Have you witnessed sales calls that consist of the salesperson talking about themselves, their company and their product with very few questions directed towards the prospect?

Usually this happens when the salesperson is not prepared for the sales call. He/she gets a trick question from the prospect like, "tell me about your company," or "how do you stack up against XYZ?" The salesperson goes from being in control of the appointment to being controlled by the prospect.
Sales Superstars are like commercial airline pilots. They have a checklist that they go through to eliminate mistakes and make sure they are throughly prepared. This pre-call planning allows them to be in control of the sales call.
Be honest. How much time do your salespeople really spend in preparation for a sales call? The preparation needs to include more that checking out the prospect's website. Here are some items to put on your pre-call checklist:

• What problems does the prospect have that my product and/or service can solve?
• What are great questions to ask the prospect to undercover and understand their problems
• Who are the decision makers?
• What kind of budget do they have to fix any problems?
• What is there sense of urgency to fix any problems or make any changes?
• Can they leave (fire) their current provider?
• What is your goal of the call?

A great checklist will help your salespeople be well prepared and avoid a crash landing!

PRE-CALL PLANNING: