Just Showing Up

There are always questions coming my way about how many calls to make in a week, how many presentations should be made in a day, how many new customers should be seen in a month, and so on. “Louis, how many calls will be the right number?” “Just give me a number that I should strive for.”

Are we all missing something? Remember that it’s not just about the numbers.

True, there is no doubt that the more people you see and meet, the greater is the likelihood you are going to build your business. People do not buy from people they have never met; having a real face to match to a company is a great help.

So what is the answer? Exactly how many calls should you be making a day? It all depends on the definition of a sales call.

Can you do six or eight “presentation calls” in a day? Probably not. That would be between 30 and 40 sales calls a week. I am sure if I were to look at your sales call plans for the past year, I would be unable to find any representative with that m any appointments in any one week.

My thought is that you would probably be successful if you did even three to four “good” calls a day. A good call is one in which, during a scheduled appointment with a potential client, you have shared information about your programs and services and spent some time getting to know your customer. It is all about advancing relations.

Should you avoid making cold calls? Of course not. You need to play the law of averages and keep trying to see as many people as possible. Appointments cannot always be scheduled, so cold-calling is often your only opportunity to get in the door. You will get some rejections, but you will also find some acceptance as you make those calls throughout the week.

You should plan all of your appointments about 10 days in advance. You do not want to be coming into the office and then deciding what you are going to do for the day. Planning allows you to prepare more effectively what you are going to talk about to make sure you address the issues that are important to each account.

Schedule several in-service programs a week. Sales does have a lot to do with the numbers, so through an in-service program you will have the opportunity to meet more people. After the in-service, you can then set up individual appointments to begin a more personalized business relationship with this potential client.

Also, decide which accounts you want to visit, with special consideration for those you have not seen in more than two months. If you are going to keep the business relationship alive and well, never let them believe that you don’t think about them or forget how important they are to your business.

Determine which accounts are no longer ordering as frequently as they once did, and place them on your schedule for next week.

Keep looking at those order sheets from the past several months. Look to see if the names of your regular customers are on that list; certain names that are missing will just stand out. You will quickly notice any change in the frequency of their orders. It is time to visit those accounts to see what has happened. They may have a complaint they failed to tell you about, so you could be on your way to saving an important account.

Many years ago when I first started in this industry, I was looking for selling shortcuts and simple sales strategies that would improve revenues. I tried to reflect upon the companies that had come calling on my office when I worked at a hospital and those that were persistently pursuing my business.

What I discovered was that nothing was more important than showing up. True, sometimes I preferred that sales reps not show up, but most frequently those who kept coming, showing they cared about my business and my customers, often were most successful in getting business from my staff and colleagues.

What I conclude is that you need a week full of sales calls to advance new relationships combined with calls to those long-term customers who need to be reminded that they are important to your business.

Try a little of both, and I assure you the rewards of your planning will be realized.

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.