Important Techniques To Get The Most Out Of Sales Calls
In THE 21st CENTURY RIDE-ALONG: How Sales Leaders Can Develop Their Teams In Real-Time Sales Calls, published by Sandler Training , sales management expert Antonio Garrido provides techniques for maximizing the effectiveness of sales calls. There’s a belief in some circles that, given the rise of the virtual workplace, ride-alongs are vestiges of the past. “In our digitally-driven, interactive-media era, ride-alongs are critically important to increasing the self-sufficiency of staff as well as dramatically improving their skills and motivation,” says Garrido.
The best way for managers to learn and understand how well their people actually operate is by spending time observing and coaching them, live, in the field. To gain firsthand experience of particular strengths and weaknesses, managers should go along with them on appointments and observe them in action — the ride-along.
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Garrido shows how ride-alongs, when properly conducted, benefit not only the individual salesperson but help advance organizational goals:
- Having the sales manager present at the meeting gives the prospect or customer a heightened feeling of importance
- Ride-alongs help the salesperson identify and build alliances with subordinates and superiors of the key contact, widening their respective networks
- Ride-alongs significantly improve the skill and competency of the sales manager
Ride-alongs allow the sales manager to coach for immediate improvement, rather than rely on quarterly performance reviews and less regular, more esoteric, calendar-driven coaching sessions.
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Garrido stresses the important of debriefing sessions following a ride-along. Borrowing from concepts employed in the military, he breaks down the primary objectives of debriefs:
- Place the events of the sales call into a logical time-based order
- Clear up misconceptions regarding the outcomes and events of the call
- Acknowledge the accomplishments of individuals and teams
- Provide individuals with a sense of importance and belonging
- Provide a feedback loop that serves to inform plans for the next sales campaign
THE 21st CENTURY RIDE-ALONG shows managers how to utilize one of the most powerful yet underutilized development tools in the sales leader’s toolkit. By applying the techniques taught by Garrido, managers will achieve significant, meaningful, and lasting growth and ensure that all individuals are operating at a higher level of self-sufficiency, skill, consistency, and motivation.
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