How to Make Successful Sales Calls: Our Top 6 Tips for Making Killer Calls That Convert

What is something that fills you with dread? Spiders? Being alone in the dark? Cleaning the dishwasher filter? *shudder*

We all have our own unique phobias. Some are based on rational concerns (like heights…our human bodies aren’t made to survive a significant fall). Others are more personal and can be born out of bad experiences (like fear of clowns…those things are just creepy as heck and IT didn’t do us any favors). Whether rational or not, the feeling is very real for each individual. 

There are some fears shared by many across the globe, regardless of upbringing, culture, or experience. One of the greatest common fears is public speaking.

This fear often translates into sales calls. While it’s not a dissertation before a great company of people, sometimes the more intimate setting of a one-on-one call can be even more intimidating. It’s daunting to dive into a two-way conversation without knowing what the response will be, what questions might be asked, or what objections may come up. 

However, with research, practice, and the right tools and tips in your bag, you can face your sales calls fears confidently and increase your chances of success.

Before You Make Any Sales Calls…Stop, Drop, and Research!

There is an element of creativity needed to conduct successful, engaging, memorable sales calls, but not the “wing it and hope for the best” kind of creativity. The biggest mistake you can make is not conducting research beforehand and planning out the strategy for your sales calls. 

Put on your Dora the Explorer backpack and go on an adventure to discover as much as you can about your lead before you pick up the phone. 

1. Determine your lead’s pain points. This has two helpful outcomes. 

• It helps you understand if your lead is a qualified lead or not, if you are honest with yourself. Will your product/service actually help them in some way?

• It helps you better understand how you can build a conversation and address their biggest issues in a personal way. 

2. Get to know your lead. Try to uncover more detailed information on your lead, such as:

• Personality. What do they post about on social media? What are their interests? What do they engage with?

• Communication style. Are they formal and “professional,” or more casual and relaxed?

• Needs. What seems to be on their plate right now? Have there been any “trigger events” lately that create a natural opening for a sale?

3. Anticipate and prepare for objections. If you’re making sales calls, you will experience pushback. Period. How you prepare for and handle objections can make the difference between losing or scoring a sale. Choose wisely, young padawan. 

After investing the time in preparation and research, you can enter into your sales calls with far more confidence. This will then come across in a positive way for your lead, setting the stage for a sale.

Our Top Tips for Making Successful Sales Calls

1. Ensure Quality Leads.

There is nothing that wastes time and money quite as fast as placing sales calls with unqualified leads. If your company is going to thrive, it’s important to make the most of every minute. 

Prospecting and qualifying is a tedious process, but it’s necessary to optimize your sales process and increase revenue. Often this task falls to the members of your marketing or sales teams, but if we’re being honest, neither one of those teams really want to take on prospecting and grow resentful over the extra work. 

Want to know the easiest way to combat this dynamic? Hire the Squeeze team to take it off your hands completely. We take the info from your marketers, prospect, contact, and qualify your leads, and then pass them directly to your sales team to close. Both of your teams can relax and focus on what they do best while our team takes on the middle-man work and clutter tasks that bog down your employees. 

It’s a win-win that takes a struggling sales experience and turns it into a well-oiled machine of revenue-increasing Awesomeness.

2. Have a Solid Opener. 

While the main meat of your sales calls comes after, the way you open up your call plays a big part in setting the tone for the rest of the interaction. 

It might seem like a smart tactic to try to make a connecting point out of a shared commiseration (“Whew, Mondays…amiright?”), but don’t go there. Shoot for an opener pointing in a positive direction instead. Like Peter Pan encouraging the Darling children to “think happy thoughts”, a positive opener sets your lead’s mind and emotions in a good direction and gets the conversation off the ground (you can fly, you can fly, you can fllllllllyyyyyyy!). 

If you’ve done your research well, you should have a good idea of how to create an opener for each of your sales calls that is personalized, engaging, and natural. The goal is to draw your lead in and encourage them to continue the conversation.

3. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.

It might sound counterintuitive, but it’s far easier to talk more than to talk less. Let me explain.

During sales calls, we can be tempted to fall into the trap of over-explaining, monologuing, and spouting so many statistics that the lead can barely keep their head above water. The real challenge is to create a pitch that is short, simple, and to the point. 

Most writers and speakers struggle with this. They believe the more they say, the better someone will understand their point. But the truth is that people respond far more positively to a concise script that stays focused on the main points. Plus, it shows respect for your lead’s time and helps you process sales calls more efficiently. 

It can be really hard to narrow all of your product’s awesomeness into concise phrases and bullet points. But it’s well worth the return.

4. Stay Up to Date.

Let’s face it: the sales game is constantly changing. Whether it’s the industry, your audience and their preferences, society, methods, or customer behavior, successful sales calls start with a big-picture understanding of the current state of affairs. 

Keep your ear to the ground and your eyes open. 

• What information are leaders in your industry sharing? 
• Where are your target customers spending their time? 
• Are there any hot-button topics and specific pain points coming to the surface?

The death cry of many a sales venture begins with the phrase, “We’ve never done it that way before.” While there are many solid sales tactics that stand the test of time, you have to shift, change, and grow to keep up with the times. Otherwise, you WILL be left behind.

5. Focus Your Sales Calls on the Solution.

You are selling a product or service. You can have a million fun facts, impressive statistics, and features up the wazoo, but a glowing description of your product is not enough to close sales calls. Your leads want to know how this thing you’re selling is going to solve their problems.

“Sell solutions” is a pretty common sales phrase. It’s a good one. It’s true. People have a visceral response when they are presented with something that promises to save them time, energy, and/or money. Who doesn’t want to make their life easier?

Rather than trying to impress with details on the product or service itself, paint a picture of what your lead’s future would look like if they closed. How is their life going to be better? What are they going to miss out on if they say no? 

This taps into a lead’s emotions AND mind as they make a decision. And that is a powerful combination indeed. 

6. Take the High Road.

Many individuals distrust salespeople and become subconsciously defensive the moment they pick up a call. Sadly, there are many scammers out there as well as sales agents who are far more concerned about making money than truly serving the customer. 

If you’re company operates with integrity and it’s shown in your sales calls, you are going to stand head and shoulders above the competition. 

• Be upfront about pricing and fees. 

• Discuss your competition and how you are different but don’t bad-mouth them or tear them down. 

• Listen closely and show genuine care for your customer’s questions and concerns. 

The more you seek to build trust and relationships through your sales calls, the better the response will be.

Easiest Hack of All Time: Give Squeeze Your Sales Calls! 

This is hardly an exhaustive list, to be sure. But without a doubt, the best (and easiest!) way to ensure successful sales calls is to let a dedicated sales experience team like Squeeze take on your calls for you. 

You’ve got more than enough on your plate, and so do your teams. Our agents are sales experts and skilled, industry-savvy communicators who make your success their ultimate goal. 

If you’re ready to hand over the reins, sit back, and watch sales skyrocket, go ahead and reach out to us today. We’re excited to talk about how we can help take your sales calls to the next level!