The task of making sales calls must be mastered for success in sales, whether those sales calls are made in person or over the phone. The strategy that you use for your sales calls will likely change for the individual prospects with whom you work and over time. These methods for perfecting your sales calls, however, are almost always applicable to strategies for improving your skill with sales calls.

1. Have a plan

Loosely written scripts for sales calls can generate efficiency by helping you cover the most important points in the most effective way call after call. This type of plan also ensure that the conversation does not trail or drift away from the immediate focus on the prospect’s needs. If you have a script for your sales calls, you can more effectively uncover the relationships between your offering and what the prospect needs to accomplish for his or her line of business. Develop a plan for your sales calls that:

• Guides the communication process between you and the prospects to whom you make sales calls.
• Incorporates your most important questions so that you never end a sales call with an important piece of information missing.
• Puts the prospects to whom you make sales calls in the center of the discussion so that the prospect feels heard and begins to form trust in your abilities as a sales consultant.

2. Set Goals for Every Call

There is no way to measure how successful sales calls are unless you have identified purposes and goals for the sales calls that you make. Simply saying that the goal is to make a sale is not enough since so few sales are made on the first call. Goals for the sales calls that you make should include:

• Confirming that the prospect is qualified. Always attempt to confirm the prospect’s qualifications to buy before moving forward with the sales cycle.
• Identifying the issues your offering can solve for the prospect. A productive sales relationship cannot be formed without a clear idea of how your offering directly addresses the prospect’s needs, so it is important to set issue identification as a goal for your sales calls.
• Gaining a commitment for a presentation. Ensuring that prospects will move forward after initial sales calls is easier if you obtain commitments to the next steps before sales calls end.
• Getting buy in from decision makers. If you make sales calls that involve primary decision makers, don’t wait to start generating buy in.

3. Learn to Persevere Over Objections

Persistence is a golden rule in sales, and this applies to sales calls as well. Many leads and prospects will even begin sales calls with objections, most likely objections based on time constraints but also possibly objections based on budget or the applicability of your offering to their individual situation. Knowing that your offering is likely a solution for the prospect’s needs and that in the long run your offering can save prospects the time they do not have today, your task becomes continuing sales calls beyond the initial objection. Demonstrate perseverance by:

• Pre-formulating and practicing your responses to the most common objections you hear in initial sales calls so that you are always prepared.
• Considering new models for overcoming common objections, such as offering to send an e-mail, calling back at a later time, or even scheduling sales calls in person when prospects are not available by phone.
• Managing your time well so that when necessary, multiple follow ups can be completed.

Finally, always respect your prospects’ time. There is a line between perseverance with sales calls and becoming an annoyance. Listen carefully to your prospects to ensure that you stay on the right side of that line to keep the sales opportunity open.