If you're reading this article and thinking about what sales calls you will be making next week, you're late. Your planning should have begun several weeks ago. You can plan one or two days in advance, pray that you arrive on time and hope you know what you are going to say. But who can take the chance that all might not go as planned?
A two-week call plan program will not only eliminate stress but also ensure successful results. Two weeks is the absolute minimum you should allow for planning the next sales call — a call that may very well be your only opportunity to spend important face-to-face time with a potentially important referral source. It could also be your last if you are not prepared!
With two weeks' lead time you can:
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Prepare appropriate marketing materials that target the interests of those at the meeting. All of your marketing materials may not be appropriate for all of your customers. You may have some valuable clinical or outcome data important to a respiratory therapist, or a system for handling complaints or providing a compliance program that will be valuable to a discharge planner or case manager.
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Determine exactly the right message for your customer. Make sure you focus on meeting the needs of the customer and not on what is important in your company.
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Prepare enough marketing materials for all those who will be attending. You do not want to have four people attending your meeting and business cards or brochures for only two.
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Consider inviting other company staff members to attend with you. Before the meeting, ask your client if it would be okay to bring your billing supervisor, manager, owner or director of respiratory care with you. Don't surprise your client with a guest visitor; keep in mind, clients may surprise you with guests, but as the customer, they work within a different set of rules.
10 Tips for the Pre-Call Plan
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Verify the date of the appointment. Arriving on the wrong day may just be the last appointment you ever have with this client because you wasted the customer's time and yours.
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Make sure you have the correct time and exact office for the meeting. Some office buildings are very large, and getting lost in a maze of hallways will not be good for your image. Get explicit directions to the meeting.
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Make 10 percent of your appointments each week with people you do not know and who do not know about your company. You need to continue to build new relationships.
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Know where you are going to park your car. Parking can be a problem, so ask where to park, and make sure you have enough money to get your car out of the garage.
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Ask how many people will be attending the meeting. Bring extra materials because, no matter how many staff members the customer tells you will be joining the meeting, a few extras may show up. Be prepared.
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Learn as much as possible about the customer. Know the types of programs your customer offers, the types of clients the customer serves and what communities the customer covers.
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Prepare the hot topics for the meeting. Make a list of the top issues important to this particular referral source group, and be ready to talk about them.
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Make a list or use note cards to ensure you cover all important material. Make sure you focus on the reason you have the appointment.
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Bring a note pad to take notes about what is important to the customer. You will want to discuss all of these points with your colleagues.
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Finally, make sure you do not leave the meeting without asking for another appointment. You need to build a relationship if you are going to get the business.
Now that you understand the pre-call planning process, pull out the calendar and look ahead — way ahead — and begin setting up your next appointment. The rewards are there for those who plan, and the risks of not planning are too costly!
Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.
