{"id":10064,"date":"2020-07-09T17:56:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T21:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=10064"},"modified":"2020-07-10T20:13:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T00:13:02","slug":"how-to-do-a-sales-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-do-a-sales-call\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Do a Sales Call: 4 Stages and Great Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you want to know how to do a sales call? Are you looking for tips and advice on how to have a successful call?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to do a sales call can be a challenge. But the SPIN selling method<\/a> offers a clear strategy in the four stages of a sales call, along with the way you can ask questions to reach solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Four Stages of a Sales Call<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the different customer psychology and sales<\/a> skills required, all sales calls have basic similarities regardless of the dollar value. Here are the four typical stages of a sales call and how they apply to major sales<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Warming up\/Opening:<\/strong> The opening is how you introduce yourself, establish connection, and start the conversation. Sales training often teaches that the customer\u2019s impression in the first few minutes of the call is critical to the sale. The opening may have a bearing in a brief one-call interaction, but in large, protracted sales, your opening is less important than what you do in the next stage: the investigating stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Investigating: <\/strong>In this stage, you ask questions to get information. You\u2019re trying to discover needs or to better understand the customer. Ability to ask investigating or probing questions is arguably the most important sales skill, particularly in major sales. Improving investigating skills can increase large-account sales by as much as 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Demonstrating capability\/value<\/strong>: Once you understand the customer\u2019s needs, the next step is to show how your product or service can help. In larger sales, where you\u2019re often selling a broader solution, you need to show how your solution solves the customer\u2019s specific problems in a way that makes it worth the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) Getting commitment:<\/strong> To be a success, a sales call must end with a customer commitment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In small sales, the customer usually commits to buying the product, while in large sales, she may agree to another meeting, or to provide access to a decision-maker. Such intermediate steps are called advances because they advance the sale by moving the customer toward a decision. The way you choose how to do a sales call depends on the type of sale and length of the sales cycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips for the Investigating Stage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stages of a sales call have all the stages, but the emphasis may vary\u2014for instance, the warm-up stage may be extended or very brief, depending on the customer\u2019s preferred business style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional sales<\/a> training and many sales managers emphasize the commitment stage\u2014closing the sale\u2014as most important. But in a major sale, investigating is the most important stage. It can account for the majority of the time spent on a call. In large sales, reps ask more questions than are asked in small sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions Drive Success<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Questions are crucial to success in many types of interactions besides sales\u2014for instance, negotiations, management interactions, performance interviews, and group discussions. The more questions you ask, the more likely you are to meet your objectives, and the more likely you are to learn how to do a sales call effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are different types of questions, some of which are more effective than others. Sales training has emphasized two types\u2014open and closed questions\u2014dating back to at least the 1920s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closed questions are directive and usually elicit a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer\u2014for example, \u201cHave you purchased new equipment in the last five years?\u201d Closed questions are less engaging, which can make them useful in dealing with long-winded customers, or when you have little time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open questions are non-directive and encourage an in-depth answer\u2014for example, \u201cCan you tell me more about your business?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s your biggest concern?\u201d They\u2019re effective at eliciting information because they get the customer talking. Sometimes, you learn something you didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the research on which this book is based found no correlation between using either open or closed questions and sales success<\/a>. Researchers found no benefit for one type over the other in major sales calls, although sales training has long emphasized the importance of asking mostly open questions instead of closed questions, no matter where you are in the stages of a sales call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Better Approach<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Researchers found that successful reps handled the investigating stage differently. Rather than focusing on asking open and closed questions in large sales, they asked four different types of questions in a sequence. These successful reps\u2019 investigating questions can be described as the SPIN sequence as the best way on how to do a sales call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1)<\/strong> S-Situation questions<\/strong>: Start by asking fact-finding and background questions, such as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you see as the company\u2019s biggest growth opportunities?\u201d Asking too many of these questions can impose on the customer\u2019s time and patience, so use them judiciously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) P-Problem questions: <\/strong>Once you understand the customer\u2019s situation, ask questions that explore problems or issues your product or solution can solve\u2014for instance, \u201cAre you concerned about meeting your clients\u2019 quality standards with your aging equipment?\u201d Less experienced reps may not ask enough of these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) I-Implication questions:<\/strong> Asking good situation and problem questions<\/a> may be enough to win a small sale. However, you need to go further in large sales and ask a more sophisticated question that explores the implications or ramifications of a customer\u2019s problem\u2014for example, \u201cHow will this affect your fourth-quarter results?\u201d, or \u201cWhat will this mean for your biggest customer?\u201d The point is to underscore a problem\u2019s significance, and create a sense of urgency for solving it. These are more difficult questions to frame, even for experienced salespeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) N-Need-payoff questions: <\/strong>These questions lead the customer to articulate the benefits of your product or solution. For example, you might ask, \u201cHow useful would it be if we could increase your output by 10%?\u201d, or \u201cHow would being able to reduce errors help you?\u201d Need-payoff questions contribute strongly to sales success. Top reps ask these questions 10 times more often than average reps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking SPIN questions<\/a> is the best way to use the investigating phase of a sales call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 4 examines in detail how you can use them to improve your success in major sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With practice, you can learn how to do a sales call effectively. The SPIN selling method focuses on getting to the root of customer needs, and the four stages of a sales call are part of why the method works. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you want to know how to do a sales call? Are you looking for tips and advice on how to have a successful call? Learning how to do a sales call can be a challenge. But the SPIN selling method offers a clear strategy in the four stages of a sales call, along with the way you can ask questions to reach solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,103],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-10064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-sales","tag-spin-selling","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Do a Sales Call: 4 Stages and Great Tips - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you want to know how to do a sales call? Look no further. 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