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Prepare Like a Pro
By Tom Reilly, author of Value Added Selling (McGraw-Hill,
2003)
As the old saying goes: No one plans to fail, but many fail to plan. Our
research shows that top salespeople plan their sales calls. Every sales call
must have an action objective because every sales call must conclude with an
action step. An action objective is something that you want the customer to do
at the end of the sales call. It could be: give you an order, agree to a
follow-up meeting, hand over financial data, schedule a visit to your facility,
or promise to try a sample of your product. Without an action objective, how
would you know what to ask for at the end of the call?
You can book-end your sales call with this planning question, “What do I want
the buyer to do at the end of this call?” In your pre-call preparation, this
question guides the planning process. In your post-call evaluation, this
question allows you to review the call and your effectiveness in achieving this
call objective.
A sports journalist interviewed Tiger Woods after his first British Open win and
asked him about his reputation for going to the practice range after a round of
golf to continue hitting balls. Tiger responded, “If you're not willing to put
in the time to practice, you don’t deserve the success you desire.” This is
great advice for salespeople, too.
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