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Lesson Info

How to structure a sales call

So how to structure the perfect sales call. Well, over the past decade, I've changed how I approach sales calls. And probably over the last 2 to 3 years, I've really nailed what works for me in regard to winning the client's trust, confidence and ultimately winning projects. Now, what I want to just put out there is that although this works for me personally, this may not work for everyone. So please keep that in mind and because this is going to be super important. And obviously, as you begin to learn different approaches, when it comes to constructing the perfect sales call structure, you need to find out what works for you and your specific service. But let me share what works for me and my particular circumstance and then you can take from it whatever you like. When I first got on a call with a client, I usually take maybe 5 to 10 seconds just to say hello to them and just ask them how they are. Once you get that small talk out of the way, I basically start with understanding a lit...

tle bit more about the client situation. So say, for example, if we are trying to find the perfect brand name for the company. I would say something like, OK, I know the brand naming process can be a little bit complicated sometimes. And obviously, the fact that we're talking together means that you may have not found the best solution just yet what that journey been like. So at that point where I'm basically asking the client, what is your journey been like and basically opening up the floor for them to share their experiences and their emotions with me. Now, this isn't a therapy session by any stretch of the imagination. But what this does is, it basically says there's no limit to what we can talk about. You can say that, you know, it's been extremely difficult. You can see it's being putting pressure on the business. Some of the things that clients say when you say tell me about the journey, they can become very, very open, very fast and it just kind of opens the float gates to all sorts of conversation. And that takes us to the next step, which is to summarize and then diagnose the issue. Now, when you're summarizing, this opens up the floor to ask more questions. So for example, the client may say something like we've been trying to find the perfect brand name. We've come up with some options. They haven't quite fit, they haven't quite felt right. We need someone to really guide us through and to help us make the best decision. So what I would do in that circumstance is I say, ok, you know, out of the brand names that you came up with, which ones didn't quite feel right? And why didn't they feel right? What I'm trying to do is I'm just trying to dig a little bit deeper in regard to why they haven't found the solution that they want. It could be the case that they just can't find a domain name. So I know that that is a main sticking point and a main pain point for the client or they may say something along the lines of they just didn't roll off the tongue nicely. So in that circumstance, I know I need to focus a little bit more on mouth, feel they may say something along the lines of they were just too long. So I know that the client wants a nice short name. So by digging deeper and asking all the questions that you need answered, which you could have a list, I actually have a list of questions for each type of service that I offer so that I can basically dig into and find all the information that's important, the client for the solution that I'm providing. Once you have all of your questions answered, summarize everything. So I would go through, I'd say, OK, so you've been looking to try and find a brand name for roughly around two months and from the brand names that you've tried to find they have been unavailable as a domain or a little bit too long or basically, they just haven't had a nice feel about them. They haven't rolled off the tongue nicely. Does that sound about right? And basically, once you get that confirmation that you fully understand what they're trying to achieve, the next step is to diagnose the issue. So for example, in the naming situation, I would basically say something along the lines of OK. So in regard to the domain situation, there are various different ways that you can find a great domain for your brand domains. Anywhere between 4 to 5 characters like brand.com. It's going to be very hard to secure a domain like that, especially with a small budget in regard to the name length. There are some things that we can do to obviously shorten the name length and that should also help the mouthfeel aspect. Now, in regard to those three things, those are things we pretty much solve every single day. So you're not alone, there are tons of clients that we work with that are literally in the exact same board as you. And these are common issues that pop up again and again in again, that ultimately go away once you follow a tried and tested process. Now, at this point, the client knows that I can solve that problem because I've not tried to sell them. But I've basically prescribed what is going to solve those issues. Now, the client knows the type of medicine that they need to relieve that pain point to get over that challenge and to find a brand name that they're going to love in this particular circumstance anyway, and this example that we're talking about. But the issue is that we know the process and by us using our unique process that basically keeps the medicine in the cabinet until the client is ready to pay for our services. And remember, you can tell someone something, but unless they know how to apply that information and really use it from a practical standpoint, it's going to be very difficult for a client to steal your thoughts and ideas and prescription and then basically go and make the medicine themselves. It just doesn't really usually work like that. So you always want to keep something back when you get to the diagnosis stage, you don't want to give them everything and say, ok, you should just do this, this, this and this. You need to make sure that you keep some of your processes a little bit secret because that's what they're paying for, paying for your expertise to help guide them through that process. If you're giving them everything up front, why do they need to hire you? But make sure you give enough away to show that you're an expert and to also provide some sort of value so that they can have confidence that you can provide the solution that they need. So you've said hello, you have asked them what their journey was like, you've then summarized everything and then you've diagnosed the actual problem. The next step naturally is to ask them for the sale right wrong. Now, I know some people out there who work in the same industry as me who think very differently in regard to how to approach clients at this stage of the sales call. But what I personally have found works very, very well is to instead of asking for a sale, ask if they have any questions. Ok. And this isn't just easier for you as a freelancer or service provider. It also opens up for them to ask you, ok. What are the next steps? Because that's what they're going to generally say, right? If you know, for a fact that you can provide the solution that I need, what are the next steps? How do we get started? And at that point that is when you can say, ok, well, we have three different packages and the middle package is the most popular and that includes seven brand names. It includes trademark checks, includes your domain. So you're definitely going to get your domain includes, slogan includes blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, all that good stuff. And by simply just answering that question, you've presented them with the package that you think is going to be best and we'll get to a whole other lesson on why using the largest package as a price anchor is a really, really great negotiation tactic, but that's a little bit later on in the course. But at this point, they know that the middle package is best for them. They know that you're not trying to sell them on the highest package, which is the most profitable for you. And that's all the decoy and we'll go into that a little bit later on. But when it comes down to trust, you're not trying to force them into a sale, they feel more comfortable with you, they feel more at ease. So they are going to be more likely to actually choose you as a service provider. And in the unlikely case, client just doesn't want to talk about pricing or maybe they are a little bit nervous, they don't ask any questions. Then I would say something along the lines of ok, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate you taking valuable time out of your day to explain the situation to me. Now, after this call, what I'll do is I'll send you a quick email just with a couple of solutions that you can choose from in regards to finding the perfect brand name in this situation for your business. Now, in regards to our packages, if you need any questions answered, in regards to what they include or anything, please let me know I'm here to help and support and make sure that you make the best decision for your business. So do you have any further questions before I let you go? And then ultimately, they may ask questions in regards to pricing or they may ask, oh, sorry, I didn't know that you had packages, but at that point, you've basically said it in a way where they could just say yeah, perfect. Just send that over because when you are in a sales environment and they're talking about pricing and you know, people are kind of looking through prices in a sales call. Generally, I like to take pricing and review it a little bit, compare it with competition, et cetera, et cetera. And I think most clients the same. I think clients like to have a really settled mind when it comes to making big decisions in regard to their business and getting services put in place for the development of that company. And I think that we should cater to that. I think that we should put them in a position where they have a very well thought out solution which is going to provide them with a ton of peace of mind, a ton of value and a really competitive price doesn't mean being the cheapest means providing more value and being a reasonable price, which makes sense for both of you. So hopefully you found this particular lesson valuable and I'll see you in the next one, see you soon.