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It’s Only Common Sense: Back to Basics—the Sales Call

Let’s talk about the all-important sales call. Now, I can hear you saying, “No, please, not that.” Well, stop groaning, you need this review. It was just the other day when, during some one-on-one meetings with a company’s sales reps, that I realized it was time to review in my column this most important part of the entire sales process.

We work so hard to get that phone call, don’t we? Think about the thousands of dollars companies spend on getting in front of potential customers: the research, prospecting, lead generation, marketing, branding, advertising, social media, SEO, newsletters, sales flashes, white papers, trade shows, and more—all to get you in that seat in front of the customer. Feeling the pressure yet? Well, you should because it all gets down to how you perform. If that sales call goes well, you get the business. If not, it’s back to the proverbial drawing board.

Can you see why we go over this again and again?

Back in the dark ages, I was a young sales manager out on a call with one of my new salespeople. He was a good guy and eventually became an outstanding salesperson, one of the top in our field. At this point, though, he was new and very excited about this call; he had worked his way through the initial meetings and now had a chance to meet his buyer’s boss, which is why I was going as well.

The four of us met in a large conference room and, after introductions, it was showtime for my young salesperson. To say he was excited and enthusiastic would be an understatement. Man, he was off to the races, talking faster than he ever had before, flipping through those charts with the alacrity of a Vegas Blackjack dealer.

When I looked over at the purchasing manager, I could tell that not only had we lost him, but he was actually angry. He looked like someone who had expected something great and instead was getting the same old thing. And that’s exactly what he said.

“Stop, stop!” he practically shouted. “You guys are all alike, coming in here, spewing all this crap about how you’re the best, how great you are, and how you’ll solve all my problems. We just disqualified two of your competitors who stood here a year ago, saying the same things. Their quality sucked, they didn’t listen, and we gave them multiple opportunities to start giving us what we really wanted. But nothing changes.”

My sales guy was frozen like a deer in headlights. I could see that he was about to start stating his case, trying to convince this old vet that we were different. I interrupted him, turned to Chuck, the purchasing manager, and said, “Sounds like you have been having a pretty rough time of it.”

“Ya think?” he shouted at me, then calming down a bit, continued, “Is there any company in your industry who’s any good at all, who actually knows what they are doing?”

I took out my pen and notebook (remember it was the dark ages), turned to him with undivided attention, and said, “Chuck, before we waste any more of your time, would you mind answering a few questions for me?”

For the next hour, we had a dialogue about his needs: What did it mean to have a good supplier? What would it take to meet his needs? I have to say, it was a very productive conversation that went a long way in allaying his fears and concerns. My sales guy and his buyer also joined the conversation and by the end of that hour, we had a very good idea of what it would take to become Chuck’s favorite supplier. Chuck was happy; we were happy. With this information about how to service his account, I asked if we could come back the following week with a solid and comprehensive proposal (a plan we had created together by the way) for handling his needs.

Chuck’s response? Surprisingly, he said, “Can you come back sooner than that?” Obviously, we got the business and a relationship that lasted for years. How did it happen? Because we listened to the customer tell us how to handle his account and win his business. Simple enough, right?

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.