The skills that are necessary in the pipeline phase of selling are not the same as those required in appointment setting. (Part 4 of 4.)
Many sales managers we talk to operate under the assumption that because their sales team, once in front of a target, can move that target through the pipeline effectively, they are properly equipped and capable of getting a target into the pipeline. After all, selling is selling, isn’t it? The sale, or objective for this step in the process is all that is different, right?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. And this misunderstanding of the differences has created what we like to call the ‘elephant in the sales bullpen’. It is apparent to everyone that enough Initial Appointments are not being set, but the root cause is not pursued as a separate process. Instead, us sales managers all ignore the elephant and utter the old mantra, “Make more dials”!
This four part blog explores the four major differences: the Beginning Repartee, the Pace of the Exchange, the Types of Responses heard from the target, and Preparation to Succeed.
- The Preparation to Succeed. When in front of a target during the pipeline phase of the sales process, our preparation for the meeting should definitely include some planning. However, we can not plan for all contingencies. That means that much of our success is based on our ability to think on our feet as each situation is slightly different.
On a cold call, there are only a few responses we’ll hear if we deliver the same message each time we approach someone. To accomplish that, we must memorize our opening approach to limit the responses we’ll hear and then memorize the responses we’ll use to Counter those.
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