This same question
comes up over and
over again as I
travel around the
country putting on
Sales Training Boot
Camps. "Michael"
someone says, "what
do you consider a
sales call?"
Great question.....
I do have a
definition that I
use and am
comfortable
with....and here it
is....
A sales call is a
face to face meeting
with the person you
planned on speaking
with or a reasonable
substitute. During
this meeting some
meaningful
information should
be shared and we
should ask for the
sale 2 times.
Simple enough?
You'd think
so.....but not
always. What if we
didn't get to meet
with our intended
contact? Who would
be considered a
"reasonable
substitute"? The
first question I ask
when my contact is
not available is
"who would make
referrals to
homecare if _______
was out sick?" If
you can speak to
this person, you
have likely found
your reasonable
substitute. One of
the other benefits
of this approach is
that the "reasonable
substitute" is
probably less
inundated with sales
calls from
healthcare sales
reps, so you may
find someone not as
jaded and more
receptive to
speaking with you.
Ok, so what if
option #1 and #2 are
not available? How
does dropping off
flyers count towards
your sales calls? It
doesn't.
Your sales force is
your best form of
marketing.....no
matter how nice your
brochures are.
Someone who merely
drops off brochures
(or heaven
forbid...donuts!) is
giving that referral
source an excuse to
NEVER meet with
them. Why?
The next time your
rep makes a sales
call, all the
prospect has to say
is, "oh, I'm kind of
busy today....but I
did get your
brochures in case I
have any
questions..." How
productive is that
call likely to be?
Dr. Tray Dunaway
likes to refer to
the "trail of the
tangible". What he
is saying is that
you want to leave
some record of your
call if you have not
met with your
prospect, but you
don't want to leave
anything with the
intent that it will
get referrals for
you in your absence.
That's a tricky
dynamic to navigate,
especially for a new
salesperson. Sure, I
leave my business
card so someone can
see that I've been
there, but do I also
expect them to call
to invite me to a
face to face meeting
because of it? No,
of course an
experienced rep does
not (or should not)
but its easy for
someone new to think
they have "done all
they could" and wait
for the phone to
ring. Tangible items
are business cards,
flyers or perhaps
even some
promotional items
but remember....they
are ONLY to be left
as a trail for you
to get back to your
prospect....not to
take the place of
it.
How many "real"
sales calls your
team can make per
day is based upon
their territory
(rural versus
urban), their skill
in using the phone
to set up
appointments, their
ability to properly
manage their time in
the field and how
well they can sell
other people in the
prospects office on
scheduling some time
for a meeting. I
like to start with a
general guideline of
8 professional
appointments per
day. Some reps in
very rural areas
will have a hard
time meeting this,
while reps in larger
cities might knock
this out by
lunchtime. Start
with 8 and adjust to
meet your specific
territory. Under no
circumstances should
a full time rep be
AVERAGING less than
6 calls per day
unless they have
other
responsibilities
that take them away
from sales.
The other question
that comes to mind
is "how long should
a sales call take"?
Ok....how about 78
seconds? No....maybe
6 minutes and 3
seconds?
Hmmm.....perhaps 15
minutes?
The simple answer
is, it will take
long enough to
exchange some
meaningful
information and ask
for the sale twice.
Simple.....
If that takes you 50
seconds and there is
NOTHING more to
discuss...so be it.
If you're presenting
a new service or
capability, 15
minutes might be
right.....its up to
you.
Our fearless leader
Stephen Tweed has
always said: What
gets measured gets
managed, what gets
rewarded gets
repeated. If you're
measuring the number
of "real" sales
calls your team does
each week you can
manage them up to
the proper number in
order to hit their
targets......if they
do that, I'm sure
you are rewarding
them appropriately
so that they repeat
that behavior over
and over....right?
Of course if you're
not measuring or
managing any of
these things.....you
might still hit your
goals.....but then
again, you might
not....and you
probably won't know
why. If you have any
questions about
this, why not drop
by my office....if
I'm not available,
just leave me a
stack of
brochures.....I'm
sure I'll give you a
call right back....
Ha! We're not going
to do that
anymore....are we?
