Published on 04/25/2006

There is a crisis of understanding in our society, and it permeates the profession of selling as well. If I asked a group of 100 people how many felt completely understood in all areas of their lives, maybe one or two would respond affirmatively. Our society tends to be self-centered, self-focused, and dedicated to meeting our own needs first. We have lost our knowledge of seeking first to understand.

Four Steps to Better Sales Calls

It is a crisis, and you can use it to your advantage on your next sales call. Prospects are so tired of hearing from slick sales people that see them as walking invoices. They are sick of sales people trying to manipulate their product into their business, and then continue to barrage them with one self-centered rebuttal after another. They wonder if it could get any more crass. Yet in companies everyday, this is the standard method of trying to close sales. "I need to make a sale so I need you to send me a check. And by the way, theres a product as well.

Remember, what worked in 1999 doesn't work anymore. You have got to be fresh and different and offer a legitimate relationship with those prospects before you even ask for anything, including an open mind, a referral, or a sale. Why should they give you something so precious when they dont trust you?

I once asked a young couple of lovebirds who had been married for over sixty years why they were so successful in their marriage. "Give and take," the husband responded. "But mostly give."

Relationships with prospects are no different from any other relationship in our lives. We cannot ask to take anything out of the relationship without first putting something in.

Consider these three steps to take to increase the authenticity of your sales calls:

1. Clarify your own personal values, long before you make your first call. Executives and managers are more sophisticated in today's competitive market. They've heard it all, seen it all, and rebuffed it all. Be different. Be authentic. Once you have created a crystal clear list of your beliefs, people will sense your congruence and confidence. Cash flow has everything to do with character. If you don't believe me, just think back to your worst buying experience. It probably had more to do with the sales rep than the product or service you were considering.

2. Write in your journal the things that you bring to the relationship, even before you make your first call. Perhaps its your expertise in the industry, your network of relationships, your rare and valued product knowledge, and a long-term potential of a relationship that can add value to the life of your prospect. By first understanding your true value as a sales professional, the confidence will come across in your voice.

3. If the prospect tells you he or she is happy with their current product or service, find out why that is. "You obviously have a reason for telling me this, Joe. Would you mind sharing that with me?" Seek to understand his or her reasons for the level of satisfaction, and then move on to finding out what those issues really are. You can't overcome an objection unless you first find out what that objection really is, so with an authentic relationship established, you now have the right and responsibility to take it to the next level to determine whether or not your offering really is or is not a better fit for the prospect.

Then follow up with this. "Joe, I certainly understand how you feel about that. What I'd like to do is spend a few minutes finding out where you are in your business with respect to this situation, what your objectives are, and see if this product or service can help you accomplish those objectives more effectively. If so, that's great. If not, that's fine, too. Then you can decide for yourself whether or not you'd like to go forward. I'm fine either way. Is this a good time for you now or should we talk later this afternoon?"

And that's it. That's how every single sales call, every single initial relationship with every prospect you ever talk to will build your brand, build your relationship base, and build your reputation in the industry. Your success ratio of finding legitimate opportunities will be better and the likelihood of "surprises" happening at the tail end of the deal will minimize. Try it for a week, and email me to let me know if this concept helps you. Remember, real and lasting achievement is making minor changes in major areas, and if we can implement a fundamental shift in our relationships in the direction of authenticity, then our deals will become more solid, our fun-quotient will increase, and our sales will skyrocket.