New Territory: The First Time Call
Back when we talked about the Tarnished Territory, we briefly covered the first sales call. Questions, comments, an argument or two and other misunderstandings with new salespeople on our coaching list tell me this topic requires some additional work. It’s a magic moment; the seller and customer finally meet, shake hands, and exchange pleasantries. Nerves are on edge (at least for most sellers). First impressions come but once in a lifetime. The next 15 minutes set the stage for either a selling breakthrough or massive failure.
Before we launch into our plan, allow me to share some thoughts on what might be your current selling strategy.
Old-School Strategies Explored
Just to display our culture and charm, let’s pause for an elementary-school poetry moment. Courtesy of my third-grade class circa 1960s.
“In days of old when sellers were bold,Ok, I was never a poet and when I turned in something similar to this one back in third grade my teacher wasn’t too impressed either. But, here is the point. Back when I was in third grade, line cards were probably the best way to introduce yourself to a new customer. Here’s the way it works, using “works” figuratively and assuming it ever does work in the age of the internet, telemarketing and highly focused advertising.
before the internet was inventedLine cards flew and customers grewbut Model T’s were in fashion…”
 |
| Salesperson, Customer and of course, the leather portfolio. |
Peppering the sales pitch with phrases like “value-add” and “great service”, the seller immediately talks about their company’s proud history and supply partners. The customer nods along and, if they happen to be a polite person, might even opine on the quality of the manufacturers on the list.
About 10 minutes into the diatribe, the customer starts getting fidgety, glances at his watch and waits for a lull in the action to get back to work. If he happens to be purchasing/procurement types, he may even provide promises of requests for future quotes, “just in case something happens to the current supplier.”
The salesperson walks out of the customer’s office feeling great; scoring another cold call success. If he lucks into someone willing to pawn him off on co-workers, the stage is set for more of the above. Under the heading of “any face to face contact with the customer is better than no contact,” the call might lead to real orders in the future.
Salespeople are creative. A few have modernized and created a variation of the line card call, applying a dash of internet research and a modicum of solution-esque sales technique. Here’s how this one goes:
A few hours or maybe the night before the call, the salesperson does a Google search of the customer’s company. Armed with a cursory knowledge of the company, the salesperson enters the call with both a line card and some pre-selected product. After the normal walk through the line card as outlined above, the seller demonstrates his knowledge of the customer by launching into a sales pitch on the features of the product. In some cases, the product is of interest to the customer; most times, it is a miss.
The Meeting is all about the Seller’s Company
Analyzing this “old school” approach one might perceive it is all about the seller and their company. While knowing who you do business with is important – it’s not that important. Complicating this, sellers on a first-time call are likely to be nervous. As with most people when they get nervous, they talk even more. The exchange becomes totally one-sided with the seller learning little about the real situation.
Extending this learning the real situation thing, aside from seeing the potential customer’s face, and maybe catching a glimpse of their office, the salesperson learns nothing of the customer or their company.
Allow me to pose just seven questions for you to ponder:
1. What if the seller has no real need for your product? How will you tell?
2. What kind of potential to purchase your kind of products does the customer have? Again, how do you tell?
3. Does the customer value your kind of service?
4. Is the customer totally “tied up” with some supply contract or can they buy from you?
5. Does the customer outsource the purchase and use of your products?
6. Wouldn’t it be nice to understand some of this by the end of the first sales call?
7. Is your company so wildly unique or your products in such high demand and short supply that customers are going to salivate and cling to your every word?
Unless you happen to be one of the lucky .0001 percent of the selling population who can answer question seven to the affirmative, your first-time calls are boring and probably not all that productive.
The First Call should be about the Customer
Listen up, because this is important. We’re not really salespeople in the traditional “sleazy used car, waterbed or kitchen gadget selling” sense of the word. We’re not Billy Whatshisname selling cleaning chemicals on TV or at the State Fair. Without exception, our work revolves around long-term ongoing relationships. Most of our work comes by way of helping customers solve their problems; the product and parts are just by-products of the transaction. We strive to sell solutions and you can’t solve problems if you don’t know the customer.
It’s impossible to learn about the customer if you do all the talking. While the internet is a great resource for discovering a lot of good stuff about potential customers, nothing works like listening. The Million Dollar question is, how do you get the customer to talk?
First, I believe you can set the stage for the customer to talk by making it very clear from the start that you are there to learn about the customer. I recommend telling the potential customer your visit is NOT going to contain any kind of sales pitch. Instead, you would like to learn the customer and their company. Establish the call will last no more than 15 minutes and will end any time they feel you are selling them.
