Don’t you want to put a stop to that endless, meandering, boring sales call that results in little more than a request for a blind proposal that often goes nowhere?
Some sales reps want to go with the flow on a sales call. But that lack of structure can impede your ability to be a raging sales success.
What you need is a sales call process. Look for ways to improve and refine how you make your calls. Believe it or not, you can host a really solid sales call in 10 minutes or less.
In my ad sales training workshops, I teach “The 10 Minute Ad Sales Call.” Start by breaking up the client call into five segments, each one 2 minutes long. Each 2-minute segment serves a unique purpose:
- Make a personal connection. There are lots of ways to make a personal connection with your prospect. If you are stumped, check out LinkedIn, their website or Facebook page for common ground.
- Ask critical questions. Most salespeople will keep on talking even when the advertiser has stopped paying attention. To be effective, you need to stop talking and start listening! Be sure to identify 3 critical questions that will help you get the information you need to help the prospect solve their problem.
- Share success stories. Collecting and sharing your 3 or 4 best success stories of other advertisers that have worked with your media company is very important. You can demonstrate what worked and what would work well specifically for the prospect.
- Present your solution. Yes, you haven’t pitched products until this point in the conversation. Really. And you only have 4 minutes left. Be specific and weave into your conversation all the things you have learned so far on the sales call. Your solutions need to be tight, simple and ROI focused.
- Close the deal. 90% of sales people are afraid to actually ask for the order. Don’t over-promise. Instead, paint a picture of potential and ask for the business. (This is a critical 2 minutes of the 10 Minute Sales Call!)
So how do you become “a master” of the 10 Minute Ad Sales Call? Practice! Grab a stopwatch and start the process toward success. Think about it–You can confidently promise your clients that with only a 10 minute call, you will not be wasting their time. (Everyone has 10 minutes for a good idea or conversation, don’t you agree?)
With this simple approach, you can create a sales call process that will also boost your confidence on those calls at the same time. What’s better than that?
*********
More about Ryan: Ryan Dohrn is an award winning sales coach and sales trainer. Ryan is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique 360 ad sales training company and Publisher of Sales Training World, offering a detailed focus on sales training and coaching for media and technology companies.
************
Niche Media has created super niched-out events specifically for magazine publishers for over 12 years. We’ve helped pave the way for the era of boutique events that connect specific audiences and provide great educational, friendly and super-fun environments! Check out the all new Super Niche, March 27-29, 2017!
– Web: NicheMediaHQ.com
– Blog: Niche Media HQ
– Twitter: @NicheMediaH
– Facebook: NicheMediaHQ
– LinkedIn: Niche Media HQ & Niche Media Network
– YouTube: NicheMediaHQ
– Google+: +NicheMediaHQ
Image from freedigitalphotos.net
