So, after going through literally thousands of different sales calls, in this article, I’m going share with you the 12 biggest mistakes I’ve made on sales appointments and the lessons that I’ve learned from them.
In the last 15 years of running my own business, I’ve used these same lessons to go from a 1% close rate to an 80% or higher close rate without:
- Using any cringy sales tactics
- High-pressure sales techniques
- Deceptive promises or
- Anything else like that
I hope that by the end of this article, you can take away at least one or two things that will help you close more sales deals with less effort and stress, even if you’re a bit of an introvert like me.
Even if you don’t really consider yourself a salesperson, you’re a business owner who does need to make sales in order to grow your business. So, this is quite important.
Without wasting time, let’s get to it.
Key Takeaways
In a hurry? Here are the lessons:
- Have an Irresistible Offer
- Provide 10x More Value
- Frame the Value Upfront
- Avoid Talking from a Script
- Ask Key Questions
- Don’t Sell Unless They Want to Buy
- Don’t Do All the Talking
- Handle Objections with Real Examples
- Provide Proof
- Don’t Give Too Many options
- Filter People Out
- Have a Strong Automated Follow-up
I explained how you can integrate most of these lessons to create an efficient lead generation system in this free training video. I recommend watching it before proceeding.
What Have I Learned from my 15+ Years of Sales Calls?
In no particular order, here are the lessons I’ve picked and re-applied in my numerous sales calls over the years.
Lesson 1: Have an Irresistible Offer
Lesson one is one of the most important things you can do to increase your sales. I’ll drive home this point with a bit of a background…
In the earlier years of my business, there was one month when I was trying to sell this new service I was testing. I remember having 40 sales calls in one month, and I literally converted an amazing 0 people into clients.
At first I thought maybe I’m just really bad at sales, or perhaps the leads are not good quality or something like that. But I decided to really try to put myself in my prospects’ shoes, and I realized the offer just wasn’t really that compelling.
So, next month, I decided to frame the offer in a slightly different way, and my sales conversion rate went from 0% to 25%–which was crazy to me.
What changed? Nothing else had changed. Just my offer and the way I presented it on the phone. And this is when I learned the importance of having a good offer.
Because even if you’re great at sales, if your offer just isn’t that interesting, you’re not going to make any (or many) sales.
So, how do you create a good offer?
Well, this brings me to…
Lesson 2: Provide 10x More Value
Irrespective of whatever you’re selling, it’s important always to try to provide at least 10x more value in your offer compared to the price you’re selling it for.
Now, you may ask why. The reason for this is simple–to make your offer as much of a “no-brainer” as possible.
You’ll probably know it’s a no-brainer when people start telling you it is on a sales call.
In other words, you kinda want people to think they would be crazy not to buy this because of just how good it is.
Like, imagine you see an airline selling a first-class business ticket that would normally cost $10K for $1K…
Chances are a lot of people would buy it because the actual value of that plane ticket is worth ten times more than what it costs. So, the greater the value you provide to people compared to your price, the easier it will be to close more sales.
But at this point… You might be wondering… How do you actually provide more value to people?
Well, one of the mistakes I made was to try and show people all the value ON a sales call. I didn’t realize that doing this somewhat makes me come across as desperate.
Like I was trying to really convince them to work with you.
This does more harm than good, and there’s a better way to go about it, which brings me to…
Lesson 3: Frame the Value Upfront
What this basically means is you want to do as much of the selling as possible before the actual sales call. So, the way I do this is using a video sales letter or a VSL for short.
For example, I help other businesses get more sales appointments in a way that is predictable, automated, and profitable. And before people schedule a call with me I show them a video.
In this video, I actually go through the strategy that I use to get predictable sales appointments each month step-by-step. Then at the end of the video, I explain how I can help business owners get faster results by working with me to help them do it vs them trying to do it all by themselves.
The goal is that by the time they reach the end of the video, they should have a good idea of what I do and if I can help them. At that point, I simply tell them to schedule a call.
You can do the same thing in your business. If you do, you’d be surprised to find out that most times, the people you speak to are already 80% sold. They just have a few more questions that maybe weren’t on the video.
