Chapter Outline

1
Chapter Outline

• Why should salespeople plan their sales calls?
• What precall information is needed about the
  individual prospect and the prospects
  organization? How can this information be
  obtained?
• What is involved in setting call objectives?
• Should more than one objective be set for each
  call?
• How can appointments be made effectively and
  efficiently?

8-0
2
Ten Things Buyers Want to Know

• What are you selling?
• Why do I need it?
• Why do I need it now?
• Who is your company?
• How much will it cost?
• Is your price truly competitive?
• Who else is using it and are they satisfied?
• What kind of person are you?
• How does your solution compare to alternatives?
• What is your record of support and service?

3
Obtaining Precall Information on the Buyer
4
Gathering Information on the Prospects
Organization
5
Sources of Information

• Resources within your company
• Information in your company records
• Company intranet
• Other people within your firm, especially if
  there is a selling center for this account
• The Internet
• Sources such as Hoovers Online
• Portals that gather information from many sources
• Secretaries
• Noncompeting salespeople
• Published directories
• The prospect themselves

8-4
6
Getting to the ProspectBuilding Rapport with
Gatekeepers

• Adjust Your Attitude
• Honesty is the Best Policy
• Get Personal Information
• Sell to the Gatekeeper
• Question the Gatekeeper
• Keep a Sense of Humor
• Be Patient

7
Getting to the ProspectFive Steps to Telephone
Success

• Introduce yourself and your company
• Take the curse off the call
• Use a statement and a question to soften the
  interruption
• I would like to take a minute Is this a good
  time?
• State the purpose of the call
• Refer to a direct-mail piece you have already
  sent
• Mention the person who referred you
• Highlight importance
• Make an interest-capturing statement
• What is the key benefit of your product?
• Request an appointment

8
Setting Call Objectives

• Specific
• Realistic
• Measurable

8-7
9
Examples of Call Objectives

• Objectives Leading up to the Sale
• To have the prospect agree to come to the local
  branch office sometime during the next two weeks
  for a hands-on demonstration of the copier.

• To set up another appointment for one week from
  now, at which time the buyer will allow me to do
  a complete survey of his/her printing needs.
• To inform the doctor of the revolutionary
  anti-clogging mechanism that has been
  incorporated in our new drug and have the doctor
  agree to read the pamphlet I will leave behind.
• To have the buyer agree to pass my information
  along to the buying committee with her/his
  endorsement of my proposal.

8-8
10
Examples of Call Objectives

• Objectives Leading up to the Sale
• To have the prospect agree to call several
  references that I will provide in order to
  develop further confidence and trust in my office
  cleaning business.
• To have the prospect agree on the first point (of
  our four-point program) and schedule another
  meeting in two days with an agenda of discussing
  the second point.
• To have the prospect initiate the necessary
  paperwork to allow us to be considered as a
  future vendor.
• To have me fully understand and appreciate the
  principle risks that adopting my product would
  pose to the buyer.

8-9
11
Examples of Call Objectives

• Objectives Related to Consummating the Sale
• To have the prospect sign an order for 100 pair
  of Levis jeans.
• To schedule a co-op newspaper advertising program
  to be implemented in the next month.
• To have the prospect agree to use our brand of
  computer paper for a trial period of one month.
• To have the retailer agree to allow us space for
  an end-of-aisle display for the summer promotion
  of RAID insect repellant.

8-10
12
Use multiple levels of objectives

• Primary
• Minimum
• Optimistic

8-11
13
Practice

• Set three objectives for each of the following
  scenarios
• Your outcome from this class
• Second interview for a job