  |
What’s
a sales call? |
Every
company is looking for the best representation possible into their markets.
Whether you use agents, distribution houses direct salespeople or any type of
telemarketing, the person making the call represents you and the product or
services you provide.
You
need the best technical employees to create and build an idea into a successful
commodity, and this no matter how good or exclusive your product is. Unless you
get somebody to talk about it, to represent it, it will never become what you
had hoped it to be, a SUCCESS.
Your
sales force is and will always be your first customer. That person, representing
your organisation, has to believe in more than the product to be successful in
sales.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every
time we fall…
Confucius
One
of the first action that we do after having introduced ourselves to a customer
is to present our business card.
What’s
on a business card?
This
card is the proof of who you are. Simply said; it is the non-verbal introduction
to what you are about to offer. The logo and the name of the company will become
the focus of the first minutes of the conversation.
The
representative has to introduce the company he is working for or representing.
A
customer will want to know more about the company.
·
Who
are they?
·
How
long have they been in business? Where are they?
·
How
successful are they?
Those
questions are the introduction to the relationship this customer will have with
your company. Customers today are knowledgeable professionals wanting to know as
much as possible before doing anything.
Today
they buy a name, a reputation and a know-how. Why do we put our company’s name
on all of our literatures? Because we want it to be known… and we don’t want
people to forget it.
Now that the customer knows more about the company and its mission, the product and or service become a complement to the philosophy, thus the importance of the company’s introduction.
The
second stage of a sales call will be the introduction of the product and/or
service you provide.
This
has to be well defined and explained in such a way that the customer can relate
to the application. We cannot forget that customers will purchase on the basis
that by purchasing your product/service his organisation will bring one of its
costs down.
If,
by using the product you are manufacturing, the customer does not see any
benefits and a return on their investment, you now have a 99.9% chance of
failing in your task…to make a sale.
Too
many times we see organisations putting too many efforts on the technical
aspects of the product and not enough on the reasons why potential customers
should have to use or incorporate it in their own operations.
The
representative’s responsibilities are to present it in such a way that the
customers will see the purchase as a VALUE
and not only the VALUE of the
purchase. In sales terms it is call the perceived value.
You
have established an understanding of the company and the company’s offer with
your customer. Some of you might think that, this is all that’s needed to come
up with a good agreement or an order…
Wrong!
Would you believe me if I told you that the company I’m working for or
representing today is the best corporation in the world if I didn’t projected
the same type of image as the corporation I just introduced to you? That’s
true! We always reflect who we are and whom we are associated with.
Every
business relationships starts with only two peoples. These two peoples have to
have something in common to want to go further. It can be the product, the
service or the company. But let us not forget that the human aspect in all of
this will never be, for those matters, diminished.
The
relationship between your users and customers and your sales force is the most
important of them all. Your representatives have to understand what is expected
of them and then they will work with their customers accordingly. Let them be
creative and open about their work. Compensate them well and look after them
like you would like them to look after you.
After
all, this might be business… But without people business would not exist.