Sales call tips are an important aspect of being a successful salesperson. Whether you're just starting out, or have been in the game for years, it's always good to be reminded on some of the best practices that great salespeople swear by. The following list includes dos and don'ts to follow when preparing for your next sales call.
Sales call tips are a crucial part of the sales process. If you want to be successful as a salesperson, it's important to know what calltips work and which calltips don't. In this blog post, we will discuss tips that great salespeople swear by: The dos and don'ts of sales calls!
We'll also go over some call coaching techniques for those who feel like they need help with their pitch.
Getting on the phone with a prospect is still essential for closing deals. Despite claims that "cold calling is dead," it is still extremely effective. When and how you call, however, makes all the difference.
Knowing this, top-tier sales teams employ playbooks that ensure multiple touch points with prospects over time and across multiple channels.
When combined with email campaigns and social outreach, phone-based campaigns produce significantly better results. That's why you have to sequence ensure sales teams use these techniques, and why voice capabilities are built directly into the platform.
Search for "sales call tips."
In.43 seconds, you'll notice that there are a plethora of articles on the Internet about making better sales calls.
And many, if not the majority, of these articles are excellent.
They provide excellent advice.
So, what distinguishes these as the 16 best sales call tips you'll ever read?
We've set a high standard for ourselves. But here's the solution.
These are the only data-backed sales tips.
That doesn't mean the other articles aren't important. Not at all.
In fact, many of these sales tips simply confirm what is discussed in other articles.
Others, on the other hand, are completely countering
Congratulations on securing the sales meeting.
Let's increase your chances of success.
For the first sales meeting, there are good and bad times of day.
Do you know when they are?
If you think a bright-eyed prospect in the morning is your best bet, think again.
No-shows are lower on afternoon calls, and prospects stay on the line longer:
Mornings? Keep your distance from them.
A call at 4 p.m. is 30 percent more likely to be answered than one at 8 a.m.
Because this approach is counterintuitive, most salespeople get it wrong: When we looked at the day of the week, we discovered that it doesn't really matter.
Schedule, schedule, schedule!
This is not the time to find out if you're good at improv.
The best salespeople in the world never "wing it."
In fact, the top 5-10% have a remarkably organised and repeatable sales call process.
They cover more topics than poor or average performers, for starters: 15 versus 12 on a 43-minute call: Their conversations follow a set pattern.
Top reps use overarching themes and transition smoothly from one topic to the next.
Meanwhile, average and low-performers offer a rollercoaster of haphazard topics to their prospects.
Don’t. It gets worse: When you cluster topics thematically, you will "switch" topics 15.6 percent less frequently than average or poor performers:
What is the main point?
PREPARE FOR YOUR SALES CALL LIKE YOUR JOB IS ON THE LINE.
Because it is true.
This sales call tip builds on the previous one.
A fantastic sales call structure begins with a fantastic "opening" to the meeting.
Here's how the best salespeople begin their sales meetings:
Begin with small talk: Green, overeager sales reps make the rookie mistake of jumping right into business as soon as the prospect joins the conference call. It appears to be robotic. Instead, spend a few minutes warming up the call's tone.
Make an agenda: "I'd like to set an agenda for this meeting so that we can cover as much ground as possible." Is that okay with you?"
Then, present your agenda and ask the prospect if there is anything they would like to add or remove from it. If they do, that's fantastic! It means they'll have a stronger sense of ownership over the meeting.
Set an upfront contract: This simply means that you get the prospect to agree to a next step (or clearly end the meeting without one) at the start of the meeting.
It keeps you out of "maybe" territory, where your prospect goes dark and you have no idea if she's interested.
Try saying something like, "The sole purpose of this meeting is to determine whether we should schedule a second meeting."
So, by the end of this meeting, I'd like you to be in a position where 1) you see value in this, want to explore further, and we schedule the next logical step, or 2) you don't see value in this, at least for the time being, and we part ways cleanly. "Does that seem fair?"
Here's the clincher:
The ideal talk-to-listen ratio varies depending on the type of sales call. Cold calling, for example, is a significant outlier.
It is the only time during the sales process when you can talk more than listen:
Cold calling is all about capturing your listener's attention.That sometimes means you have to talk for longer, even up to 37 seconds:
If you speak for 25 seconds or less, you have half the chance of booking a meeting as reps who speak for longer:
Have you mastered it? Good. Now make a choice!
For the discovery call, everything is different.
You are looking for connection. You want your prospect to believe that he or she has been heard.
Allow for a flurry of back-and-forth:
Top salespeople are masters at establishing rapport. You can be without using cheap tricks like mirroring.
Instead, learn to incorporate the prospect into your routines (volume, pitch, talking speed, and pauses).
That's how the professionals do it.
Prospects will actually increase their talking speed by 13% to match the top salespeople.
The average performer shifts by 7% in the prospect's favour, while the prospect hardly changes at all:
Tips for Making Sales Calls
When we measure positive and negative language in recorded calls, we see the same pattern.
Negative prospects are not mirrored by top reps.
They stick to their guns and use more positive language until the prospect caves:
Don't be like everyone else. Make yourself a leader. Allow them to follow you.
Around the 2-3 minute mark, you'll reach conversational synchrony.
