Close More Sales with These 9 Expert Tips for Perfecting Your Sales Calls

If you are selling a service then I am guessing that you will use some type of sales call to convert your prospects to clients. The goal of this call is to get your prospect interested in moving forward and planning the next steps with you.  In this blog i’m going to show you how to structure your sales scripts, examples of what to say and the benefits of having a structured call so you can close more calls.

First let me show you an example:

Successful entrepreneurs  aren’t selling a product — they’re selling a story. The prospect isn’t asking you,

“Sell me this pen.”

Instead he or she is asking you,

“Tell me why I should care about this pen and how it solves my particular problem.”

It goes without saying that this should already be answered proactively in your sales call pitch and for that, you should be prepared well in advance.

A Rigid Script For Sales Calls Might Not Help Your Conversion Rate

Now let me clear one thing up around using a sales calls script.  I DO NOT recommend using a sales script, (unless you are in an outbound sales role that requires you to use one).  Are you an entrepreneur and have your own business and thus are selling your own services (which I will guess you are)? Then using call scripts will just make you sound monotonous, fake and will not help your conversion rate at all!

What I recommend is having a sales call STRUCTURE which outlines the steps you need to take, but gives you the flexibility to have a natural conversation with your prospect.  No-one likes to talk to a robot, so by having this flexible flow in the sales call it will feel natural, easy and dare I say fun!

If you know this is one area you need to improve and you want to dive right in then you might like my online sales calls training course.

Sales Call Structures That Get Results

Did you know that if you structure your sales calls the right way that you won’t only make more sales, but will save time, reduce refund requests AND be able to sell at a higher price point than if you don’t?  Yup this is all true. And I’m going to break down the do’s and don’t for sales call success.

After over a decade of practice and having done over 20,000 sales calls, you could say this is one area of sales that I am pretty experienced at! But I wasn’t an overnight success. It took the right strategy, training and lots of practice to develop this tried, tested and proved method that converts my (and my clients’) sales calls with ease.

Whether you are cold calling potential clients, or you are having discovery calls with people who have expressed an interest in working with you – having the right sales call strategy will be your best friend for selling services and all types of high-end sales.

Now let’s move on to how to start a start a sales call over the phone, structure the conversation and close the call…

How to Structure Your Sales Calls for Success:

Now before I dive in I am going to assume that the person you are having the sales call with is aware that it is a sales call. And that you are not simply trying to ‘shoe-horn’ in people who think it is a coffee chat, or free coaching call (please don’t do this it’s icky and will not make you friends!).

Follow these 9 steps to successfully structure your next sales calls

Step 1: Open the Sales Call and Explain the Process.

Here you should LEAD and let the person know how the sales call will go so they know what is ahead. A little rapport building to start is all is required. You can jump into ‘leader’ mode once you have made them feel comfortable.

Step 2: Where Are Your Potential Clients Now?

This is the time to ask lots of open ended questions to establish where they are right now in relation to why they booked the call (e.g. their business, life, relationship).

Step 3: Where Do the Clients Want to Be?

Again by asking questions, here you will establish their goals, dreams and aspirations. That you can find out the ‘gap’ from where they are, to where they want to be.

Step 4: What Is the Problem?

Now you know where they want to be, here you will find out the problem/s they have that are preventing them from achieving their goals. Again ask questions, but not interview style like a sales calls script!  We want it to be a nice flow of a conversation that allows them to open up and be fully expressive of their situation.

Step 5: What Bigger Problems Are Ahead?

This section is super powerful and if done correctly will allow your prospect to see how their problem is one that must be fixed now.  In essence, what we are doing here is to ask questions to establish what bigger problems might be ahead for them if this current issue persists.

For example if weight gain is the problem now, this continues to lead to health issues (physical and emotional), a lack of confidence meaning they might now go after their dream job/relationship, or something else.

Go gentle at this stage, it’s not to scare them into buying. It’s a way to kindly get them to tell you how life might be if their current problem continues and the implications of this.

