Sales Calls that Work
A colleague asked an interesting question recently… one that resonated with me personally as it pointed to an area of my business that once did NOT work and now DOES work.
He asked, “When making sales calls, are the questions we’re asking offering up the right answers?” Much depends on how we each define “right answers”, but who really has the those anyway?
As a technical expert, it’s likely your professional training didn’t prepare you for the world of sales. That’s a challenge if you own your own a business or have been promoted to a business development role in your organization.
Many technology professionals (and even die-hard salespeople) will say that cold-calling or sales calls don’t work in their business or industry.
B.S. – they can work. You just need to make a small shift in Intention and Process. Here’s what I’ve learned:
Relate
I ran across an interesting question on LinkedIn Answers today…
“When you telecommute, how do you stay connected with your place of business? Today, we are seeing a shift in the workplace and the number of remote employees is on the rise. Technology has aided in this transition by allowing for businesses to be run from home. We know that employees are able to work effectively from home, but how do remote workers remain connected to their organization? How do they establish themselves as present employees who are part of the team despite their location?”
What a great question as it touches on a topic / situation that goes well beyond just “tele-commuting” – it addresses the more contextual challenge we have in creating relationships that make a difference.
An Uphill Life
Life and work, at times, feel like an uphill struggle. We constantly second-guess our careers, our roles, our projects, our life, our relationships and … and … and…
I do it too. Maybe more than anyone else.
The thing is, where does it get us? Not very far, although I keep trying to prove that theory wrong. 