{"id":10063,"date":"2020-07-08T17:53:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T21:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=10063"},"modified":"2020-07-10T20:12:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T00:12:52","slug":"sales-call-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sales-call-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Sales Call Opening Strategy: Why SPIN Works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What do you need to know about a sales call opening? Are there certain methods or techniques you should be using?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sales call opening depends on the salesperson, but the SPIN selling method<\/a> offers a clear strategy. SPIN Selling <\/em>reviews traditional sales<\/a> call openings and new frameworks to make opening a sales call a success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Your New Sales Call Opening<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How you should go about a sales call opening\u2014that is, how to introduce yourself<\/a> and start the conversation\u2014depends on whether it\u2019s a small sale or large sale. They take different approaches to get the call off on the right foot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In discussing sales call openings, this chapter focuses on how to approach initial meetings with new customers, as opposed to opening calls in an ongoing sales process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most older sales training asserted that first impressions could make or break a new customer interaction. But research indicates first impressions carry less weight than once thought<\/strong>. Of course, a professional overall appearance is important, but small details<\/a> matter less. The impression you make in the investigating stage is far more crucial to sales success<\/a> than your initial interaction is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason first interactions matter less than people think is that in the early stages of meeting someone, you\u2019re getting so much information that you immediately forget some things\u2014sometimes even the person\u2019s name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain details, such as dress, may matter more in small sales, but a great outfit and opening line aren\u2019t going to significantly boost your chances of success in a large sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Sales Call Openings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dating back to the 1920s, sales call opening training was focused on two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Connect with the buyer\u2019s personal interests<\/strong>. This will help you establish a relationship quickly and increase your chances of success. So try to find something personal to talk about\u2014for instance, if you see a golf trophy in the customer\u2019s office, or a photo suggesting another hobby, comment on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Introduce a product benefit<\/a><\/strong>. The idea is to get the customer\u2019s attention and interest with an emphatic benefit statement\u2014for instance, \u201cWe understand that productivity is a big issue for managers like you\u2014our product will dramatically increase your output.\u201d This is the traditional way of how to open a sales call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While connecting with personal interests could work in small sales, it isn\u2019t likely to help you in large sales. Researchers found that in small sales to rural stores, the most successful sales reps made more personal references than less successful reps. But in larger sales to urban stores, connecting with a customer\u2019s personal interests had no bearing on sales success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, whether you have a personal connection<\/a> with a seller is probably less of a factor in doing business today than it was in the 1920s. Today, price or other factors may be more important than personal loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another reason that establishing a personal connection may be less important today is that many customers, especially professional procurement officers who deal with multiple sales reps, have little time or patience with chit chat. They prefer that salespeople get to the point<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The practice of opening a sales call with a benefit statement has also been around for many decades. Getting the buyer\u2019s attention by starting with a benefit might be useful in small sales where calls may last only a few minutes. But a high-impact opening seems likely to be less useful in large sales, in which the call length could be 40 minutes or more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers found no link between sales success and opening with a benefit statement. In fact, the most successful sales reps used a variety of opening methods, while less successful reps opened every call the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, in larger sales involving multiple calls, you can\u2019t open follow-up calls with a person the way you did the previous time. Your sales call opening would change each time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, using an opening benefit statement can get the rep into trouble, for instance by generating early objections. As previously noted, talking about benefits or solutions early in the call, before you\u2019ve built explicit needs, undermines your chances of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sales Call Opening Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of traditional methods of sales call opening, researchers came up with an opening framework based on strategies used by successful salespeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step in learning how to open a sales call is understanding your objectives in the warm-up or opening stage of a call. Basically, you want the customer to agree to give you a hearing and answer your questions, so you can move into the investigating stage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To win consent, you need to specify:<\/p>\n\n\n\n