Call Objective: Flexibility

The sales professional can’t approach a prospect without having a flexible game plan. Although outlining and planning are necessary, the benefit of a flexible plan, instead of a stringent one, is that it allows you to meet your prospect’s stated objectives. Many a salesperson fails to close on a call because his mental objective was simply to get in the door, but the customer was ready to buy right then and there.

When setting sales call objectives, ask yourself these questions: Does my sales plan fit the prospect’s stated objectives? Have I left room for changes in my presentation should the prospect express different needs than the ones I already know? Have I prepared questions that will allow the prospect to tell me all his objectives? Have I prepared a number of different closes to use during the sales call in case the prospect is ready to buy today?

By being flexible enough to respond to new information or customer needs when they are identified, the salesperson can adjust the sales plan accordingly and may find a sale where before there was only a call objective.