There is a lot of noise around social media these days. We hear about the importance of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Oh, and remember to write a blog and enhance your website regularly. It’s all good stuff and you should do it.
However, it doesn’t replace that one to one experience of a personal sales call. Get out and see your customers! Several months ago I wrote about avoiding the “just checking in” sales call. We are all too busy to waste time on those types of calls. Have a purpose for your call. Make the time spent worthwhile for you and your customer.
Meeting your customers on a regular basis sets you apart from all those hoping their next posting will generate a sales lead. Sales calls are interactive. They talk, you listen and vice versa. Feedback; face-to-face feedback, is important. How many times has an email been misunderstood because it lacked tone, body language, or facial expressions?
I often hear of good salespeople getting bogged down in their offices. All of sudden the day slips away. They are answering emails, writing quotes, doing paperwork. All of that stuff is important, but it doesn’t have to be done during peak selling hours. That time of day when customers can be found in their offices. Here are a few hints to get you out of the office seeing your customers.
- Plan at least two weeks into the future. Begin the first week by setting appointments for next week.
- The next week. Be thinking who you want to see the following week. What is the priority of calls, where you will travel most efficiently and which prospects do you want to see?
- Plan to be out of the office three days of the week. Save administrative stuff for Mondays and Fridays.
- Each day you are out of the office should have at least one anchor call. This is the high priority call. Fill in the remainder of the day with prospects or lower priority calls.
When I was a young salesman a grizzly old veteran told me “plan your work and work you plan.” Those are words to live by.
