Some Par-Ticularly Good Sales Ideas
Norm sells software to golf course superintendents, and his goal with this first call is to get a demo disk in the hands of the prospect. “Hello, this is Norm Campbell, with InCircuit, out of Austin, Texas. We specialize in working with golf course superintendents world-wide. Have you ever heard of GCS?” He continues with, “Superintendents now using our system find that they are able to save 2-3 hours per week in day- to-day activities AND at the same time reduce their monthly budget costs. Are you presently using a computer to keep track of areas such as your chemicals/fertilizers, equipment and inventory?”
Then he follows with these questions. “Are you presently using any management software?”
“Are you planning to add any type of grounds care management software now, or in the next few months?” “Have you included the purchase of this type of software in your budget?”
The next step in his process then is to get a free demo disk in their hands.
“We have a FREE demo of our software I would like to send you and let you determine if our software would be of benefit for your course operations.”
He concludes with a catch-all question to root out any other key info he can use.
“Are there any specific areas where you would you like to save the most time AND money?”
Analysis and Recommendation
Overall, some pretty good tactics here. However, we can strengthen it in several key areas.
1. Don't Ask if They're Familiar. Get rid of the question in the opening, “Have you ever heard of GCS?”
This might be appropriate later, but it adds nothing to the opening, the place where we need to gain momentum. 2. Edit the Opening. I suggested revising the opening slightly:
“Hello _____, this is Norm Campbell, with InCircuit, out of Austin, Texas. You might have seen us advertised in the back of Golf Course Management magazine (Norm says they advertise in the back of “Golf Course Management” trade magazine each month) . . . We specialize in working with golf course superintendents world-wide, helping them to save in most cases, 2-3 hours per week in day-to-day activities AND at the same time reduce their monthly budget costs.
If I've caught you at a good time, I'd like to ask you a few questions to see if you'd like more information on what we have available to help superintendents get these types of results. (wait for response) Great . . . ( begin questioning).”
3. Ask Problem-Related Questions.
Next, after the qualifying questions, I'd probe deeper with questions to uncover problems the software can solve: “How do you now schedule your herbicide application? How much time does that take?” The purpose here is to actually give them a reason to WANT to look at the demo. He could tease them a little. “Our software has a function that automatically schedules the routine maintenance on your mowers, so you don't have to keep it manually, or worse forget . . .”
After a few of these that touch the appropriate nerves and gets them excited, then tell them, “I'd like to send you out a demo of the program so you could test it yourself and see how easy it would be for you to handle . . .” This way, they commit to doing something, they're more interested in the program since they see it filling a need, and he's following up with better prospects, and not wasting time with people who just take a demo because it's free, or a way to get him off the phone.
About the Author
Art Sobczak helps sales pros use the phone to prospect, service and sell more effectively, while eliminating morale-killing "rejection. To get FREE weekly emailed TelE-Sales Tips visit: http://ww.BusinessByPhone.com
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