How to Really Add Value on Your Next Sales Call

What's the conversion rate of your sales calls? Even if it's attracting customers and generating sales, there's always room for improvement. The good news is that you can boost the effectiveness of your sales calls by adding value to them. According to an article published by SellingPower, a salesperson's skill can add up to 50% to the perceived value of the product or service, sometimes even more. So, what steps can you take to add value to your industrial sales calls?

Prepare a List of Questions

Try creating a list of questions to ask the prospective customer before calling him or her. For instance, if you are selling a prospective client that is planning industrial construction project, you may want to ask “where is the project taking place?” “what is your budget?” “what timeframe are hoping for?” etc. By asking these questions, you'll have a better understanding of the prospect and his or her needs, which should prove useful in making your sales calls more valuable. This sort of probing will help your prospect to develop trust in you and your company. 

Develop a Relationship with the Prospect

Sales calls involve more than just pitching a product or service. If you want prospects to remember who you are and what you offer, you should go the extra mine to develop a relationship with them. Don't just read from the sale cookie-cutter template with each sales calls, rather customize your approach based on the prospect. By having a genuine, unique conversation with the prospect, it will create a stronger relationship, which in turn increases the chances of him or her making a purchase.

Time-Sensitive Promotions

Businesses in all sectors and markets use this strategy, so why aren't you? The next time you have a prospect on the phone, offer him or her a time-sensitive promotion. If the prospect learns that he or she can receive 15% off their order by purchasing your industrial product or service now, they may feel inclined to take action. Time-sensitive promotions such as this add value to sales calls, enticing prospects into making a purchase instead of waiting.

Present New Products or Services

It's highly unlikely that prospects will know every industrial product and/or service offered by your business. Therefore, you should try educating them on new products or services, assuming they could benefit the prospect.

Offer Advice

A good sales person should also offer advice to the prospect, even if the prospect has no immediate plans on purchasing their advertised product or service. In doing so, you'll add value to the sales calls, as the prospect will come away with helpful advice. You can offer ideas on how to help the prospect grow his or her business, how the prospect can attract more customers, how they can simply their business operations, and more.