Increasing Your Sales Call Effectiveness and Baseball - What Do They Have in Common?

The other day someone asked me what the goal of a sales call should be. And it got me thinking about baseball. Even if you're not a baseball fan, stick with me here. I'm talking about how to implement your sales game plan to gear up for a long, successful season. Actually, I'm more of a football and basketball fan myself, but this baseball analogy made too much sense to pass up. But first, let's talk about how your philosophy can impact your overall game. I work with my clients to transform their sales philosophy so "sales" is equated with "service," no matter where the prospect is in the sales cycle. "Sales = Service" The goal of your sales call is to find a way to offer help and work with that prospect (not "pitch to" them) towards realizing some value gained from your interaction. That value you provide should be appropriate and proportionate to your own business goals and needs. So when you contact a prospect, the main question on your agenda should be: "How can I help this person make their job and life better?" This approach solves A LOT of confusion, anxiety and uncertainty, and it also creates a very effective, ethical and enjoyable sales process for both parties. If the result of your contact ends up simply being the chance for you to give some advice, resources or other form of value, great. They'll appreciate and remember you for it. If the outcome is to set up a face-to-face, phone or web meeting to offer more time for an in-depth conversation, solution or advisory session, even better. If your call ends up being a sale that's going to solve all their problems, that's obviously awesome. But even if it turns out that they don't need your help, that's good, too. Either it isn't and won't be a good fit for you to work together, or it just isn't the right time for them *right now*. You can assess that, so you know how and when to move forward with them, and that is time well spent. Remember, it takes time to develop a relationship, and this is how successfully closed sales are built. In terms of progress during the sale cycle, let's get back to our baseball analogy, because this is where it gets really important and most sales professionals strike out: You don't need to hit a homerun every time. Actually, don't even try to hit a homerun every time. The risk/reward ratio is in your favor to just get on base - make small victories that build - rather than striking out most often with the hope you'll hit one out of the park once in a while. Those probably won't happen fast enough, and you'll be out of the game in no time at all. So by thinking and acting in terms of providing service when you're up to bat, you'll hear the crowd go wild, you'll advance your runner, and you'll safely cross home plate more often. And the best part - Everyone wins. Play ball!