marketing & sales: Your First Sales Call
As your sales career begins, most of your calls will be "first calls" on a customer. These calls are where friendships are built and trust is earned, and trust is where business associates form their relationships. Even experienced salespeople need to master the skill of handling first calls as they continue to grow their customer base. Whether you are a sales veteran or just entering the field, the first impression is the lasting impression. Remember, this is a process—not an event.
First Order of Business
So, you've arrived at the customer's place of business for the first time. Don't feel pressured by the need to sell or to get an order signed. Your purpose on the first call is to gather information, which you will use to put together some options that you'll present in the second call.
Before you enter the building, make sure there's nothing holding you back. Check yourself in the mirror. Hair nicely styled? Shoes shined? No embarrassing bits of lunch left on your clothing? Good. Also, be sure to have your business cards and company literature ready. Bring a notepad and an extra pen.
Once you're inside, absorb as much as you can about the business. Remember, on your first call, you're there to introduce two things: yourself and your company. The conversation should always be on the light side, but listen carefully to what the customer is saying and isn't saying. Your job is to look for any gaps between the situation the customer has now, and what he or she wants it to be.
A Working Example
It was an early spring day when I first visited a company called Dyna International. I drove to the address listed in the state business directory. I immediately approached the woman at the front desk and asked her who was responsible for working with external vendors such as my company.
She directed me to Manny Silva, at loading dock two. I walked over to the dock and asked a group of people where I could find Manny. When Manny came forward, I saw that he was a well-dressed young man with a take-charge attitude. When I reached out my hand to greet Manny, I just knew that it was going to turn into a great working relationship.
He gave me a tour of his company's plant, which turned out to be a large, thriving operation employing 200 people making energy-efficient cooking stoves that were used by McDonald's and other food service companies. Clearly, I was willing to invest the time and effort to make this prospect a customer.
I'd accomplished my objective for a first call—I met the prospect, developed an understanding of his needs and outlined how my company might be of service. Perhaps most important, I'd built a level of trust with Manny in order to do business. In addition, I took the initiative to establish a time for my next meeting with Manny.
After getting back in my car, my next action was to write down some of what I'd learned. Manny was from Portugal and had some problems with English, but he spoke Portuguese and Italian as well. He was well-organized, using a numbering system for his documents. I also observed that he was a family man with a two-year-old daughter, he loved baseball and he was a great guy to work with.
Furthermore, I noted his company had a need for my company's services, and someone from my company's competition had been in to see him. However—and this is a big however—I had been the only representative to say I could make his job easier. Doing this made me the front-runner for Manny's business.
On my way home, I put into action my plan for meeting my promise to Manny. I stopped at a school supply store and picked up a corkboard, a map of the United States and a box of stick pins of several colors. With these props in hand, I was back at Manny's door at the agreed-on time of 10:00 the next morning.
I explained to Manny that I was going to show the location of the different vendors, each indicated by a different color of pin. That would help Manny and his employees, many of whom didn't speak very much English, understand which vendor would be best to meet his company's needs, based on geography.
Manny's eyes widened as I explained how to use the map. It wasn't a high-tech solution, and maybe if doing this today I'd use a computer-based solution, but it met Manny's need.
Sometimes, just paying attention to your customer's needs, and then providing a simple, but effective, solution can help a salesperson get ahead of the competition. That's what happened with Manny, and this was the start of a long and rewarding friendship and business relationship.
While not all sales calls are like this, remember, sales is like baseball—the more times at bat, the more opportunities to hit a home run, and this was a grand slam.
What You Can Do
Once away from the office, sit down right away—maybe just drive around the corner—and transfer what's in your head to your notes while it's still fresh.
Determine what areas you have in common that will enable you to build a business relationship together. Log everything you can think of (positive or negative), so you and the customer can be comfortable in your next meeting.
In the story about Manny, four lessons stand out.
1. It's all about trust. How did I earn Manny's trust so quickly? By offering to find a way to make his job easier, and then doing so. Instead of using pins that only represented the company I worked for, I showed him where all our competitors were too. That willingness to share information, and to do it accurately and fairly, was a big step in the trust-building process.
2. Listen carefully to the prospect's needs.
3. Know your own product or service to understand its position relative to the competition.
4. Know your competition as well as you know your own company. I was able to indicate the locations of all my company's major competitors, so I could provide Manny with the information he would only be able to get from someone who really knew the industry.
First calls are a chance to find new problems to solve and new ways to help companies and people. You're there to develop some ideas on how they'll use your product or service. Try to enjoy the process and make a connection with your customer.
By Steve Gareau
Steve Gareau is the author of "Building Your Bridge to Sales Success," available at www.amazon.com. With more than 40 years of entrepreneurial and small business experience, Gareau now works as a consultant, speaker and business mentor. Visit his website at www.bridgeseriesbooks.com.
- People:
- Manny Silva
- Steve Gareau