Why Phone Calls and Meetings Don’t Result in Sales

Do you believe the more people you contact, the more business you or your team will obtain? Though it might sound logical to think “more is better”, let me help you discover a better way to quickly evaluate opportunities and determine which ones are worth pursuing.

First, let me give an example: I recently received a sales call from an individual saying he “wanted to setup time to meet with me about his firm.” The caller’s introduction was vague and gave me no information into what services his firm provided. It turns out the caller was an investment advisor. I explained to the caller that my current financial advisor is a close friend and someone whom I trust with my life. Therefore, a meeting would not be a good use of our time.

He responded, “I see you have a big network. Even if you don’t have a need, maybe you could refer me to some of your contacts.” Though I appreciate the creativity of trying to reach my network, he had to realize that even if one of my personal contacts did need a financial advisor, I would not refer them to someone who is one step from a complete stranger.

What Went Wrong?

The problem with the caller’s approach is that his goal was to get a meeting.

Someone told him “If you want to grow your business, it’s all a numbers game. Make as many phone calls and get as many meetings as possible. The more people you contact, the more business you’ll get.”  It just doesn’t work that way anymore. You need a better way to quickly evaluate opportunities and determine which ones are worth the pursuit.

How to Be Selective

In my book, Upside Down Selling, I share a case study of Excella Consulting who doubled their growth rate in the first year. What makes their story interesting is that they accelerated growth while pursuing dramatically fewer opportunities.

Another client recently told me that they are on track to double their quarterly revenue, while offering fewer than half of the sales demos they gave the prior quarter.  In fairness, simply doing less is not enough to get results. You need a way to objectively review your opportunities and take emotion out of the evaluation.

The mistake most businesses make when evaluating potential opportunities is a simple focus on demographic data such as number of employees, amount of revenue, or number of locations.  While that information gives you some insight, here is a better approach.

First, determine if the client has an issue worth solving.  Once you determine the problem is worth solving and then focus on whether or not they are a TRUE fit.

What is a TRUE fit?

We built a spreadsheet tool to identify whether or not an opportunity is a TRUE fit. It breaks opportunities into 4 categories:

T-erms: The Business terms

R-elationship:  Are you on the inside or outside?  Are they rooting for you?  Are they confiding in you, or the preferred vendor they want to have helped them?

U-pside: What is the potential to replicate, expand, reference, or create new business from this deal?

E-xpertise: How close does this project fit with your companies’ greatest strengths and strategic objectives?

Though the TRUE spreadsheet tool has a predefined set of parameters, you can tailor it to your needs. Simply evaluate your client for each item on a scale from 1-10, and then see graphically how the opportunity fits with their needs.

I will happily share this valuable spreadsheet tool with you for free. To receive a copy of the spreadsheet, send me a direct message on Twitter with your email address asking for the TRUE fit tool.

Follow the TRUE fit steps and you’ll quickly appreciate why the goal is finding the right fit, not getting a meeting.

It’s Your Turn

What criteria do you find to be most valuable in determining if an opportunity is the right fit for you or your organization?

2295 views