Four Steps to Take Before You Make a B2B Sales Call
Do some research on potential clients before asking for their business
August 9, 2011
Edited by: Diana Pohly in: Effective Sales Techniques
Selling guru Zig Ziglar believes that preparing for sales calls is critical. “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else,” he writes. “You have to have goals."
Those goals can’t be found in your needs, such as the sales quotas that you are trying to reach or the products you want to sell. They reside in your potential clients’ needs. If you understand them, you can ask the right questions, propose solutions, and avoid making “one size fits all” sales presentations that are unlikely to succeed.
In a down economy, generating sales leads is the key to survival. Discover how to turn prospects into customers and drive business growth. Download your free copy of Effective Sales Techniques: How to Sell in Boom Times or a Recession without cost or obligation.
Here are some great ways to uncover potential customers’ concerns ahead of sales calls or in-person visits:
-
Conduct research on company websites. Research products and services, upcoming events, company leaders, and more. Get a feel for the organization’s style. If a company makes its press releases available online, read them to find out about current and past activities and plans. Example: Toro lawn equipment’s website has a Press Room where visitors can read press releases about new products and other company news.
-
Subscribe to prospects’ email newsletters. Trader Joe’s supermarkets, like many other companies, offers an opt-in email subscription newsletter that includes news about company products and events.
-
Sign up to follow companies on their Facebook pages. The Benihana chain of Japanese steakhouses, for example, has a full-featured Facebook page that promotes company specials and tells company news, such as the fact that gluten-free soy sauce is now available in the restaurants. Also follow potential clients on Twitter.
-
Research company news on Google. First search for the company name in a general Google search, then do a news search on Google too. (Click the “News” tab on the top of the Google search page, then enter the company name in the search field and click the “Google Search” button.) Also: Search for the names of company leaders, products, and other related terms. If you learn that the president of a company you are about to approach is raising funds for a new wing at a local hospital, for example, that might be good to know as you prepare your sales presentation.
Permalink: http://www.stepbystepmarketing.com/?p=10321
August 10th, 2011 at 5:52 am
[...] Tips for selling B2B. If it’s an industry you know, B2B can offer a great market and the potential for customer who come back again and again. But making that initial contact can also be critically important. A feww tips will help you make the call that leads to a strong and longterm relationship. Step By Step Marketing [...]
Rate comment:August 10th, 2011 at 6:39 am
[...] Tips for selling B2B. If it’s an industry you know, B2B can offer a great market and the potential for customer who come back again and again. But making that initial contact can also be critically important. A few tips will help you make the call that leads to a strong and long-term relationship. Step By Step Marketing [...]
Rate comment:August 10th, 2011 at 11:17 am
[...] Tips for selling B2B. If it’s an industry you know, B2B can offer a great market and the potential for customer who come back again and again. But making that initial contact can also be critically important. A few tips will help you make the call that leads to a strong and long-term relationship. Step By Step Marketing [...]
Rate comment:August 10th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
[...] Tips for selling B2B. If it’s an industry you know, B2B can offer a great market and the potential for customer who come back again and again. But making that initial contact can also be critically important. A few tips will help you make the call that leads to a strong and long-term relationship. Step By Step Marketing [...]
Rate comment:August 10th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
[...] Tips for selling B2B. If it’s an industry you know, B2B can offer a great market and the potential for customer who come back again and again. But making that initial contact can also be critically important. A few tips will help you make the call that leads to a strong and long-term relationship. Step By Step Marketing [...]
Rate comment:August 11th, 2011 at 1:25 am
[...] Tips for selling B2B. If it’s an industry you know, B2B can offer a great market and the potential for customer who come back again and again. But making that initial contact can also be critically important. A few tips will help you make the call that leads to a strong and long-term relationship. Step By Step Marketing [...]
Rate comment:September 21st, 2011 at 1:14 pm
[...] sales techniques offering public sales training seminars and custom in-house sales training. If you are a member of a sales team or running your own business, you must be privy to 'the inn…ly you need to steer clear of deploying such measures, as they may harm your business in the long [...]
Rate comment:September 26th, 2011 at 1:09 am
Great post Diana. It is important to research about your potential clients first before calling. That way you get to learn what they do and what they want so you can craft a proposal based on that.
Rate comment: