1. Planning The Sales Call: Steps To A Successful Approach

2. Figure 4.1: The Personal Selling Process (PSP)
The second and third step in the 7-stage professional personal selling cycle
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3. Why Plan the Sales Call? "Failing to plan is planning to fail"
an old saying with a lot of truth in it
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4. Why Plan the Sales Call? (cont’d)
Top professional sales representatives thoroughly plan all their sales calls to ensure success by
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.
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5. Why Plan the Sales Call? (cont’d)
Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency
Preparing for Customer Reaction
Enhancing Self-Confidence and Professionalism
Determining Which Selling Strategies to Use
Avoiding Errors
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6. 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.
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7. 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
Prepare the prospect for the initial sales call
"Seeding"
prospect-focused activities carried out several weeks or months before a sales call
Sell the Sales Call Appointment by prenotification
cold call
fax
mail
telephone
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8. Planning for the Sales Call: Six Steps to Pre- Approach Success (cont’d)
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
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9. Planning for the Sales Call: Six Steps To Pre- Approach Success (cont’d)
Identify the prospect's problems and needs
Organizational Problems and Needs
SPIN approach
Situation
Problem
Implication
Needs Payoff
Choose the Best Sales Presentation Strategy
Rehearse Your Approach
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14. 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
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16. 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
negative evaluation of the self
imagined negative evaluations from customers
one’s physiological symptoms
protective actions
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17. 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
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18. 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
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19. 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
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22. Greeting the Prospect Mood Facial Expression Proper Body Posture
positive
Facial Expression
warmly smiling with mouth and eyes
Proper Body Posture
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23. Greeting the Prospect (cont’d)
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
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