This article is part of our Sales & Business Development resource section
Get the most out of the first sales call
Doing a first sales call can be both exciting and a little overwhelming. It’s the first time you set up a call with a prospect and pitch your product to them. The end result of these sales calls is to close the deal and sell your products. Modern sales teams can also benefit from understanding how technology is shaping modern inside sales and using technology to support their sales activities.
There are different stages that need to be done during the sales call. These stages are:
- Prospecting
- Pitching
- Have strong talking points
- Closing the call on a good note or with further action
Understanding the different sales pipeline stages can also help sales representatives see how the first call fits into the wider process.
It might sound difficult at first. But with proper guidance and enough practice you can nail these steps perfectly.
Table of Contents
What is a sales call?
A sales call is an unprompted phone call that a sales reps do to a potential client to sell his products. The aim is to reach out to future clients, engage them in a conversation and encourage them to use your company’s product or services.
Sales call can be:
- B2B (business-to-business): selling products to other businesses
- B2C (business-to-customer): selling products to individuals
Types of sales call
Sales calls can be of two types:
- Cold sales call: this is one of the common types of sales call. Here, a salesperson contacts a prospect to whom they’ve never known and done any business before. Since the prospect doesn’t know the services, it’s necessary to do your research and create a personalized sales pitch to hook them up early in the sales call.
- Warm sales call: when sales reps already know the prospect or spend some time building a relationship with the prospect before getting on a call with them, this is known as a warm sales call. Sales reps will call the prospect at a designated time to talk about business and pitch their services. Although a lot of preparation is not required, they still need to be familiar with the products or services they are going to sell.
The purpose of a sales call
Some of the most common goals of a sales call are:
- To sell your products or services: sales calls are used to educate potential customers and convince them to use your services. The aim is to encourage them to buy the desired services from you. A strong online presence can support this goal, so businesses should also understand how to ensure a company website is driving sales.
- Create excitement about your products or services: another use of sales calls is done to get customers excited about your new services. It can be used to let them know about different products and build a bond with them. Even if they don’t use your services, they can always refer someone who needs them.
- Book a follow-up call: in some cases, the first discovery call isn’t the right fit to close the deal. In that situation, you can always ask the prospects whether it’s alright to do a follow-up call at some other time.
How to make the most of the first sales call?
Below are the seven tricks that will guide you to do your best in your first sales call:
Research First
Don’t overlook research. Spend a few minutes learning about your prospects, regardless of whether it’s a warm or cold call. Knowing their likes, needs, and wants helps you understand their pain points. This determines if they fit your business. Figure out how and why your products provide them value.
Sales teams can use customer and business information more effectively by understanding the key benefits of Salesforce-based solutions when researching and managing prospects.
Short, Direct Introduction
Keep your intro short and to the point; prospects have limited time. Long, unnecessary intros aren’t needed. For cold calls, start by introducing yourself. For warm calls, have a small friendly conversation before discussing business.
Set Clear Expectations
A good sales call is precise, informative, and streamlined. For cold calls, tell prospects why you called to establish expectations upfront. For warm calls, share the proposed agenda and ask if they have additions.
Balance Speaking and Listening
An effective sales call balances speaking and listening, though the balance may vary. In cold calls, you’ll speak more to explain the product and the call’s reason. In warm calls, you’ll have a healthier balance. You need to listen to the customer’s issues and then speak about your solution.
For businesses selling through online stores, sales conversations can also benefit from insights provided by Magento 2 advanced reports when evaluating customer and sales activity.
Actionable Call to Action (CTA)
End the sales call with a powerful CTA. This CTA should inspire prospects to take action and allow you to measure the call’s success. The CTA can be to schedule a follow-up discussion or set up a demo.
Sales teams can also use Sales Cloud features to boost business sales to help organize follow-ups and manage sales activities after the call.
Track Your Metrics
Tracking metrics is a vital part of the sales process. It allows you to measure your performance and provides an overview of the call results. The results show the best time for a sales call, the best intro types, and the ideal call length. Use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool to record calls and analyze metrics.
A structured CRM environment can also support customer service and sales teams through the standard service console for users in Salesforce.
Keep Working Hard
Don’t get discouraged by rejection; keep working hard. Many sales calls end with a ‘no,’ which can be disappointing. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, learn from the call and consider how to improve next time. The key is handling rejection and using it to fuel motivation. This helps you prepare better and polish your sales skills.
To make the most use of the sales call, you need to learn different sales transition phrases, use various effective words, know how to ask the right questions, build credibility, listen to your prospects and create an opportunity to talk about the next steps. Businesses can reinforce these conversations with WhatsApp marketing strategies to multiply leads and sales when prospects prefer messaging-based communication.
Visual content can also help businesses explain products and offers before or after a sales conversation, including strategies such as using video pop-ups to grow online sales.
For businesses selling products on Amazon, product research and sales estimates can provide additional context when preparing a sales strategy. An Amazon Sales Estimator Tool can help sellers estimate potential sales for products.
Businesses can also use broader digital strategies to get more sales online by combining sales calls with online marketing, messaging, and other customer-engagement channels.
