Do you have a list of potential customers you tell yourself you “should” be calling?
Do you struggle to pick up the phone because you’re afraid you’ll be seen as pushy, obnoxious or rude?
To shift your mindset about making sales calls – and also turn more of those calls into actual sales – all you need is to follow the simple steps outlined in this article.
BONUS: One of the steps includes a 5-point checklist of questions you need to answer before even dialing that first number.
#1: Clear Your Path to Success
While it might sound like a simple enough to-do list item, “Make some sales calls” can actually be the tip of a pretty big iceberg. And sometimes what looks like sales resistance can actually be resistance caused by something logistical.
I was talking to a client recently who was resisting making sales calls and she thought the reason was that she didn’t want to face the possible rejection.
However, when she examined the logistical items listed below, she realized that her resistance was actually about her CRM system (Customer Relationship Management). Because her CRM wasn’t up to date, she didn’t feel confident about the list of names it generated for her to call.
As soon as she cleaned up her CRM, she felt confident in the list of people she was calling on, and the phone calls were suddenly easy to make.
Before you can (successfully) make sales calls, you must have answered all the following questions:
- Who, exactly, are you going to call? If you’re calling companies, who’s the person or at least job title you want to speak to at each company? (Write down the names)
- What’s the phone number? If it’s a company, is there an extension? (Write down the phone numbers, next to the names).
- Do you plan to take notes about your call? If so, do you have a CRM system set up? (A CRM system doesn’t have to be a fancy computerized tool – it can be a notebook and pen, if that works for you).
- If they say yes, are you prepared to deliver what they bought? Is there anything they will expect to receive immediately? If so, is it ready?
If you’re feeling resistance about making sales calls, it might be that you actually need to address one or more of these prerequisites.
#2: Put Your Fear in Perspective
Once you’ve handled all your logistical items, there’s nothing left to do but pick up the phone and dial.
So why are you still hesitating?
If you’re having Resistance at this point, it’s because you don’t know what to say to create a positive outcome. Or, more specifically, you’re afraid that whatever you say will make you sound pushy, obnoxious and rude. And who wants that?
I have a client who was having this problem. She was getting ready to launch a new high-end product and I’d given her the homework assignment of calling 6 or 8 people she already knows well, who might be interested in buying it.
But then on our next call she confessed, “I didn’t do my homework. I realize I have resistance to making those calls because I feel like I’m going to be intrusive, and I don’t want to do that.”
I replied by saying, “I get it. You’re afraid your prospect will have no interest whatsoever in what you’re selling. And not only that, they’re going to feel offended and even angry that you DARED to disturb them with a phone call!!”
She laughed and said, “You’re right – that’s exactly what the fears in my head have sounded like. But as soon as you say them out loud, I can see that it’s silly. None of these people would actually be mad that I called.”
In my client’s case, the people she wanted to call were all friends or existing clients. All of them would be glad to hear from her, simply because she has an existing relationship with them.
But what about the people you don’t know so well?
#3: Embrace The Solution That You Are
It’s one of the more trite pieces of sales wisdom: “Offer to solve your customer’s problems.”
The thing is, that while most people have heard this piece of advice – and may even think they’re following it – they rarely are!
When you’re looking at a list of phone numbers, and the thought of picking up the phone and dialing fills you with dread, I guarantee you’ve lost touch with the solution you provide to your customers.
I learned this lesson when I was in the Mary Kay business, way back in my mid 20’s.
I was sitting in my car outside a customer’s office, trying to psych myself up to go in and talk about our newest products. I really wanted her to buy this $80 set of anti-aging serums (I needed a sale that big to hit my numbers for the week), but I felt an equally strong queasiness in the pit of my stomach about trying to sell it to her.
I was mentally rattling off each of the objections I thought she might raise, and rehearsing how I would answer them. Doing it made me feel like some offensive, relentless beast – push, push, pushing her to buy the stupid serums.
The more I imagined it, the more awful I felt.
And then suddenly, a totally different thought popped in and changed my relationship to sales forever: “Wait a minute – what if she wants this product?”
A smile spread across my face as I began to see the situation from an entirely different perspective: “She’s affluent and over 50 – she probably already buys anti-aging products. This new product of ours has been proven the most effective on the market, yet it’s significantly less expensive than other leading brands. I’ll bet the moment she hears about this stuff she’ll be thrilled to buy it!”
I sailed up to the customer’s office with a spring in my step, and sure enough I’d barely gotten the words out of my mouth about the new anti-aging serums and she was telling me to add it to her bill.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that that day changed my life. The radical paradigm shift that sizzled through my whole being has stayed with me ever since.
I’m now constitutionally incapable of looking at ANY product I’m selling, without seeing it through my customer’s eyes.
And once you can do that – once you embrace the solution that you are for your customers – it becomes difficult NOT to try and sell it.
#4: Be Authentic With Your Words
The last step is to figure out what to actually say!
Take a moment to drop in to your heart & your intuition. Close your eyes. Take a deep cleansing breath.
Picture the product you’d like to sell on today’s sales calls; and now picture one of the people on your list. Ask yourself:
• Is this person already thinking about spending money on a product like mine? Or, do they spend money on products like mine from time to time?
• What does my product offer that ones like it don’t?
• What facets of the problem do I address in a unique way?
• Why AM I, authentically and truly, a better solution? Or, under what circumstances am I a better solution?
If you took the time to really feel into those answers – and you allowed yourself to listen to the whispers of your heart / intuition / Divine Guides / unconscious mind – you are now filled with authentic certainty that your product SERVES your customer.
Write down a few statements that encapsulate this certainty for yourself. These statements form the basis of the script you’ll use when you call.