How to start a sales conversation that captures the interest

Potential buyer – Hello

Sales rep – Hello, I am Kelam, calling from Ace Interno; we are a B2B portal, holding six years of……….

(Buyer hangs up the calls)

Oops!

This is what happens when sales conversations commence with a boring introduction. 

Nobody has time in this busy business world. People repel to uninteresting sales conversations; they find interruptive, infuriating, and a waste a time. 

Only 31% of salespeople converse effectively with senior executives.

Try to make your sales conversations compelling to capture the interest of a prospect.

How to do that?

Well, to help you, I’ve mentioned a few tips to start your sales conversation effectively. But before we get to that, let us look at some sales conversation mistakes that propel the buyer to hang up. 

Sales conversation mistakes to avoid 

In just a few seconds, the potential prospects decide whether they should stay on the call or focus on something more productive. So, you can’t afford to make any mistakes while selling over the phone. 

Here are some of the conversation sales mistakes that you need to avoid 

Not being prepared 

By failing to prepare, you are failing to prepare – Benjamin Franklin 

Preparation is a must in sales. Most sales reps call without preparation. All they end up doing is disturb the prospects because they fail to provide value. 

For effective sales conversations, you’ll have to spend some time in preparation. 

• Define your goals. Be clear with what you want to accomplish before the call ends.
• Create a list of questions that you want to ask. 
• Have mock call sessions with your seniors to handle difficult sales situations.
• Learn something about the prospect before calling them 

Have a natural conversation

The major problem is that several salespeople do not know how to engage with potential prospects. Some lack confidence; others read word to word from a script, which makes them sound robotic. 

Establishing and maintaining relationships is essential in sales. For that, the conversation should flow naturally. 

• Try to strike a meaningful conversation with the prospects.
• Instead of long tales, ensure your script just has the outline of important points.
• Try to break the ice and make the prospect comfortable.
• Speak about the things that interest the prospects.

Doing all the talking without listening  

A few sales reps are so engrossed speaking about all the good things about their product that they do not listen to the prospects. Active listening is a vital skill that every salesperson must develop. 

• Show interest in what the prospect is saying.
• Do not interrupt while the prospect is speaking. 
• Keep your share of conversation clear and concise.
• In the end, summarize whatever was discussed to show that you were listening. 

Tips to have effective sales conversations 

If you manage to get in the good books of the sales prospects by having a meaningful conversation, then you won’t face problems later. Besides, happy prospects don’t only convert into paying customers but also give referrals. 

So pay attention to how you converse with your prospects. 

Read on to find some tips for making your sales conversations interesting. 

Have the right opening statement 

The first impression is the last impression, especially in sales. Prospects might not receive your call again if you fail to impress them. 

So, focus on your opening statements. 

Your opening statements should give the prospect a reason to stay on the call and listen to you.

Sales call opening statements you shouldn’t use 

• “Did I catch you at a bad time?” 

Using this statement to open a call makes you 40% less likely to book a meeting. 

• “Do you have a minute to talk?”

People generally don’t have the time to hear a sales pitch. So there are 70% to 80% chances of hearing a NO.

Sales call opening statements to use 

• “How have you been?” 

Opening a call with this question boasted a 6.6X higher success rate. 

• “How are you?”

Calls that opened with some version of “how are you” had a 5.2% success rate compared with the 1.5% baseline. 

• “The reason for my call is…”

Beginning your conversation with a proactive reason increases your success rate by 2.1X.

Personalize the conversation

Engaging a prospect is difficult without personalization. Make your sales conversations interactive and compelling by personalizing it.

For that, you must do some in-depth research. Gather basic information about the prospect and find out their interest areas. Speaking about things that the prospect is interested in helps in building a good rapport. 

Only when a prospect is comfortable s/he will speak about their concerns and business challenges. So, focus on creating custom interaction with the prospects. 

Maintain the right tone 

The right tone, pitch, and pace are important to have effective sales conversations. 

You shouldn’t be-

Too fast or too slow

Too loud or too soft

Too formal or too casual

It is important to be somewhere in between. The prospect should understand whatever you are saying, or they will lose interest.  So use the right volume level, tone, and pace while conversing with the prospects. 

Ask the right questions 

Questions help in engaging the prospects; it gives them a chance to speak and keep the conversation going. So, ask relevant questions to the prospects.

Here are a few questions you ask

• The recent [mention the ongoing crisis] had a huge impact on small businesses. Are you too affected by it?
• What is the biggest challenge this year with the changing market scenario? 
• How are you coping up with the evolving industry trends? 
• Many of our clients from your industry have implemented[solution] to overcome the [problem]. Have you too done something to address the [problem] 
• Can you tell me more about (challenge/pain point)?
• What determines whether or not you will implement a specific solution?

Demonstrate your expertise 

Be a consultant and show how you can help the prospects overcome the hurdles to business growth. 

The modern business world demands proof of expertise in a certain domain. Sellers need to prove that they are capable of solving a certain problem faced by a potential buyer. 

So, provide real-life examples to your potential prospects. Show them what you’ve been doing till now, how you’ve helped a customer solve a similar problem that the prospect is currently facing. Be explicit about the benefits received by your customers. 

Be clear with the next step 

Define the next step before ending the call. 

Should you call them after a few days?

Or email them certain information about the product.

Or have a skype chat?

Ask them which channel and what time and day is convenient for them to connect again. Send them a calendar invite immediately and ask them to confirm. 

Conclusion 

Whether a deal will move forward in the sales pipeline or skip away through the crack depends on the sales conversation. So be confident and try to engage your prospects with interactive conversations. Make sure you ask the right question and listen to your prospects. Pay attention to the opening and closing statements. Ensure the calls aren’t too long. Respect the prospect’s time. Monitor your call and try to improve your performance.  

Use call tracking software to get all the vital calling insights. 

You can either invest in an individual call tracking tool or go more a much-advanced solution like Salesmate CRM. From managing calls to streamlining sales, there is a lot you can do with this high-end CRM.