I have had so many sales calls where people have watched my video and then scheduled a call. Such calls are only about 5-10 minutes long, and they lead to conversion. Why? Because the video they watched earlier already did most of the selling.
Interested in seeing what this video looks like and how you can do the same thing in your business? Watch my free masterclass training here–it goes through how it all works in more detail.
Let’s move to the next lesson.
Lesson 4: Avoid Talking from a Script
I’ve purchased a few sales courses over the years. One thing is almost common with them all–they have a script that they tell you to follow.
I tried to stick to these sales scripts even when they just didn’t feel natural to me, and it was a costly mistake.
Here’s why the scripts don’t work.
If you’re just reading from a script, especially if that script doesn’t sound like you, people can sense that.
And if you’ve ever been on a sales call yourself, or maybe you’re speaking to a customer support agent, and they’re reading from a script, you can tell in most cases.
The conversation doesn’t sound very authentic, and it makes your prospect subconsciously wary of working with you. They can sense something doesn’t feel right.
So, instead of reading from a sales script, I switched to just having a sales script guideline.
A sales script guideline offers a few advantages over a sales script:
- It’s a proven structure and formula to follow
- It also allows you to be yourself and say things in your own words
- It keeps the engagement authentic to your prospect
Instead of a word-for-word script, I develop a general guideline of what topics to cover on the call. And this has helped me increase my sales conversion rates significantly.
So, what kind of guidelines should you cover in a sales call?
This brings me to…
Lesson 5: Ask Key Questions
After doing thousands of sales calls over the years, I’ve learned that there are certain questions that I would ask that would help me get better conversions.
I call them key questions, and if properly used, they can generally help steer the conversation in the right direction.
The first question is: What motivated you to schedule this call with me?
The purpose of this question is to understand what your prospect really wants.
The second question is: Do you know much about how our strategy works, or would you like me to go through it?
This question will help you find out how much they already know and see how much more information they need to be able to make an informed decision.
For example, if they already know almost everything, they’ll tell you that, and chances are they have only a few questions about your process.
Alternatively, if they don’t know much, then you can give them a very highlevel overview of how it works. Then, they can ask additional questions until they have a good understanding of how it works.
Now, it’s important you give people a high-level overview. Do not go into too much detail because not everyone wants to know the details. Instead, go through the details of the things that they actually ask about.
Somewhere along the line, they eventually ask about the price or the next steps after they’ve understood everything about the process.
Which brings me to…
Lesson 6: Don’t Sell Unless They Want to Buy
From experience, I’ve found that it’s just not a good idea to try to sell to someone who doesn’t want to buy.
It’s just pointless, and you’re wasting your time. So I instead wait until the person asks how much it costs or what are the next steps to get started… Or something along those lines.
Then I close them.
If they ask a question like this, it indicates they’re ready to work with you. If they don’t ask anything like this, there’s no point trying to sell to them or going through your pricing. They’re simply not ready to buy yet.
But how do you know they’re ready to buy? This brings me to…
Lesson 7: Don’t Do All the Talking
Contrary to what you may have read or heard, talking too much on a sales call won’t help you sell.
When on a sales call, I try only to talk when asking or answering questions. Other than that, I do my best not to ramble on too much about how everything works.
Why? Because unless they ask about it, they probably don’t care.
So, if you start talking about things they don’t care about, you end up wasting their time and I’ve found it can hurt your conversion rate.
Lesson 8: Handle Objections with Real Examples
I picked up this lesson probably over ten years ago at a sales training seminar, but I’ve found it works really well.
While there are bound to be sales objections, you must deal with them properly. The best way to handle sales objections is to present real-life examples.
For example, if you have a marketing agency that sells Facebook ad services and a prospect says, “What if we run Facebook ads and it doesn’t convert well?”
That’s an objection. Reply with a real-life example–something like, “Well, we actually had this happen with another client, so what we did was XYZ.
PRO TIP: Write a list of common sales objections you get asked. Then, think about the answers to these questions so that it doesn’t catch you off guard if you get asked in your next call.
Lesson 9: Provide Proof
You can also reduce the possibility of sales objections by providing proof.
For example, after scheduling a call, I always redirect leads to my call confirmation page, where they can watch videos from my YouTube channel.
