How to Prepare for a Sales Call
Posted by Gabrielle Chloe Ansaldo / December 9, 2022
One of the most critical skills in the referral marketing space or even the entire business world is perfecting a sales call. In any business, the sales call can make or break the deal you’re attempting to win. The referral marketing space even thrives off of daily sales calls to prospects. Here at NaXum, we’ve honed the art of making a perfect sales call and are ready to share the details with you.
1. Research, research, research!
Like any battle, you can’t come empty-handed. Sales calls tend to either be an introduction to your business or be the mode of communication in order to win a deal. That said, your research of a prospect can give you the ammunition you need to turn that prospect into a client. There isn’t anything more awkward than talking to someone over the phone who’s introducing something new to you but reads off of a script that isn’t personal at all. By doing the proper research, you can personalize the way you reach out to different prospects. You’ll be able to talk more freely and sound less monotonous, robotic, or worse, scripted.
2. Use the data.
Now that you’ve conducted your research, you’ve got to use the data you gathered. Numbers speak for themselves. The more you present accurate data relating to your prospect, their industry, and how they manage things, the more you’re likely to win the deal. A great way to gather data is through platforms such as NaXum’s UNIFY platform which offers predictive action technology. The predictive action technology not only provides data about which prompts clients to respond best, but also offers data that will help you proceed with the deal.
3. Keep a guide handy.
While we did mention that it’s best to sound less scripted and robotic, it’s still important to have a guide handy. You’ve done your research, you’ve formulated the data into a proper list, and now all you’ve got to do is create a guide for you to follow. A guide shouldn’t be a script. It should be a piece of bulleted points that you can go through during the call. It’s just to remind you of the flow of the conversation and which points to highlight.
4. Make sure to ask questions.
As mentioned, it’s important to make the person on the other line feel heard and a part of the actual conversation. In order to market your product or services well, you need to be able to communicate your business’ highlights while hearing what the prospect needs or lacks. When it comes down to it, your prospect, or any prospect for that matter, should have a problem or concern that your product can address. That said, it’s important to ask questions about their current service or product, or process and listen in for ways your business can help theirs. Offer solutions to their concerns but don’t make it all about YOUR product. Genuinely express ideas or advice on how to help others. The more interested and authentic your concern is, the more people relate to you and, in turn, trust you.
5. Don’t forget to breathe.
This doesn’t only mean preparing yourself mentally. You need to relax as you’re talking and make sure that you leave room to breathe. Sometimes, we think about how to get the call done as soon as possible that we forget to breathe, speak too fast, or, focus on our spiel too much. This causes distrust, offense, and a lost prospect.
At the end of the day, sales calls boil down to the right communication skills, research, and courtesy for our prospects. You need to be able to communicate your business’ highlights while offering solutions to your prospects’ needs. Interested in learning more? Join us for a discovery call today or listen to the NaXum Podcast for more tips and tricks about the referral marketing space.
