Planning The Sales

Call: Steps To A
Successful Approach
Figure 4.1:
The Personal
Selling
Process (PSP)

The second
and third
step in the
7-stage
professional
personal
selling cycle
 Why Plan the Sales Call?

"Failing to plan is planning to fail"

an old saying with a lot of truth in it
 Why Plan the Sales Call? (contd)

Top professional sales representatives

thoroughly plan all their sales calls to ensure
success by
1.Establishing Sales Call Focus
Generate sales sell particular products to target
customers on designated sales calls.
Develop the market lay the groundwork for generating
new business by educating customers and gaining visibility
with prospective buyers.
Protect the market learn competitors strategies and
tactics and protect relationships with current customers.
Why Plan the Sales Call? (contd)

2. Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency

3. Preparing for Customer Reaction
4. Enhancing Self-Confidence and Professionalism
5. Determining Which Selling Strategies to Use
6. Avoiding Errors
 Sales Call Planning Importance

Sales call planning increases in importance when

the customer's decision is a complex, high-
involvement, high risk one;
future interactions and negotiations with the customer
are expected;
the customer's needs are unique;
a range of alternatives is available to the customer;
and
the sale is very critical to the salesperson.
 Planning for the Sales Call: Six
Steps to Pre- Approach Success
There are at least six general steps that ought to be
considered in preparing for a sales call
1. Prepare the prospect for the initial sales call
"Seeding"
prospect-focused activities carried out several weeks or months
before a sales call

2. Sell the Sales Call Appointment by prenotification

cold call
e-mail
fax
mail
telephone
 Planning for the Sales Call: Six
Steps to Pre- Approach Success (contd)
3. Gather and analyze all relevant information about
the prospect
Gathering Information About Consumer Prospects
Consumer credit bureaus
Market research
Library sources
Gathering Information About Organizational Prospects
In-house purchasing agents
Electronic directories and databases
Library sources
 Planning for the Sales Call: Six
Steps To Pre- Approach Success (contd)
4. Identify the prospect's problems and needs
Organizational Problems and Needs
SPIN approach
Situation
Problem
Implication
Needs Payoff
5. Choose the Best Sales Presentation Strategy
6. Rehearse Your Approach
 Initial Sales Call Reluctance
Sales Stage Fright
One of the biggest problems new salespeople face is
fear of making the initial contact with prospects

Kinds of Sales Call Reluctance

Social or self-image threat
Intrusion sensitivity
Analysis paralysis
Group fright
Social class or celebrity intimidation
Role ambivalence
Exploitation guilt
 Sales Call Anxiety (SCA)

SCA (sales call anxiety) can be attributed

the fear of being negatively evaluated and
rejected by customers

SCA has 4 components

1. negative evaluation of the self
2. imagined negative evaluations from customers
3. ones physiological symptoms
4. protective actions
Overcoming Sales Call Reluctance

Many of the barriers to making sales calls

can be overcome through the following
efforts
Listen carefully to the excuses other salespeople use to
justify call reluctance and learn to objectively analyze your
own excuses
Use supportive role-playing and discussions with sales
colleagues to overcome fear
Make some initial prospect contacts with a partner for
support; then make calls without partner support
Overcoming Sales Call Reluctance

Review and re-enact recent sales calls with sales colleagues

to constructively critique performance for signs of progress
Shift the focus from individual prospect personalities to sales
objectives by setting them down in writing prior to making a
sales call
Rehearse sales calls with sales colleagues to reinforce
positive behaviors
Observe and model the behavior of successful salespeople
 Approaching the Prospect

The old saying that "you never get a second

chance to make a first impression" indicates
how important that first face-to-face contact
with the prospect can be
 Greeting the Prospect

Mood
positive
Facial Expression
warmly smiling with mouth and eyes
Proper Body Posture
 Greeting the Prospect (contd)

Good Handshake
Types of handshakes
Seal-the-deal
The fish
Three-fingered claw
Bone Crusher
The pumper
The death grip
The dish rag
Presenting Your Business Card