The phone call requesting the appointment should go roughly like this:
“Hello, this is Frank Hurtte. I work for Acme Anvil Supply and have been assigned to serve companies in this area. I would like to request 15 minutes of your time to learn a bit about your company. This will not be a sales call. The purpose of my visit is to determine if our two companies might help one another.”
Or this one:
“Good morning, this is Frank from Acme Anvil Supply. I have been newly assigned to servicing your organization and I would like to stop by to introduce myself and gather a few thoughts from you. This will definitely not be a sales pitch."
If the customer questions your motives, and some will, you can say something like this:
“Our company takes a different approach to getting business. We specialize in providing service and solutions. Not everybody needs our service or values the kinds of solutions we provide. Rather than waste everyone’s time, I’ve found it easier to simply talk to potential clients instead of just behaving like some random sales guy. Does that make sense?”
It’s about Question, but not 20 Questions
Did you ever play 20 questions as a kid? The version I learned went something like this; you rattled down a list of questions in an interrogation of one of your new friends. No conversation, just one question after another. This is not our plan.
Instead, the intent is a conversation fueled by a few well-selected questions, each of which might lead to meaningful discussion. You will discover the answers to much of what you need to know come through the following discussion with no further need for you to inquire. But, you need to have an idea of what you want to know ahead of time.
Prepare a master list of questions for your customer. What do
 |
| Have your list ready |
Can you tell me a bit about your company’s history?
Are you locally owned or part of a larger organization?
What is your company's primary product and how is it used in the market?
What kind of people use your end product? Who are your customers?
Would customers view your products and services as innovative?
How do you manufacture these products?
Which processes do you see as most critical in your operation?
Are there bottlenecks where production or output might be slowed down?
Do you measure your downtime or uptime?
What happens when the company can’t meet customer time requirements?
Do you have a quality system and how does it work?
Can rejects be reworked to avoid sending them to the landfill?
Is Six-Sigma, Lean or some other philosophy employed here?
Are there products you use regularly?
Do you put a value on long warranty periods?
How do you select the products you use? Price, availability, standardized on a brand?
What kind of storeroom do you have for maintaining backup stock?
Is “Just-in-Time” JIT planning used?
Do your people need special training to be effective?
Where do you get training? Inhouse, Tech School, Consultants or others?
Are trained people hard to find?
What are the qualifications typically required?
How are you addressing the current shortage of employees?
What do you look for in a supplier?
Are there portions of your suppliers working under contract?
Do you regularly use the internet to find information?
It’s not just about the company.
Here’s a true confession. My original coaching (and the writing) tied to this introductory call was 100 percent focused on the customer’s company and business. I “got schooled” by one of my young friends. He took the liberty of quoting me on something I mentioned a long time ago:
“In spite of all the value, great service and competitive advantage we provide, people buy from people. If other things are even close to equal, the seller with a relationship gets the order.”
I was right when I said that and wrong in not providing some questions which tie to the individual we are speaking to. For the sake of time, this is a starter list:
Tell me about yourself?
What was your background before you worked here?
Which of your previous training was the most important thing on your resume?
Of all your responsibilities, which one is your favorite?
By all means, be observant when visiting the customer. If
 |
| Keep an eye out for conversation pieces. |
A few (actually four) parting thoughts
Good Lord, the time does fly. This little session ran long. But, let me flip out four things to think about.
One. Honor your 15 minute time commitment. Announce the end of the 15 minutes, but don’t be surprised if the customer says, “That’s OK I’ve got a little more time.” People like talking about themselves and their companies.
Two. Ask if you can take notes. I know you’ve got a mind like a steel trap and probably can remember every detail of your life, but just remember this-- people are flattered when you ask if you can jot down a few of their ideas. They will talk more.
Three. Always find a reason to come back. That’s when you’ll do the selling.
Four. No sales pitches. You’ll have lots of temptations. You’ll want to show off what you know. This meeting is 100 percent dedicated to obtaining customer information.
As always…
I’d love to hear from you. Want to tell me how this is working or not working for you, shoot me an email or give me a call. If you’re interested in some coaching, we can work out a program for you or your team.
Are you new here? Be sure to catch up on the rest of the articles in this series:
Congrats, You're Starting a New Territory
You've Just Taken Over an Abandoned/Ignored Territory
You've Just Taken Over a Tarnished Territory
You've Just Started a NEW Territory from Scratch
_______________________
Comments