Planning the Sales Call

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Planning the Sales Call
CHAPTER 8
Some questions answered in this chapter are

• 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?

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Why Plan the Sales Call?

• The buyers time is valuable
• The sellers time is valuable
• Planning must fit into the salespersons goal for
  the account
• Some accounts have greater strategic importance
  and require more planning

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Obtaining Precall Information

• The more information the salesperson has about
  the prospect, the higher the probability of
  meeting the prospects needs and developing a
  long-term relationship.
• There are costs involved in collecting
  information.
• Can reduce embarrassing situations.
• Dont assume that your knowledge of the account
  is automatically up-to-date.
• Information gathering is not usually quick and
  easy.

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A Flow Diagram of the Planning Process
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The Prospect/Customer as an Individual

• Personal
• Name (including pronunciation)
• Family status
• Education
• Aspirations
• Interests and disinterests
• Social style
• Attitudes
• Toward salespeople
• Toward your company
• Toward your product

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The Prospect/Customer as an Individual (continued)

• Relationships
• Formal reporting relationships
• Important reference groups and group norms
• Bonds that the prospect has already formed with
  other salespeople
• Evaluation of product/services
• Product attributes that are important
• Product evaluation process

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The Prospects/Customers Organization

• Demographics
• Type of organization
• Size, number of locations
• Products and services offered
• Financial position and its future
• Overall culture of the organization
• Prospects customers
• Types
• Benefits they seek from the prospects products
  and services
• Prospects competitors
• Who they are
• How they differ in their business approaches
• Prospects strategic position in the industry

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The Prospects/Customers Organization (continued)

• Historical buying patterns
• Amount purchased in the product category
• Sole supplier or multiple suppliers why?
• Reason for buying from present suppliers
• Level of satisfaction with suppliers
• Reasons for any current dissatisfaction with
  suppliers or products
• Current buying situation
• Type of buying process
• Strengths and weaknesses of potential competitors

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The Prospects/Customers Organization (continued)

• People involved in the purchase decision
• How they fit into the formal and informal
  organizational structure
• Their roles in this decision
• Who is most influential
• Any influential adversaries
• Current problems the organization faces
• Stage in the buying cycle
• Policies and procedures
• About salespeople
• About sales visits
• About purchasing and contracts

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Sources of Information

• Resources within your company
• Sales portals
• Selling center
• The Internet
• Prospect companys own Web page
• Personalized Web pages
• Hoovers, JustSell.com, etc.
• Secretaries and receptionists
• Noncompeting salespeople

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Sources of Information (continued)

• Traditional secondary sources
• The prospect
• Other sources
• Trade show
• Lists and directories
• Center of influence
• Outside consultant
• U.S. governments export portal
• U.S. Commercial Service market research library

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Setting Call Objectives

• Review what has been learned from precall
  information gathering
• Understand what relationship the firm wished to
  have with the prospect
• Call objectives should be developed while taking
  into account
• The firms goals
• The sales teams goals
• The salespersons goals
• If you dont know where youre going, you may
  wind up somewhere else

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Criteria for Effective Objectives

• All objectives should be
• Specific
• Realistic
• Measurable
• Set objectives that require a buyers response
• SMART
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-based

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Setting More than One Call Objective
Minimum call objective The minimum a salesperson
hopes to achieve.
Primary call objective The actual goal the
salesperson hopes to achieve.
Optimistic call objective The most optimistic
outcome the salesperson thinks could occur.
Secondary call objectives Remaining objectives
after the primary objective.
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Setting Objectives for Several Calls

• Keep good records
• Make necessary adjustments in long-term call
  objectives
• Prepare for the next sales call
• A good primary objective for a first session is
  to have another chance to visit
• Consider whom to call on in upcoming meetings

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Buyers are Setting Goals Also

• Based on perceptions of how the salespersons
  product or service can add value
• What buyers look for to increase value
• On-time delivery
• To-spec quality of products
• Competitive pricing
• Proper packaging/paperwork
• Technical support service
• Quality of sales calls
• Level of technological innovation
• Good emergency response

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Making an Appointment

• The right person
• Focus of receptivity
• Focus of dissatisfaction
• Focus of power
• The right time
• The right place

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Making an Appointment (continued)

• Cultivating relationships with subordinates
• Work through the screen
• Go over the screen
• Go under the screen
• Bypass the screen

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Telephoning for Appointments

• Most often used to make the initial appointment
• The goal is to make the appointment, not sell the
  product or service
• Salespeople need to anticipate objections and
  decide exactly how to respond

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Additional Planning

• Plan how to make a good impression
• Plan how to further uncover the customers needs
  and strengthen the presentation
• Plan to answer anticipated questions and concerns
• Practice
• Seeding

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Summary

• Planning of sales calls is critical.
• Salespeople need to gather as much information
  about the prospect as possible before the first
  call.
• A call objective should be
• Specific
• Realistic
• Measurable
• Salespeople should make appointments before
  calling on customers.
• A number of methods can be used to make
  appointments.

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