Pre-call Planning in a Sales 2.0 World
Posted by Todd Kasper on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 @ 03:00 PM
The Conversation Economy
An important emerging trend in the selling profession today is how to deal with the new "conversation economy." One of the key takeaways from the Chicago Sales 2.0 Conference in early September was that as information becomes easier for customers to get, the sales function's role becomes less about providing information and more about having conversations with customers.
Fortunately, the rise of both the social media and Sales 2.0 movements have made this transformation easier for sales professionals. Lead management, personal introductions, prospecting, forecasting, pipeline management, and even contract signing are now much easier than even just a couple of years ago.
Despite the rise of these wonderful tools, customers still know more than ever about our products and services. Furthermore, they are as busy as ever before, and when combined with email, IM, and other means of communication, all of this means that we have to make the most out of the limited time that we actually have in "live" conversations with customers.
Blocking & Tackling Still Works
Given this new environment, the basic sales fundamental of pre-call planning is as important than ever. While pre-call planning is certainly not "flashy" in a world with all kinds of new sales toys, it is still a fool-proof way of guaranteeing that sales professionals are maximizing their return on time spent in front of customers.
Pre-call planning includes research and due diligence, but centers on tactical preparation for what is going to happen during the actual meeting. It covers the objective of the call or meeting, questions to be asked, answers to possible customer questions, contingency plans, and other factors.
In an environment where only a small minority of sales people take the time to actively think through the mechanics of an upcoming conversation, effective pre-call planning presents a tremendous competitive advantage.
It's the Little Things
Many times in sales, as in sports, it's the little things that make the difference in the end - almost everyone does the easy stuff.
Consider the following statistics from the 2008 PGA Tour. The overall adjusted scoring average leader was Sergio Garcia at 69.12 strokes per round, and with $4.85 million in Tour earnings. By contrast, Pat Perez was 22nd in adjusted scoring at 70.08 strokes per round and $1.76 million in earnings.
Less than one stroke per round separated 21 spots on the scoring list, and represented a difference in $3.1 million in earnings!
Pre-call Planning
Virtually all sales people take at least some time to prepare for customer meetings - even if it's just to look at a past purchase history or the customer's website. However, very few professionals go the extra mile do the special "little things" in preparing to fully anticipate how that conversation may proceed.
In a world where live conversations with customers may be getting harder to come by, those little things will, metaphorically speaking, shave that one stroke off your game (at least), and represent a lot of ranking spots (and money!).
Photo credit: Seattle Municipal Archives
Guide to Pre-Call Planning
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