© Bill Farquharson, Print Tec Network

This might come as a surprise to you, but sales people are full of crap. Thatís right. You heard it here first. We are optimists to the Nth degree. So sales are always going well and that big order is always about to break. I wrote this article with all of that in mind.

"Howditgo?" is the greeting you receive from your manager upon returning to the office from an important sales call. You respond, "Good. I think we're in." And with that, you have set your manager's expectations that business will soon begin to flow in. In this particular sales call, business was discussed but not placed. It was more of a relationship-developing call than a closing call. Still, it went well.

Making it to your desk, you sit and ponder your pat answer. How DID it go? How DO you rate the effectiveness of a sales call that does not result in a sale? You might think you slayed ëem, only to learn that the order will eventually go to another vendor. Unfortunately, buyers do not pass out evaluation forms when you leave their office, so it is not always easy to know. You, then, are left to self-assess and will need a set of criteria against which a measurement can be made.

Do the Math
Let's start with a fundamental rule: A sales call can be considered successful when you have done more listening than talking. My dad was never a salesman, but he understood this issue well. "God gave you two ears and one mouth, son," he'd say. "Do the math." Ask one hundred sales people about their greatest fault in a sales call and they will tell you they talk too much and do not listen enough. Too bad. We learn nothing with our mouths open. As anxious as we are to talk about ourselves, our companies, our products, services, issues and problems, our clients and prospects are equally anxious. Give them the chance.

Have you ever been at a cocktail party and find yourself listening to a blabbering boor rage on and on about his or her recent achievements? Think you'd ever seek that person out at the next party? Well imagine delivering that same "I don't care about you" message in your sales calls. Now think how popular you would be if you mastered the skill of listening. Imagine all the things people would tell you if you would only listen. It is infinitely easier to sell when armed with information. Such information is there for the listening. Shut up and open your ears.

Question number one, then, is "How much listening did you do?"

Are You Smarter?
Okay, now that we are tuned in, what information are we looking for? Make sure that at the end of every sales call you are smarter than you were before the call started. Do you better understand the client? Do you know more about their industry, problems, or needs? Do you have a greater read on your competition? All of these pieces help put the puzzle together.

The source of good information is asking good questions. Ask the client about their current challenges, projects, company direction or the latest edict from their boss. It is amazing what you learn when the customer is doing the talking.

Question number two is "Did you learn anything during the call?"

Get a Name
A third measure of a successful sales call is coming away with a lead. Remember: the most successful form of cold call is a referral. Are you doing everything you can to harvest new prospects? Few people will offer up the names of other decision-makers in different departments or friends in other industries. You need to ask. It's so easy yet underutilized a tool.

Not every sales call needs to include a referral request and not every request will result in a name. Plant seeds in the minds of your clients by asking them to give the matter some thought. Send an email a day or two in advance of your visit. Hopefully your client will have a list of potential clients ready for you when you arrive.

Question three is "Did you come away with a referral?"

Working the Crowd
A printer in Massachusetts made an interesting observation recently when he noted it now takes 6 client visits to close an order where it once took only three. That's a lot of schmoozing! If the order is secured in only one of those six calls, what is done in the other five that makes them successful, too?

The answer, of course, is relationship building. With each customer contact, you have the opportunity to foster that precious relationship. More than price, delivery and service, the best clients are built on the basis of their trust and faith in you. You have the opportunity, then, to lay the groundwork for future orders one conversation at a time.

Question four is "Did this call further the relationship with the client?"

An Idea
If you have never heard this before, hear it now: You are only as good as the last order you shipped in? Clients have short memories when you succeed, long memories when you screw up, and no loyalty. Plus, with the economy still on the rebound, there is no shortage of printers out there looking to replace you at any given account. It all adds up to trouble if you don't keep selling the account even after the sale.

One way to accomplish this task is to hit the client with a steady flow of ideas for improving on the work that you currently do for them. Wipe the slate clean, throw out all assumptions and reconsider each specification in an effort to make the piece better, cheaper, or faster. This is a great way of constantly reminding a client why they do business with you. New ideas keep an account fresh and make you bulletproof.

Question five is "Did you offer any new ideas for improvement?"

A Good VendorÖ
Öis as important as a good customer. You must know that your accounts are under constant attack at the hands of your competition. So why wait until the client calls to tell you about the order you just lost? Why not make pre-emptive strikes?

No one will pat you on the back. So, you must do it yourself. Remind your client how good you are when things go right. In addition to putting something in writing, it is not out of line to put in a good word for yourself during a sales call with either the client or his/her boss.

Question six is "Did you cement your standing in the client's eyes?"


Not every sales call will result in an order. That means you will have to come up with other ways to add value and measure success with each client contact. Answering any of these questions with a "yes" also constitutes a successful sales call. Although that's not the same as making a sale, it can help you get there.

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