Thorough Preparation is Essential

Sales & Business Development Process

It is possible to achieve high progress from your first contact and win business however there are 12 key phases in the end to end consultative sales and service process that generate sustainable, profitable, mutually beneficial, long term relationships:

  1. Market research, define product or service and target business
  2. Lead generation & eCRM data and pipeline
  3. Introductory messaging and account based fact finding and relationship building (emails, website / digital content & social proof, direct calls / messages)
  4. Opportunity Qualification
  5. Needs Analysis
  6. Proposal / price quote
  7. Negotiation / review
  8. Close the Deal / Contracts Agreed & Signed
  9. New service implementation and/or integration
  10. Service Delivery
  11. Evaluation & improvement intentions
  12. Maintain relationship and repeat business

Objectives of Lecture 1

  • Understand how and why to prepare for sales calls
  • Create desired and minimum outcomes of calls
  • Gain agreement and commitment from your client contact or lead

Preparation

A critical success factor, to develop rapport, a credible relationships and win business. You must do preparation and research, before picking up the telephone. General marketing and content marketing does not always gain commitment however professional sales goes ask for the business and gain commitment in full.

What is Appropriate?

  • Be knowledgeable and confident about your own business, product or service
  • Research information on the client and their business facts and news
  • Check their values and philosophy
  • Set yourself personal objectives for each call
  • Make a check list and sketch the structure of your call, remember to summarise
  • Ensure you are talking to the right person with firs and last name, and their job title
  • Sound positive with energy and enthusiasm but not like a child theatre performer!
  • Stand up or sit up and back to feel secure and able to breath well
  • Dial with a Smile
  • Imagine the positive, progressive forward action from your conversation

Problems Inappropriate Preparation

  • Unforced problems arise!
  • Low credibility for the client to take you seriously
  • The Gatekeepers will block your requests
  • You will not win any business
  • Objections to your call / business will be made by the prospective client contact
  • Your confidence will reduce and you will feel insecure about your sales abilities
  • Eventually, you will give up completely!

Objectives allow you to achieve your Goals...

Positive Outcomes from Planning

  • Win the business
  • Rapport and positive relationship with multiple decisions makers:
  • Gain exclusivity or retainer / engagement fees
  • Arranged a Client Meeting Onsite or Video On
  • Arranging placeholders for candidates to be interviewed
  • Diarised follow up conversations or meetings in both calendars
  • Additional contacts within the client’s organisation locally and globally
  • Obtain more information about the client or contact and their potential needs or challenges and opportunities
  • Forward action and progress leads to winning the competition

Always call at least 2 contacts per company during the same window of business development time eg 2 hours a day.

These are the different types of decisions makers who we must not neglect within an organisation:

  1. Gatekeepers
  2. Technical Users
  3. Influencers
  4. Economic

Often companies have a weekly or monthly executive level governance meeting and may use a business reporting system, with data, analytics and also a traffic light colour system. Progress with sales, products, projects, jobs, hiring, headcount, spend (costs), contractors, suppliers, risks, issues, legal, corporate affairs, PR and more, will all be discussed:

  • Red
  • Amber
  • Green

When items are frequently red or amber, the leaders will ask about new options and solutions. This is where your relationship with multiple decision makers, can results in YOUR NAME and YOUR COMPANY who are mentioned. People will also brag about awesome service and product experience at these meetings. The sames thing happens over dinner, group activities, clubs and socialising. Your reputation precedes you!

See Courses: Objection Handling and Negotiation

Types of Objectives

Any information gleaned from a call or conversation including email, that can demonstrate a better understanding on the next call is beneficial as it differentiates you, helps you stand out, and makes life easier for the contact who is probably busy. Record the information in your customer business system for next time and refer to it before the call.

Have a think about the information and data you could gain from a call, that you would be happy about as it could lead to creating rapport, knowledge, trust, respect and eventually win business...

What are SMART Objectives?

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Achievable

R = Realistic

T = Timely

What are LIMB Objectives?

L = Love to achieve

I = Intend to achieve

M = Must achieve

B = Bottom line walk away point

Complete and Continue