Setting up your sales calls right
- Timothy Bull
- Aug 4, 2019
- 5 min read
There's been plenty of discussion within sales over social selling, but most consultative sales usually kick off with either a phone call or face-to-face meeting.
Baring that in mind, how do you best set up your calls? Below I've outlined three such ways.
Roleplay
Firstly, make sure that you roleplay your calls, even if it's as basic as talking through with a colleague as to your approach. Sometimes I speak with a colleague to go through what I understand about the company I'll be speaking with and any advice he or she might give or specific questions on that market may achieve.
For example, if you are speaking to a financial sector organisation, you might need to ask slightly different questions to those in say the healthcare sector.
When I first started working in sales I took such roleplay calls with my manager, taking turns to play the customer and times for the salesperson. When I first started, I'll admit I was terrified, but doing such calls more and more gave me an increasing amount of confidence to handle different questions calmly and prepare ahead of time.
Set clear expectations and an agenda
When someone agrees to take a call meeting with me one of the first things I do is to send them a calendar invite for the call including a proposed agenda. This is to help set expectations before the call starts and to help shape the direction of the call without being too restrictive - think more structure than straitjacket!
On a first call, I've typically had the prospect agree to the call, so I already know there is some interest. This is sometimes referred to as a discovery call, but I prefer calling it an introduction call or even an intro call.
Whatever you call it, the key aspect is so that you clearly explain why you are having the call and the topics you will be discussing. It is also important to state how you will have the call, whether you are calling them, expecting them to call you or if you are using a conference call line
As an example of what not to do, I had a gentleman who ran an industry website and wanted my company to invest in a partnership agreement to run advertising and other related material on his site. He met with a colleague and me at an industry event and then requested a follow-up call to discuss the partnership.
Come the time of the call, this gentleman had sent a vague email rather than a formal invite for the call, so my colleague & I had to scramble to arrange a conference line as he had not prepared anything. When we actually had the call, he did not provide an agenda and as such the call meandered all over the place without focus and did not convince my colleague or I to continue the conversation let alone to invest in that opportunity.
For such agendas, my intro calls usually follow a similar structure, stating my proposed agenda & conference call details (or direct if you are calling them that way) and then asking if the prospect wants to add anything.
My agenda then usually follows a simple pattern, with my comments explained in []:
- Introductions as needed [this is often useful when people invite more colleagues on to the call and I need to understand who they are, what they are doing on the call and if there's anything specific they need to cover]
- Background on them and why they are looking for a solution like the one I'm selling [they've agreed to the call and now is a good time to dig deeper into what they are looking for - it can also be a good time to qualify if they are actually looking for what you offer]
- Their priorities in a new solution [this will help to shape the conversation based on what they need rather than me just preaching about what I am offering]
- Their timelines on when they need a new solution and who else would be involved in any decision making [This also helps me to qualify them as an opportunity, with the vaguer timelines often mean they are furthest from decisions; and asking on decision makers also helps me to better understand if I'm speaking to the right people to make and/or influence decisions]
- Some information on what I offer [Keep this short down to a few key USPs or functions they've already said are priorities, because this call is about them with a goal to hook them to keep talking with me closer to a sale]
- Agreeing next steps together [this sets clear expectations that at the end of the call we will agree these together, at best to have a follow-up, at worst to part ways amicably]
Following this pattern has helped me to get countless productive meetings through setting up clear expectations.
Last minute preparations for the call
Once you've prepared through roleplay and you've set a clear agenda for your call with the opportunity, then there come the last minute preparations before the call and there are a few things that work for me.
I'll usually prep by practicing my opening lines, usually things along the lines of:
- My introduction phrase "Hello, it's Tim from XYZ"
- Some small talk to check the sound connection works, talking about the weather or something else to show I'm not a robot :-)
- Then a segue way to tell the prospect I appreciate their time and a quick time check [something like "I appreciate your time this afternoon. We have 30 minutes booked, does that still work for you?", which shows the prospect I value their and my time and also lets me know if I have a deadstop to work toward so I need to focus what I say]
- A quick agenda check to make sure they understand & agree to the structure of my call as proposed [you can't always guarantee the prospect has read the agenda, but by checking it off at the start of the call you get their agreement to proceed]
Something else I do to prepare myself mentally is a couple of poses to help me get in the right zone in terms of enthusiasm and confidence so that I make the right first impression - you definitely don't want to start off a call sounding bored and/or scared!
These poses are sometimes called "power poses" and you can find out more details here from inc.com:
A couple of poses I use (usually when making a call from an isolated space, but also work on a sales floor) include:
- "Superman" pose, where you puff out your chest, put your hands on your hips and stand with your feet wide apart
- "X" pose, where you stand for a moment with your feet wide apart, your back straight and your arms held high with your hands parallel to your feet
You might feel a bit silly doing those poses, but they've worked for me and I regularly make such calls to some of the leading organisations in the world.
Also, if you are using a conference line or a VOIP system such as Skype (others are available), then now is also a good time to check that those actually work - or prepare alternatives if something goes wrong as you don't want to lose precious time on a first call when you are trying to set your best first impression.
In conclusion:
When it comes to preparing for your important calls:
- make sure to roleplay and prepare for the potential questions you might face through working with colleagues and other experts to help you
- set clear expectations with the prospect on what the call will cover by preparing a clear agenda
- do the last minute preparations you need to get your first words and your mindset right for the call
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