For Salespeople:
In inside sales, the depth and breadth of qualifying information required seems immense. As sales professionals, we need to determine:
- Does the potential client need our services or products?
- What are their purchasing patterns and criteria for vendor selection?
- What differentiates us from their current suppliers?
- Who are the key decision-makers and influencers in their organization?
- What objectives are they trying to achieve?
- etc…
Remember – inside sales primarily involve brief, impactful conversations rather than lengthy meetings.
- Accept the limits of a single call: You won’t uncover everything in one conversation.
- Anticipate future interactions: View each call as a step towards a longer relationship.
Focus on one clear goal per call. Whether it’s understanding Bob’s role in the organization, gauging the frequency of their projects, or clarifying their purchasing process – be sure to keep your objective singular and straightforward.
… of course if the person you’re speaking with is ready to continue the conversation KEEP GOING 🙂
For your Prospects/Customers:
Your conversation should also consider the prospect’s perspective:
- What benefit do I gain by answering your questions?
- How does engaging in this conversation serve my interests?
For example if our sales objective is understanding Bob’s role in the organization:
Instead of bluntly asking “are you the person who makes decisions on ____________” (because if I’m NOT the decision maker, I love to broadcast that to random people I don’t know)
TRANSLATE: “Bob I’m curious – to make sure I do a good job for YOU, what part do you play when the group is deciding on _______________”
Stop asking questions like “Bob what do you do?” (at this point as your prospect I’m thinking, seriously zero homework)
TRANSLATE: “Bob, every company I work with seems to have broken out responsibilities a little differently; what does a typical day look like for you?”
Get the idea? Make it easy for them to figure out how answering your question might help them. How is being in the conversation a good thing from their perspective.
Before your next call, define your objective clearly. Ensure that your approach not only advances you through the sales process – it also has to engage the customer by showing them the value of the conversation from their perspective. This dual-focus approach can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your inside sales efforts.