Planning the Sales Call

Is a Must
 Learning Objectives

7-1: Explain the importance of sales call planning. 

7-2: List the four planning steps in order and understand them. 
7-3: Develop a customer benefit plan. 
7-4: Describe the prospect’s five mental steps in buying.

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 The Core Principles: Planning 1

Plan how to help people solve problems and

fulfill needs
Plan every aspect of sales call so you will be
organized and prepared
Plan to present a specific solution to each
prospect’s unique set of problems and needs

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 The Core Principles: Planning 2

Planning: A key difference

between effective and
less effective salespeople:
• Effective salespeople:
Plan, implement plans,
and evaluate day’s sales
results in order to know
what to do tomorrow
• Less effective salespeople
think about planning but
seldom execute the plan
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 Understanding Your Purpose Will Help You
Effectively Develop A Plan 1
Purpose
• The “why” behind your actions or reason you do
what you do—such as:
• To help others; to solve problems; to help my customers
reach their objectives, etc.

• Understanding your purpose helps you approach

each sales call.
• For example: One purpose for any sales call could be to
contribute/aid in helping someone else

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 Understanding Your Purpose Will Help You
Effectively Develop A Plan 2
Plan to Achieve your Purpose
• Plan each day
• Carry out plan
• Adjust to circumstances as you go
• At the end of each day evaluate your day to ensure a
successful tomorrow.

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 What’s a Plan?

The Preapproach stage is planning stage of

sales process
• Top salespeople are great planners
• Planning creates a number of benefits for
the seller, the buyer, and their relationship

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 The Preapproach & The Sales Process

The preapproach involves

planning the sales presentation.
Your planning will also assist in
developing trust with the buyer.

Jump to Long Image Description

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 Sales Call Planning

The four components of sales call planning are (1) determining

the sales call objective; (2) developing or reviewing the customer
profile; (3) developing a customer benefit plan; and (4)
developing the individual sales presentation.

Jump to Long Image Description

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 The Pre-Approach (Planning The Sales Call):
Step 1 (1)
Always Have a Sales Call Objective
• The precall objective – have one or more!
• Need a goal to accomplish
• Focus and flexibility
• Focuses efforts on objective when you are with customer
• Be prepared to switch to another objective if needed

• Make the goal specific

• Set a SMART call objective
• Move customer conversation toward the objective

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 Planning The Sales Call Process

1. Determine sales call objective

• Always have a sales call objective
• Set a SMART Call Objective
• Specific—to get an order is not specific.
• Measurable—quantifiable (number, size, etc.).
• Achievable—not too difficult to fulfill.
• Realistic—not too easy to fulfill.
• Timed—at this call or before the end of the financial year.
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 SMART-Based Call Objective
Specific—to get an order is
not specific.
Measurable—quantifiable
(number, size, etc.).
Achievable—not too
difficult to fulfill.
Realistic—not too easy to
fulfill.
Example:
To meet with the Joe’s Retail Grocery buyer
with responsibilities in the cleaning category
on March 15, 2019 and sign an agreement on
March 15, 2019 (specific) to purchase 55
cases of the new Kragni product solution
(measurable) and distribute it within 50 of
their 100 stores (achievable and realistic) by
June 1, 2019 (realistic and time based).

Timed—at this call or before

the end of the financial
year.

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 2. A Customer Profile Helps You Understand 1

Who makes the buying decisions in the organization—an

individual or committee?
What is the buyer’s background? The background of the
buyer’s company? The buyer’s expectations of you?
What are the desired business terms and requirements
of the account, such as delivery, credit, technical service?
What competitors successfully do business with the
account? Why?

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 A Customer Profile Helps You Understand 2

What are the purchasing policies and practices of the

customer? For example, does the customer buy special price
offer promotions, or only see salespeople on Tuesdays and
Thursdays?
What is the history of the customer account? For example,
past purchases of our products, inventory turnover, profit per
shelf foot, our brand’s volume sales growth, payment
practices, and attitude toward resale prices.
What are the buyer’s critical needs?
What pressure(s) is the buyer facing within their organization
and their competitive environment?
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 Information Used in a Profile and for Planning 1
1. Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________

2. Type of business: _________________________________________________________________________

Name of buyer: ____________________________________________________________________________

3. People who influence buying decisions or aid in using or selling our product: _________________________

4. Buying hours and best time to see buyer: _____________________________________________________

5. Mode of communication the buyer prefers (face-to-face, e-mail, text, phone, instant message, etc.): _____

6. Administrative assistant’s name: _____________________________________________________________

7. Buyer’s profile: ___________________________________________________________________________

8. Buyer’s personality style: ___________________________________________________________________

9. Sales call objectives: _______________________________________________________________________

10. What are customer’s important buying needs: _________________________________________________

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 (1)

3. Customer benefit plan

Focuses on information used in your sales
conversation/presentation
• Use needs you uncovered in your research
• Begin devising potential solutions
• Develop pertinent FABs and tie to the customer
need(s) you have projected/forecasted

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 4. Develop sales presentation/conversation
Using research and customer profile, create opening
(approach) of presentation
• Rapport-building opportunity, agenda, and discovery section
that helps you learn about buyer’s needs
• Prepare product’s FABs, marketing plan, and business
proposition
• Prepare a suggested purchase order
• Choose closing method that feels natural

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