What are some of the more subtle, but important, key moments in your sales process that affect every sales outcome?

If I were to review some recent conversations with clients and their salespeople, crucial accomplishments included:

Company A - Getting the prospect to visit them rather than vice-versa.  Shows commitment, importance and builds credibility.

Company B - Tonality - it's the difference between an extended phone conversation and lack of interest.

Company B - Handling Stalls and Put-Offs - keeps prospects on the phone long enough to be sold.

Company C - Up-sell and cross-sell opportunities - they have a mature market so when salespeople seek out these opportunities and build cases for them, the company grows.  When the salespeople are complacent, growth and earnings are flat.

Company D - Asking the right questions in the first 2 minutes of the call.  It's the difference between an engaged prospect and "next?".

Company E - Setting Expectations with regard to money.  When they ask if a certain amount would surprise their prospect, they eliminate the sticker shock factor at proposal time and learn whether they need to discuss money and value in more detail now.

Company A - Taking advantage of the opportunity to push back and challenge.  This establishes value and credibility and differentiates them from all of their competitors.

What are some of the key moments that impact your sales outcomes?  Sometimes, just the act of identifying what they are will make everyone pay more attention to doing it more consistently.

(C) Copyright 2010 Dave Kurlan