The reason for this is that I’ve noticed the more content someone consumes from me before the call, the more likely they are to convert into a client.
A lot of my most successful clients who get the most appointments and clients all have YouTube channels. They tell me that it’s the more YouTube videos someone watches before the call the more likely they are to convert.
This also correlates with a study Google did called the Zero Moment of Truth where they found that 80% of the buying decision is made before someone reaches out to work with you.
Another form of proof is your case studies. For example, I share case studies before the call–it’s included in the call confirmation email my leads get.
So, if you want to increase your sales call close rate… create more content and share it with prospects. Here are some video spokespeople you can hire if you don’t want to be on the video yourself.
Lesson 10: Don’t Give Too Many Options
A study by Vsauce found that the more options you give people, the less likely they will be to make a decision. This is also known as “Paralysis by Analysis.”
This also applies to sales calls. If your pricing has lots of different options, you’re less likely to get someone to make a decision. In contrast, if there are just one or three options to choose from, making a decision is easier.
That’s why, for my business, I only have two options. Either we help you do it or we do it all for you. This has made it super easy for my leads to make a purchasing decision. It has also helped me close more deals and increase conversion rates significantly.
Lesson 11: Filter People Out
As you get more sales calls, you may notice certain people are not a good fit for you. That’s why it’s a good idea to filter people out of your sales appointment funnel.
There are many ways to do this. For example, I filter people out in my videos, application forms, and other content.
If properly done, this can improve your conversion rates from sales calls by 80% (or even 90%, as I did for my business).
Most times, the only people I speak to are ready to buy. So, the call is more like, “I know what you do, I know how much it costs, so what are the next steps?”
Perhaps the only reason we don’t get a 100% conversion rate is because sometimes people bypass the filters.
For example, they will schedule a call without watching the video sales letter I mentioned in one of the earlier lessons. Or they don’t have any money to work with you, but in the application form, they lie and say they do.
Sadly, at the time of writing this, I haven’t found a way to prevent people from bypassing all the filters 100% of the time. If I find anything, I’ll be sure to share it here.
But most of the people who complete the process and schedule a call are a good fit for my business.
Lesson 12: Have a Strong Automated Follow-up
The final lesson is about not giving up on your prospects. Just because someone doesn’t buy straight away on the call doesn’t mean they won’t buy at all.
Now, I know a lot of people try to get you to do one-call closes or things like that.
But the reality is that most people don’t like to be pressured into making a decision. And quite frankly, I don’t want to pressure anyone into working with me either.
So, for those who don’t make a decision on the call, I am VERY comfortable with them taking the time to think about it.
Why? Because I have an automated follow-up process that I know from experience works. I’ve used it for my business in the last ten years, and the automated follow-up emails as part of my email marketing system to close the sale for me.
When they convert typically differs. I’ve seen conversions in weeks, months, and sometimes even years after I originally spoke with them.
And that’s okay, considering I have a lot of quality leads in the first place.
Most of the desperation to close on the first call comes from having few leads. You’re worried about where that next sale is coming from. So, you feel more tempted to push them into the sale.
But that’s not an efficient strategy. What I’ll recommend instead is to work on your lead generation strategy. If you have more leads, you won’t be too worried someone doesn’t convert straight away.
This no-pressure sales approach actually makes you stand out from everyone else. Prospects appreciate it more, and it helps your conversion rate.
But what kind of emails should you send to get the most conversions?
Well, I recommend watching this video, which goes through the top emails you can send to increase your sales conversion rate.
Wrapping Up…
These 15 years of sales calls have taught me invaluable lessons that transformed my business. From creating irresistible offers to mastering the art of follow-up, each lesson played a crucial role in boosting my close rate from a measly 1% to an impressive 80%.
Remember, it’s not about high-pressure tactics or deceptive promises. It’s about understanding your prospects, providing genuine value, and making the process as smooth as possible for both parties.
Whether you’re an introvert like me or a seasoned salesperson, these lessons can help you close more deals with less stress. For more actionable insights for converting sales, watch my free masterclass training.
Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, Ash has been helping business owners get high-quality leads, appointments, and clients each month. He has extensive experience working with B2B & B2C industries in finance, insurance, marketing, sales and beyond. Learn more about the author here.
