By Tom Basile

What is the number one rule when going on a sales call? Know your prospective customer... Yes, that is important and you should not be making the sales call if you don’t know your prospective customer’s business and perceived challenges. The number one rule is to listen. You can learn a lot by just listening. Ask probing questions based on your knowledge of their business and then listen.

A common mistake sales people make is not letting the prospect talk. New, as well as seasoned sales people feel compelled to talk in the sales setting. They are so excited about their company and its solutions that they just have to share it with anyone showing any degree of interest. Guess what: most prospects are not the least bit interested in your company or what your company is doing.

They get many calls a week from companies just like yours. Don’t act like everyone else by pulling out the company brochure and PowerPoint pitch. You know what I mean, the 20 to 30 slides that tell a prospect everything they ever wanted to know about your company except the most important thing: how you are going to help them solve their pressing problem? PowerPoint presentations are often perceived by the listener as lectures or monologues rather than dialog.

How do you know what their problems are you ask? You must do extensive homework on the prospect’s organization and needs. Even with extensive homework a problem may not surface. That is where the listening comes in. Ask an intelligent question based on your understanding of their business, stop talking and listen, and, lo and behold, you might get the prospect to surface a problem or two. Now the prospect has opened the door for you to seize the moment.

If you have a solution, then focus on the problem at hand. If you don’t, ask more probing questions or end the call. Do not waste your prospect’s time or your own.

(Tom Basile of Seneca Creek Consulting can be reached at tbasile@senecacreekconsulting.com or 703-346-7367.)