Xcite™'s 8 Steps to a successful sales call.

It's always good to have a plan for your sales visits that can serve as a quick reminder of the essentials.  You can use this checklist as a review before and after each sales call to make sure you cover all the bases. Leaving a sales call and wishing you had remembered to ask a specific question or show the prospect another product idea, is a horrible feeling.  Xcite™ has provided you with a checklist that may help you avoid that.

1. Preparation Prior to Sales Call

Did I:

• Research the account prior to the call?
• Researched the accounts' website and google searches?
• Learn something about the person and their business before the meeting?
• Send an outline of the agenda to the client before the meeting?
• Have three value-added points prepared?
• Bring all materials, brochures, contracts, etc.?
• Answer the three important pre-call questions:

1. What is the goal of the call?
2. What do I need to find out during the call?
3. What's the next step after the call?

2. Greeting and Introduction

Did I:

• Observe the prospect's office décor (e.g., trophies, awards, pictures and so on)?
• Find out about the prospect's personal interests, hobbies, family and so on?
• Find out the names of contacts in the account and write them down?
• Bridge to the business topic smoothly?
• Listen more than I spoke? (Ideally, you should spend 80 percent of your time listening and only 20 percent talking.)
• Ask the customer about their business goals?
• Ask the customer what challenges the company is facing?

3. Qualifying

Did I:

• Find out who the decision-makers are by asking "Who else besides yourself might be involved in the decision-making process?"
• Ask what process they normally go through when considering a new vendor?
• Find out how and why they made the decision for their current product or service (assuming they are replacing a product or service)?
• Find out if funds have been allocated--and how much?
• Find out their specific needs?
• Ask if they could change something about their product or service, what would it be?

4. Surveying

Did I:

• Ask open-ended questions (who, what, where, when, why, how, how much, tell me about it, describe for me)?
• Ask about the prospect's role at the company?
• Ask what's important to them?
• Ask what's interesting to them and then focus on that?
• Ask how we can help solve their problems?
• Ask what they think about our company?
• Ask what they like and dislike about their current vendor?

5. Handling Objections

Did I:

• Listen to the entire objection?
• Pause for three seconds before responding?
• Remain calm and not defensive?
• Meet the objection with a question in order to find out more?
• Restate the objection to make sure we agreed (communication)?
• Answer the objection?
• Complete the six-step process?

1. Listen
2. Define
3. Rephrase
4. Isolate
5. Present solution
6. Close (or next step)

6. Presentation

Did I:

• Prioritize the prospect's needs?
• Talk about benefits to the customer?
• Link the benefit to the prospect's needs?
• Verify each need before moving on?
• Present myself, company and product in a positive, professional light?
• Re-establish rapport?
• Ask if anything changed since our last meeting?
• Pre-commit the prospect?
• Give a general overview of the product or service?
• Keep the presentation focused on the customer's needs?
• Involve the customer in the presentation?
• Summarize the prospect's needs and how our product or service meets those needs?

7. Closing

Did I:

• Get the customer to identify all possible problems that might be solved by my product or service?
• Get the customer to identify the value of solving the identified problems?
• Get agreement that the proposed solution provides the values identified?
• Ask for the order ("Why don't we go ahead with this?")?

8. Customer Maintenance

Did I:

• Write thank you letters for appointments, orders and so on?  Send them a thank you video after every appointment?
• Earn the right to ask for reference letters and referrals?
• Establish a schedule for follow-up calls and customer visits?
• Ask for referrals ("Do you know three people who could benefit from my product and service like you did?")?
• Send thank you notes to lost accounts?
• Ask what are three important things we can do as a vendor to keep our relationship strong?

This checklist will help you stay focused.  Every time you schedule a sales call, run through this list before-hand to make sure you're prepared--and after the visit to see what you can do next time to make the call run more smoothly and increase your chances of success.

Every dealership and business is different, so the questions above vary depending on your situation.  However, the more basic and short your presentation is, the more success you will have.

You do not need to ask them every question that is listed, they are just suggestions. The shorter the presentation, the better the outcome will be. Asking them too many questions can make them feel uneasy.

Please use your initiative and be a successful sales person.

The following lesson will discuss how to create potential solutions.