Step 6: The Need to Your Solution

By this stage you should know what they need and why. If (and only if) you feel your service/product is a solution that can help them, it’s now time to allow them to get clear on what they think they need to help them right now. Again by asking questions, we want them to express an explicit need for the solution that you have so that you can discuss with them your options.

We don’t list off a menu of options and prices for them when we are sure we can help, but get their permission to let them know what we think would help. An overview of the solution that is benefit led and demonstrates it can help with their specific requirements.

Step 7: The Trial Close

Once you have given your solution overview, you want to gauge their interest. Note – at this stage we have still not ‘sold’ to them, we want to check first if they have any objections or concerns.

A good question to ask at this stage is something like “do you have any reservations about the solution I just discussed/demonstrated? The reason why we ask this is we want them to tell us what their objections might be, so we can discuss with them.

If you miss this step you will get a lot of people telling you they need to ‘think about it’, when really they are just politely getting you off the call.

Step 8: Overcome Objections

Here we discuss their reservations with them to help establish if they are true and valid, or if maybe they are just not fully clear on your solutions benefits. Maybe they need you to hold some space with them at this stage to overcome some fears (maybe around investing time, money, or energy for example).

Now I cannot go into all the ways to overcome objections in this blog post (my online sales training course will though!) – But what I will say is stay curious, not judgemental. Don’t shy away from difficult discussions. If your instinct is telling you something is ‘off’, address it and allow them to open up and share with you.

Step 9: The Close

When (and only when) you have minimised any doubts they may have had and you are sure they are on board you can go for what we call in sales ‘the close’! Let them know the summary of what is included, how much the investment/cost is, and what happens from here.

One thing I will say is ensure you get their full commitment before ending the call. When they will pay by, and any other things you might need them to do. Don’t just tell them, you need to ensure it’s a committed agreement.

Your new customer should be willing and excited to work with you. If they are not I urge you to probe a little more with them to ensure this is a good fit for you both!

After your call is finished you can follow up in writing what you have agreed and go celebrate your sale!

What to Do If a Prospect Doesn’t Answer Your Sales Call

If the prospect doesn’t answer your scheduled call, leave a voicemail. In a friendly tone, state that you’re here and will stay online (for video calls) or be available (for phone calls) for 15 more minutes. Also, tell them how to join the meeting, whether that’s calling this number back or clicking the link in your calendar invite. If after five minutes they’re silent, send them an email reminder. If after 15 minutes they’re still unresponsive, send another email proposing dates and times to reschedule.

Sales Call Checklist for Effective Selling

How do you prepare for a sales call? Sometimes it can be hard to remember everything you need to do to get ready for a sales call so here’s a checklist you can use for all the necessary preparation. Reference it either as a guide as you prepare or as a way to double-check your prep shortly before your call to ensure you’re fully ready:

• Research the prospect and their business.
• Learn something personal about the them.
• Label the prospect’s main issue.
• Find the cause of that issue.
• Pick one solution to solve that issue.
• Pick two other solutions and/or benefits that might interest them.
• Research their main competitors.
• Prepare answers to potential objections.
• Decide on the next steps you’ll propose.
• Create your own structure sales script examples

After you’ve done all the above, you should be ready to deliver an effective sales call that gets your prospect excited to work with you.

Master the Art of Sales Calls with These 9 Expert Tips!

Now as you can imagine I clearly cannot share every hurdle and situation that may come up for you during your sales calls, but I know for sure that if you follow this tried tested and proven structure (plus binning that sales call script of yours!) and practice you will start to see much more success on your sales calls.

Oh and one final thing, we have a phrase in sales which is ‘smile before your dial’.  Whether you are using Zoom, Skype, or the dog and bone (phone) for your sales conversations, a smile and friendly manner will always help both you and the other person to feel at ease and enjoy the process.

The bottom line is this: Your prospects  wants you to narrate a story for their needs not sell them your product.

Happy smiling, dialing and selling!

P.S. If you’ve enjoyed this blog about and then take a look at my sales calls training course.  You’ll discover in more depth more on how to lead your sales conversations, deal with those objections and make follow up sales calls.