How to Double Your Sales Appointments in Half the Time Part 3
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Business -> subcategory Sales.
How to Double Your Sales Appointments in Half the Time: Part 3
Summary
This article explores three major sales prospecting errors that lead to low success in setting appointments, and offers strategies to overcome them.
Keywords
sales prospecting, sales leadership, sales training, sales performance, sales management training, corporate sales training
Article Body
In Part 2, we discussed identifying critical sales performance competencies. We established that:
- Actions must directly affect results, good or bad.
- They can be isolated and trained for improvement.
- They can be objectively measured and benchmarked.
Communicating with a targeted prospect to set appointments is a key sales competency because everything begins with getting in front of someone. The average national Conversation-to-Appointment ratio ranges from 4% to 18%. By building a prospecting system to improve this ratio, you can set more targeted, efficient appointments, leading to better results and increased earnings.
In Part 3, we address three out of six sales prospecting errors that result in low ratios. We’ll explore alternatives to raise your Conversation-to-Appointment ratio.
Sales Prospecting Error #1
Failing to understand the prospect's business challenges related to your solutions before making contact is a common mistake.
Consider how often you've received calls from people who didn’t know your business needs. I recently received such a call from someone focused on explaining who they were and what they wanted. After asking if they understood my business needs, it became clear they did not. It's only fair for them to learn about potential clients first, right?
Most business people are open to learning how to save costs, enhance productivity, reduce risks, increase profits, or achieve ROI, provided the conversation aligns with their objectives and not just product features and benefits.
Shift your focus from “Who you are” to “What you know about the prospect.” Research their responsibilities and objectives online through tools like their website or annual reports. If you're unsure, seek business acumen training specific to the roles you target, or interview new clients to understand the communication that grabs their attention.
Sales Prospecting Error #2
Contacting individuals without fiscal authority is another frequent error.
Choosing who you call?"your Playing Field?"can follow either a Bottom-up or Top-down approach. A Bottom-up approach often leads to lower appointment success, proposals, and sales. Instead, opt for a Top-down approach, targeting decision-makers who can connect your solutions to ROI.
Sales Prospecting Error #3
Avoid selling your product or service directly; instead, focus on the diagnostic steps in your evaluation process.
When calling on decision-makers, understand their business goals before mentioning your product. Discussing features and customer service too soon can reduce your appointment success rate. Instead, relate your solutions to the business challenges prospects face.
Transition from product-specific conversation to a Business Reason to Meet conversation. Present your offerings as a system?"a series of components working together to achieve results, like reducing costs or improving margins. These components should address business challenges directly.
By selling the diagnostic steps in your process, you can effectively lower the business challenge wall and demonstrate measurable ROI, a key concern for business professionals.
In Part 4, we’ll examine the final three sales prospecting errors and offer proven solutions to achieve more targeted, efficient appointments.
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: How to Double Your Sales Appointments in Half the Time Part 3.
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