Key Takeaways
- When making a sales approach over the phone
- Do give your name and the purpose of your call in the first twenty seconds;
- Do remember to ask, “Is this a good time?”
- Don’t launch into long explanations. Keep it brief and businesslike.
- When making a sales approach by e-mail
- Do draft a number of e-mail templates from which to choose,
- Do make sure the e-mail is well written and businesslike,
- Do make the e-mail as personal as you can.
- When approaching through online social networks
- Do make sure to comment when you add a prospect to your network,
- Do contribute to the social network of which you are a member,
- Do avoid slang in your communications.
- When approaching a B2B contact in person
- Do use a strong opening line that gets the customer’s attention,
- Do follow the customer’s lead when it comes to small talk,
- Do be careful that your opening line doesn’t send the wrong message.
- When approaching a B2C contact in person
- Do make conversation with your customer;
- Do avoid putting any pressure on your customer.
- Types of approaches include:
- The question approach involves leading off with questions to learn about your prospect and engage him in dialogue.
- In a product approach, the salesperson opens the call with a product demonstration or display.
- The referral approach is an effective way to quickly establish trust with a prospect because it involves starting the call off by mentioning a mutual connection who has referred you to the prospect and who is willing to vouch for you.
- The customer benefit approach requires research beforehand so that you can open your call by mentioning an important, customer-specific benefit of your products or services.
- Sales that involve very specific solutions to customer problems sometimes begin with a survey approach.
- The agenda approach is a straightforward approach that gets right down to business. It appeals to highly organized people because it involves outlining the meeting agenda at the start of the sales call.
- A premium approach is one in which the salesperson offers product samples or giveaway items to attract a prospect and establish goodwill.
