opportunity to get to know you or your company.

Remember that a sales call is a two-way conversation, and it’s essential to let the customer lead the discussion. This allows them to feel in control and helps build trust in the relationship. It’s also a good tactic that enables you to avoid sounding like an infomercial or pushy salesperson.

Pitch solutions, not products or services

Customers don’t want to be sold. They want solutions to their problems.

So, when making a sales call, it’s important not to focus too much on your products or services.

Instead of talking about how great your product is or what features you have, talk about customers’ benefits from using them.

For example: ‘Our software is easy-to-use and has been proven effective for many years,’ instead of ‘We have an amazing product called ABC which does XYZ’.

It’s always about them, and not about you. Customers care more about what they can get out of something, so keep this in mind during every phone conversation with potential clients or customers.

Use effective questioning techniques

It’s essential to use effective questioning techniques when speaking with new prospects. This includes asking open-ended questions that prompt the customer to share more information about themselves and their needs.

It also means using closed-ended questions only when necessary (such as asking for yes or no answers) and avoiding leading questions like ‘Don’t you think our product is the best thing since sliced bread?’ or ‘Can’t you see how this would benefit your business?’.

When asking questions, listen closely to their responses and take notes. This will help you better understand their needs and identify any potential objections they may have.

Questions and answers are vital components of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Sales reps use CRM software to keep track of all interactions with potential and current customers, including emails, phone calls, notes from meetings, and more.

This information is then used to create a profile for each customer, which helps sales reps better understand their needs and how to best reach out to them.

By using CRM software, sales reps can more effectively manage their time by planning calls and follow-ups ahead of time. They can also track customer interactions and progress towards closing a sale.

Prepare ahead of time for potential objections

One of the best ways to overcome common objections is to be prepared for them ahead of time. This means having solutions ready to offer customers and anticipating any potential issues they may bring up.

It’s also essential to remain calm and professional, no matter how challenging the customer may be. Losing your temper or becoming defensive will only make it harder for you to close a sale.

The key is to listen carefully, acknowledge any expressed concerns, and then offer solutions. That way, you can ensure the customer feels heard and understood before moving to your next point.

Follow up effectively

An effective follow-up is as important as making the initial call in terms of closing sales. This means calling back promptly to answer questions, addressing concerns, and providing more information if necessary.

It’s also important not to give up too soon! Many salespeople make one or two attempts at contacting a potential client before moving on, but this isn’t enough time to close a deal.

The key is persistence – statistics show that by being more persistent, sales reps can increase the conversion rate by up to 70%.

So, even if it seems like the customer isn’t interested, don’t give up until they say ‘no’ three times in a row.

A good rule of thumb is to wait at least two weeks between calls because customers may need some time before they are ready to commit.

On the other hand, even if you’ve gotten to the contractual stage of your prospecting efforts, it’s essential to not rush any signatures. They could be busy and forgot about you, have other engagements they need to tend to first, or simply not interested until later down the road when their situation changes.

In either case, respect their needs while still giving them enough opportunities to decide.

Measure results and improve tactics

Sales calls are an essential part of any business, but they’re not always easy to perfect. This means it’s essential to measure the results of each call and identify what works well and what could use improvement.

This can be done by keeping track of leads generated, how many closed deals resulted from those leads, and the average value of each sale. This information can help you better understand the most effective tactics and tweak your sales process as needed.

There are a variety of metrics that can be tracked to measure the success of sales calls. Some of these include:

Number of leads generated
Closed deals
The average value of a sale
Sales cycle time
Customer satisfaction scores
Cost per Acquisition (CPA)

These are just a few of the many metrics that can be used to track the success of your sales process. Choose the most relevant ones to your business and use them to improve your results.

Conclusion

Prospecting for a new business can come with many challenges that can take time to overcome.

However, successful salespeople know that when one door closes, another one is ready to open. This means it’s important to keep trying even when things seem tough.

Treat every sales call as an opportunity to learn something new about the customer and find out what they need from you to make a purchase decision.

And remember: don’t take rejection personally — it’s all part of doing business. By reviewing these steps and applying new tactics on each call, you’ll soon find yourself becoming more effective over time and closing more sales.

Ainsley Lawrence

Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer with an interest in balanced living through education and technology. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book.

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