Who's Driving The Sales Call?

During last week's Home Care Marketing Accelerator webinar, we had a good discussion about how to properly make a sales call (in person, or virtual). One of the items that came up, and almost always does, is "How long should a sales call take"?

While there is no specific answer to the amount of time it should take, it's clear who should drive the duration of the sales call....and here's a hint: It's not you.

You must be prepared to talk to your referral source and get your key point across in 60-90 seconds. In many cases that's all the time you're going to get....either because of attention span or actual time available. Now, there are times when a referral source might want to settle in and talk more....perhaps a lot more....but that's their choice, not yours. Most of this extra talk is what I like to call "Hey howya doing" talk. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it's an imperative to many sales relationships. The only problem is when the amount of HHYD talk is driven by YOUR need versus your referral sources need.

You must become adept at reading the visual and verbal cues that tell you it's time to wrap it up. If you present yourself as someone who takes more time than they're given.....you'll quickly become someone who isn't given any time at all.

In sales, what YOU need isn't relevant....what your referral source needs is the only thing you need to pay attention to....at least as it relates to the duration of your sales "calls".

I've heard over the years "Oh yeah, when I call on Sally at XYZ Rehab I have to allow an hour because she really loves to talk". That's great....that's a rep that knows their client (hopefully). As long as Sally needs the hour to talk....then you should put the time in. If Sally starts to squirm at 15 minutes and checks her phone, watch, computer, etc....then you know it's you that needed the time, not her. Pretty soon, you'll find that Sally is "busy" every time you call, text, or walk in the door.

HHYD? It's not about you....it's about them.

Good Selling!

Michael Giudicissi