The average performer shifts by 7% in the prospect's favour, while the prospect hardly changes at all:
When we measure positive and negative language in recorded calls, we see the same pattern.
Negative prospects are not mirrored by top reps.
They stick to their guns and use more positive language until the prospect caves:
Don't be like everyone else. Make yourself a leader. Allow them to follow you.
Around the 2-3 minute mark, you'll reach conversational synchrony.
But don't get too hung up on the word "we."
There will be a change.
Start using more "I" language to build personal rapport around the 5-minute mark of the first sales meeting:
It transitions the prospect from interacting with a company to interacting with a person.
Totally. It's a different ballgame.
You're making progress now.
During your discovery call, delve into three to four of your prospect's problems.
That is the ideal number to keep the transaction moving forward:
According to our data, asking more questions than that is detrimental to your deal.
And asking fewer questions will not provide you with the juicy information you require during discovery.
The best sales questions are those that give you the most bang for your buck.
Consider each question you ask as a withdrawal from your prospect's emotional bank account.
If you ask too many questions, they'll think you're interrogating them.
So, here's a tip for asking your questions in a way that maximises the value of each one:
The phrase "Can you help me understand?" at the start indicates to your prospect that you want to go into more detail.
This is not a rapid-fire Q&A session.
Even if you have very specific questions, maintain a normal conversation.
Because it feels natural and relaxes the prospect, top performers ask questions throughout the conversation.
Average performers fire off a barrage of questions at their prospects right away:
Please repeat after me: "I will not ask questions as if they were on a checklist."
Maintain a regular conversation with excellent questions thrown in every now and then.
Ending your sentences and questions on a high note deprives you of authority and the ability to command respect.
It's an approval-seeking behaviour that your prospects find repulsive (and anyone else for that matter).
Instead, end your sentences and questions with a downward (or neutral) tone to avoid sounding overbearing or authoritative.
When you do this correctly, your prospect will perceive you as a high-status individual, putting you in a much stronger position to persuade.
This one has grown in popularity over the last two years.
Previously, no one would ever turn on their webcam during web conference sales meetings.
This is unfortunate because it is extremely difficult to establish rapport without seeing the other person.
Turn on your webcam if you sell remotely (rather than face to face) through a web conference or call software.
Typically, your customer will do the same.Do you think it'll be awkward? All the more reason to give it a shot.
"Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone," as the saying goes.
Salespeople who are less than stellar talk far too much about product features and technical details:
Top reps (those earning more than 120 percent of quota) discuss those topics 39 percent less frequently.
According to our data, reps who shift from discussing features to discussing business value move up in their teams' rankings.
The number one way to go from good to great is to change your habit of talking about features to talking about business and value.
Take turns in the spotlight. It will improve your ability to close deals.
How much is it? A staggering 258 percent. Yep. You read that right.
Salespeople who are less than stellar talk about product features and technical details far too much:
Making Sales Calls: Some Pointers
Top reps (those who earn more than 120% of quota) discuss those topics 39% less frequently.
Reps who shift from discussing features to discussing business value move up in their teams' rankings, according to our data.
The most effective way to progress from good to great is to shift your focus from features to business and value.
Take turns being the centre of attention. It will help you to close more deals.
And, most emphatically, do not respond with an unbroken monologue. According to our data, it is ineffective:
Embrace the dissent. Make them do your bidding.
So, what else works in the face of opposition? The best way to deal with objections is to ask questions:
When you hear an objection, your goal should be to maintain a solid, two-way conversation.
Be forthright about the issues that have been raised. It's a great chance to explain how your product solves the prospect's problems.
Maintain a steady back-and-forth flow by remaining calm: You can do it.
Most of us schedule meetings in 30- and 60-minute increments. Is one more effective than the other in moving the sales process forward?
Nope. There is no link there. But there is one thing to keep in mind: A 30-minute call is 12 percent more likely to result in a meeting than a 60-minute one:
Even if your product is complex, keep it brief. Do not try to cram everything into your first sales call.
Create a succinct sales presentation that will leave your prospect wanting more.
There's one thorny issue we haven't addressed yet. Pricing.
Raise it near the end of your product demo call, between the 38 and 46 minute mark.
That's far preferable to raising it early on: Reps spend 8% more time on pricing in failed demos.
Why? Because their inability to create value forces them to compete on price.
At the end of a call, it should only take a few minutes to explain pricing and make the prospect feel like it's fair.
If it's taking longer than that, smooth out your talking points.
The final sales call tip is to talk about your next steps. Top performers spend 12.7 percent more time discussing next steps (as a topic of conversation):
It ties everything together at the end of the call and prepares everyone to work together to move the project forward.
You can even shorten your pitch to make room for a "next steps" discussion. It's that critical.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SALES CALLS
Please take a bow. You're about to blow your numbers out of the water with these 21 data-driven sales call tips.
It appears to be magic, but there is no wizardry involved. These sales call tips are science-backed, and we're thrilled that our data team discovered them for you.
And if you're looking for even more sound advice, we've got you covered.
We asked 74 of the world's most successful salespeople for their best sales call tip.
If any of our 21 suggestions stood out to you, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Share your ideas, learn from your colleagues, and meet your quotas.
