Sales professionals learn at the beginning of their careers that if they want to make decent money, they need to contact as many people as possible. This ethos causes many sales professionals to stay on the phone all day and dial one number after another. But this approach is not entirely the happiest.
Quantity and quality do not match
It's easy to think that maximizing your sales representatives' contacts on any given day will automatically lead to higher revenue. After all, if your team transfers 10% of sales calls and each agent calls 100 people instead of 50, it would mean 10 new stores instead of 5. This looks great on paper, but the real world is much more complicated.
In particular, you should not assume that your sales representatives will maintain a stable conversion rate as you increase their call volume. More calls means spending less time with each person. In the end, it is quite likely that the call conversion rate will decrease.
What is the goal?
If we are to leave call volume as a metric for sales performance, we will need to refocus on a new goal. Consider setting a new goal to build as many quality relationships with potential customers as possible. Of course, it's much harder to measure something like quality relationships, but that's the price you pay for progress. Developing a meaningful and lasting relationship with the person on the other end of the phone will be more valuable to the business than just dialing as many numbers as possible every day.
Building a strong foundation
It would be great to build a strong relationship with the key person in the organization from the beginning. However, this usually does not happen. In fact, it's more than okay - it's an opportunity. If you encourage your representatives to build relationships gradually with the client's subordinates, they can form allies in the organization. This will not only make it easier for you to get in front of the decision-makers at some point, but it will also help your representative to conclude an agreement in the end.
Don't let anything escape
Every conversation with an individual within the target organization is an opportunity to learn. That's why taking notes is so important. Ask your sales representatives to capture customer feedback in their notes and use it to improve your company as a whole. All notes should be recorded in CRM so that the entire sales team can use them.
Ask questions and evaluate the answers
This point coincides with the previous point. Your potential customers can say a lot about your product and how it adapts to their needs - but they don't have to share it until asked by a sales representative. So make sure the sales team always asks you. Sometimes you will have an answer to a question that will encourage customers to do business with you. The dialogue created will allow you to improve your sales pitch or your product to better serve others.
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