Controlling the Call

We know that confidence and assertiveness are qualities all good salespeople share.  It’s the quiet confidence and subtle assertiveness that gently lead the prospect down the road to the sale—not a boisterous, pushy, overaggressive attitude.  However, there are times when one can slip into the latter due to frustration for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps the salesperson is impatient or doesn’t know the product as well as he thinks he does, or maybe it’s the slow indecisive ways of the prospect that cause the salesperson to push too far and kill the deal.   Whatever the reason may be controlling your emotions as well as the conversation is necessary in order to make the sale.

It is mostly unspoken, but sales is a “game,” a psychological game.  If this wasn’t true, rejection would not be a non-issue and every other call would be a deal, and everyone and their mother would be selling something somewhere.  If you’re selling a product in which one in ten people say, “Yes, I’ll buy!” after you finish your ninety-second pitch then please let me know.  Immediately.

I see the sales process as a tennis match in which every stroke from the first serve (first call) until the point is won (the deal) is crucial.  You and the prospect should engage in a spirited rally—the back-and-forth of ideas and overcoming objections and ultimately the gain of mutual trust.  Unlike a real match, you’re not looking to blow away the prospect with a powerful serve (hard close), nor do you want your serve to be returned for a winner (the prospect hanging up).  You want to find that happy medium of negotiation but you want to dictate the action.  You need to be always moving the prospect to the particular area of the court (sales cycle) in order to close the deal.

Here are a couple of ways that will help you control the call:

Do not be subservient.  Ever.  Sales is not customer service.  There are times when the prospect will be curt, passive aggressive, rude or all three.  It’s important not to mirror this behavior but not to back off either.  Be cool and firm.

“I don’t have time for this call,” the prospect might say.

“Well, Bill, when’s a good time to give you a call back?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll try you this afternoon.”

“That’s not good.  I’m busy.”

“I’ll try you later this week.”

“I won’t be around.”

“Can you think of a good time, Bill?  We have a great product and I believe you’ll see an ROI.”

“Talk to Mary in Marketing.”

“Bill, you’re the final decision maker, not Mary.  When’s a good time to talk?”

Don’t back down from anybody, not the receptionist, the EA, the VP, the president, or the CEO.  You’re in sales.  You’re job is to get answers to a lot of questions and be persistent.

Place your shots (selling points) strategically.  The conversation(s) you have with the prospect should always be moving forward.  There’s a beginning, middle, and an end.  Many salespeople are great at kicking off the call and overcoming objections but struggle to close the point.  Once you overcome all the prospect’s objections you need to ask for the sale.  Ask, and then ask again.   If they’re still wavering and giving excuses you need to be firm.

“Well, Bill, it sounds like you’re still on the fence.  What do I need to do on my end to make this happen?”

“You know, I’m not really sure at this point.”

You want to strangle Bill at this point, but remain calm.

“Well, we’ll have to miss you regarding this opportunity.  Should things change on your end give me a call.”

This may seem like you’ve quit the match.  Not true.  It’s more like the indecisive prospect defaulted.  No need to fret, there will be another match with Bill in the near future.  It’s time to move on.

Your tone of voice should be confident, upbeat and always ready for business.  Sales is a “game” and the game ends when the prospect becomes a client.  If you engage in spirited rallies with the prospect and play offensively (not offensively, as in rude) you’ll be able to win a lot of business.