(By Rick Fink) As media reps, we make sales calls for various reasons. Some are more important than others. Depending on the stage of your relationship with a client, each call has a different purpose.
At the beginning of the sales process, we make cold calls to introduce ourselves. Beyond cold calls, we make calls to conduct a Q&A or CNA. We make presentation calls, follow-up calls, and calls simply to keep in touch. Once the person becomes a client, we make service calls. The types of sales calls and reasons for calls go on and on.
Before every call we make, whether in person, via the phone, email, or text, we should ask ourselves, “What do I want to accomplish with this call?” Doing so will put you in the “right frame of mind” so you know exactly what you want to accomplish.
Regardless of the level of importance, every call should have a clear objective. For some calls, it may simply be to set up the next meeting or get them to say “yes” to considering radio or whatever else you offer. Other objectives might be to get them to agree to consider a promotion, add another station, increase their frequency, approve a script, and start the schedule. The reasons are endless, but your objective for each call should be to get you to your next step.
It seems obvious that you know why you’re making the call, but if you consciously (physically and mentally) ask yourself what you want to accomplish with this call before EVERY call, I can assure you that you’ll have a better understanding of what you want to achieve and how to go about it – boosting your productivity.
Rick Fink from ENS Media can be reached at 605-310-2062 or [email protected]. Read Rick’s Radio Ink archives here.
