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Today, best practices in sales focus on building relationships and consulting with prospects. Follow up with your prospects but do so subtly.

Sales Call Best Practices

Finally secured an appointment with a promising prospect? Great, now it's time to prepare for the sales call. Here are some tips for making the most of your opportunity:

Arrive on time, leave on time. If the prospect offers you 15 minutes, be prepared to present your case and answer questions within the allotted time. If the prospect is interested, the meeting may go longer, but make sure it is the prospect who is extending the visit—not you.

Listen. The more you let the prospect talk, the better off you'll be. You'll learn more about the prospect and the prospect's needs. This will make it easier for you to figure out how best to present your product or service. To keep prospects talking and sharing information about their needs, be prepared to ask open-ended questions.

Don't tell prospective customers what they need. They know their business better than you. What you want to do is provide them with options and choices.

Be honest. If you don't have what the prospect really needs, say so. You won't get a sale, but you will establish credibility. Somewhere down the road that may pay off. The prospect may call you when his or her needs change—or the prospect may refer you to others whose needs you are equipped to handle.

Watch your language. Avoid some common words that give a poor impression. For example, never use the word "cheap." To some people that means inferior or shoddy, not less expensive. Also, don't use derogatory words like "garbage," "trash" or "junk" to refer to competitors' products or services. And avoid words that suggest you are exaggerating—such as "colossal," "stupendous," "sensational," etc.

Positive language that resonates with customers often includes words such as: "quality," "savings," "convenience," "simplicity" and "dependable."

Don't push for the sale. The days of the hard sell are over. That doesn't mean you make your pitch and walk away, but it does mean you've got to take a different attitude.

Today, best practices in sales focus on building relationships and consulting with prospects. Follow up with your prospects but do so subtly. For example, if you read something that might interest them, clip it and mail it with a note attached. That will be far more effective than just calling to see if they've made a decision.