Questions YOU Need Answered in a Sales Call
By Levina Kusumadjaja
Have you ever felt anxious about being on a sales call with a potential client? Do you feel your heart racing at the thought of selling your service to someone, or maybe even feel guilty because you’re trying to sell something that they don’t really need?
When you come into a sales call with the pressure of having to sell something or convince your client of a service you are offering, there’s a big chance you will feel nervous or anxious because all the focus is on you. As a result, you risk not helping your client solve their problem. Focusing on your own needs means that you get busy telling them your services and your expertise — instead of understanding your client’s problem.
This is why your priority in a sales call is to listen and ask questions, not explain or persuade. The main purpose of a sales call isn’t to sell, but to understand first what the client’s problem really is. You will not know how to solve your client’s problem by offering your services to them, but you have a good chance of helping them when you truly understand what your client is trying to accomplish.
What are the client’s goals and expectations?
There are some valuable things to uncover in a sales call. The first thing is that your conversation should help you understand your client’s expectations. What are their expectations of the project? What are the goals they are trying to accomplish? Ask them questions about the vision of their business and the challenges they are currently facing. From there, you can ask yourself whether what you offer can possibly help them solve their problem and help them get to their goals.
How will you measure success?
You have to be able to define what “success” looks like for both of you in this project. It cannot be something assumed, it needs to be clarified. Ask your client, how will they measure success? When they look at their business or their personal brand, what would make this project be considered a success? Make sure you uncover not only how you can measure them but whether they are possible as well. You want your work to bring impact for your client and get them to their goal. To do that, you need to measure what getting to the goal will actually look like.
Will you and the client be a good fit?
In that same conversation, use your curiosity and ask questions that can help you evaluate whether you will be a good fit with your client. Find out whether they value strategy or not. Are they interested and open to lean into your process? Do they see you as a partner or just some hired hands? For example, if they are fixated on just wanting to get a new logo design and they don’t want to hear at all about your strategic process, then perhaps it would be best for you to refer them to someone else—because you are not just a logo designer, you are a brand strategist.
Can they afford you?
Another important aspect to highlight is budget. Don’t wait until the next call to talk about budget. Make sure that before you start thinking about making a proposal, you must already address this fundamental question: Can they afford you? Ask them how much they are willing to invest for the goals that they want to accomplish. Give them an estimate or a range of how much you typically charge people and set a clear minimum level of engagement.
What are the next steps?
If all the dots above click, you’re ready to end the call. You now understand your client’s goals, they have an idea of what your process looks like and they are ready to invest in that. They are excited and they can’t wait to get started, and you are also thrilled that you get a new client. A great tip at this point is to spend the final minutes outlining the next steps. What do your client need to do now before you do the strategy workshop or have the next meeting? What can they expect from you? Are there schedules that you both need to set up? Just make sure that’s clarified to avoid misunderstandings and maintain clear expectations.
So, what do you think? Does that sound like a sales call that you want to do? The bottomline is that a sales call should not be filled with all the pressure of getting it perfect because it’s not about you. The call is about your client and figuring out whether you will be the right person to solve your client's needs. Just keep the questions above somewhere in your notes, be ready to listen to your client, and have fun.
“The most valuable thing you can do is to understand your client.”
- Wesley Little
Cheers!
Levina
Get the Brand Strategy 101 FREE Mini Course
Tired of being an order-taker? Start getting paid to think. Subscribe now to receive helpful content, plus instant access to this free video course. 6 days. 6 videos. 10 minutes a day.
About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!