|
In the summer of 1985, I was a junior sales rep for Control
Data in Chicago selling computer services. I had just returned
from a week-long sales training conference, full of confidence
and the latest sales techniques.
In a sudden burst of motivation, I had successfully booked
an appointment with the president of a bus company in Kankakee,
IL. Full of pride (and myself I might add), I bragged to my
boss about the call, at which time he promptly invited himself
along. Little did I know that this appointment would forever
teach me the importance of planning out a sales call.
After an uneventful car ride down, the two of us sat waiting
for the president to greet us in the company’s reception
area. Finally, the door creaked open and Clarence approached.
He was a gaunt, 80 year old man dressed in plain clothes that
hung off his body. I noticed that he shuffled, rather than
walked, and it felt like it took hours for him to finally
reach us.
But what really made an impression on me was how thick his
glasses were. Each lens was at least an inch thick and resembled
the bottom of a Coke bottle. I wondered to myself what, if
anything, he could actually see. As I shook his hand and peered
into those glasses, each of his eyes appeared huge—like
a full moon rising on a summer’s night.
After we exchanged pleasantries, he ushered us into his
office and I recoiled in horror at what I saw. Windowless
and lit only by a flickering 40 watt bulb, his office reminded
me of a dark, dank cave. A thick film of dust covered every
piece of furniture in the clammy room and spider webs floated
lazily in the corners of the room.
Shaking off our collective revulsion, my boss and I headed
to our seats at the far end of the room. Ten minutes later,
I had rebounded somewhat and felt the call was going pretty
well. When all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I
saw something move. Stealing a glance over my right shoulder,
I caught sight of a wolf spider, as big as my fist, crouched
in the corner. Seized with panic, I shot a glance over to
Clarence hoping he had seen the spider too. But even as his
full moons gazed back at me, I realized with shock that he
couldn’t see anything further away than six inches.
Summoning up every ounce of courage, I dove back into the
sales call and started to outline our company’s capabilities.
When I got to the part where I explained how our company could
help Clarence’s, I moved slightly forward in my seat,
just as I had been trained. Right at that instant, the spider
raced towards me and disappeared under my chair. My heart
jumped into my throat. Where was it? Under the chair? On my
leg? Climbing up the armrest?
This time, I shot a glance over at my boss, but he paid no
attention. Realizing I was on my own, I continued on with
the presentation, but just to be safe, stretched my legs out
as far from the chair as I could.
Moments later, the spider scurried away past my outstretched
feet and returned to the corner. Again, I looked directly
over at my boss but this time raised my eyebrows hoping he’d
get the hint something was wrong. Instead, he interpreted
my expression as one of sales call helplessness and dove right
in rescue me. Several minutes later, he looked back at me
and raised his eyebrows as if to say “OK I saved you
then, now it’s your turn.”
Luckily, before ever leaving for the appointment, I had
carefully outlined the steps I wanted the sales call to take.
I had planned out what I was going to say, what objections
I would encounter and how I’d respond to them. Taking
no chances, I had also practiced my portions of the sales
call.
So even as this hairy, wolf spider lay in wait just inches
from my ankles, I knew what my next steps were. In short I
didn’t panic, but instead continued along with my plan.
And even though the spider made another run at me during the
call, I really never lost my cool.
At the end of the call, I leaped out of my chair and raced
over to the door. As I asked for another appointment, Clarence
was only too happy to oblige. But as we headed out the door
I insisted on holding the next meeting in our offices; so
we could get him (and me) away from any “distractions”.
Sales Lessons
- Always pre-plan a sales call by outlining every step
you expect the call to take.
- Identify all the objections you’re likely to hear
and what your responses will be to each.
- Rehearse your portions of the call. Practicing your sections
out loud will help you keep your focus—in the face
of any distractions.
Author Bio
Jay Lipe, aka the “Plan Man”, is the CEO of
Emerge
Marketing; a firm that helps growing companies improve
their marketing. He is the author of the book The
Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses (Chammerson
Press) which is available at major bookstores and online
at www.amazon.com.
He is also a sought after speaker and seminar leader, and
can be reached at (612) 824-4833 or lipe@emergemarketing.com
|
