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The current economy has forced many labs to add new clients to fill the void of work no longer coming in. To do so, some have curbed advertising and marketing, while others have stepped it up. One thing is certain: You have to get in front of your existing and prospective customers for some face time. But what can you do to make your sales calls more effective? Be Prepared
The current economy has forced many labs to add new clients to fill the void of work no longer coming in. To do so, some have curbed advertising and marketing, while others have stepped it up. One thing is certain: You have to get in front of your existing and prospective customers for some face time. But what can you do to make your sales calls more effective?
Be Prepared
A common mistake is to just go out and make calls without any preparation. You need to do some homework and develop questions to ask that will give you some answers on what your customer or prospect might need in his or her practice.
Look at your customers first. The goal is to gather the proper information to help you be more effective during your visit.
Who are your customers? What type of work do they send? By analyzing which department they fall into, you can determine which area has the greatest opportunity for growth based on experience.
Account Analysis
Performing an account analysis will provide you with a wealth of information. An account analysis is a ranking by each account and the type of work they send to your laboratory based on dollar volume. It should guide your sales efforts to the areas that will give you the greatest return. You might discover there are customers not giving you work in certain areas, and that is an opportunity. You’ll also discover who your most important customers are. These are the accounts you need to make sure are taken care of properly. But you already knew that, right?
An account analysis also should give a profile of customers who give you the bulk of your business. You’ll probably find the 80/20 rule applies (80% of your volume comes from 20% of your customers). Similar attributes such as age, dental school, location of practice, study group interest, and how you obtained the account are useful pieces of information to know as you plan your call on new prospects.
Not one method
There are different applications to use with existing clients versus prospective customers, so just be aware that you need to rely on your existing client account analysis for help in developing your questions. This also applies to calling on new prospects.
There are three rules to consider when growing any business:
Sales is a difficult profession and calls for someone who can take rejection, has patience, and is determined to get the job done correctly. But gathering information and developing a sound sales-call process will make getting up-close and personal more enjoyable and financially rewarding. Developing a strategy that appeals to your existing customers’ needs and wants also will appeal to potential customers.
Face-to-face
When making in-person sales calls on current or potential customers…
Do…
Don’t…