One of the most important ways to increase sales performance is to prepare for sales calls. Selling is more about asking and less about telling. Showing knowledge of the customer and his industry communicates a respect for your client’s time and your interest in him/her and their business. It is as much about how you sell as what you sell. If sales people thought more about the questions they were going to ask, they would ask much better questions. Sales call preparation, how you sell is as critical as what you sell, improve individual and sales team performance by making sure they prepare and prepare the way you want them to.

Researching our perspective customers and the people with whom we meet, prepares sales people to ask curious questions about why, what, how and when. It calms sales people down and boosts their confidence. Preparations increases the ability of the sales person to facilitate the sales meeting and advance the sales process in meaningful and helpful ways.

Solid preparation allows the sales person keeps them from wasting their time on questions that are not compelling or important and helps them retain their customer’s interest in them, their company and their solutions. Preparation differentiates sales people in noticeably positive ways, because many sales people fail to prepare or do not prepare thoroughly for meetings.

Thoughtful preparation is how sales people express their professionalism and helps them make effective use of their time. The person asking the question in a meeting is the one in control