subject: Reflecting Back To Improve Outbound Sales [print this page] One of the many reasons that outbound sales can be challenging is that each person we call and each conversation we have is unique and unpredictable. There are some things we can do to better prepare for the calls that we make, but at the end of the day we never know how the call is going to go. With that being the case, one way to continue to grow and improve results is to embrace a concept of reflection after each call we make.
After a cold call ends, it can be very productive to stop for a minute to reflect on how the call went in an attempt to identify what could have done better. While there are many different scenarios that we can come across, they tend to recur again and again. With that being the case, if we can consciously reflect on what happened on the previous call and identify what we could have done better, then we can improve our ability to handle similar scenarios that occur on future calls.
We are likely to face objections on every cold call. And whether the objection brought the call to an end or not, it can be helpful to reflect on the objections that a prospect used so that we can improve and be better moving forward.
1. Reflect on the Objection
It can be very helpful to reflect back during outbound sales to identify what objections the prospect had. Ideally, if there is one that brought the call to end, that is a productive place to spend time and energy. Once you identify the objections, reconcile those with your list of anticipated objections. If you faced any that are not on the list and you think it is likely that they may come up again, this would be a good time to get them added so that you can begin to be more prepared on future calls.
2. Reflect on the Response
The next thing that we should do in this process is to reflect on how we responded to the objections. Were there better responses that we could have given to keep the call going? If the objections were on the list of anticipated objections, it can be good to look at whether or not we delivered a response that was part of our plan and if we followed the plan. We can also reflect on how the prospect responded to our objection response to measure how well our response worked in our effort to keep the call going during outbound sales.
3. Strategize Moving Forward
Once we have evaluated both the objections we faced and the responses we gave, we can strategize how best to handle objections on future calls. If we already had a responses scripted, this step may involve adjusting or tweaking our plan. If there are new objections encountered, this step could involve building responses for the new objections moving forward.
By stopping to look back after each call during outbound sales, we will can greatly increase our ability to be prepared for all of the different directions that calls go moving forward.
