Increase sales success through better call notes
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Nov 17, 2008 @ 03:12 AM
Taking great notes during an inside sales call is a necessity, but so basic that many reps I've coached during our telesales training classes have forgotten how to do it, as they've improved their other skills. And these are pretty good reps, too. But because they missed a clue and didn't write it down, the call wasn't as powerful as it could have been. So let's review how to take great notes, and check your own note taking to ensure you haven't "backslid." Here are some fundamental concepts:
1) Many conversations have a number of buying "clues" from the prospect, that you may not necessarily want to address at that point in the call, but will want to discuss before you end the conversation. For example, the prospect may be in a deep discussion about the problems he or she is having that your solution can solve, and make a parenthetical statement like "Dave mentioned needing this, too, and frankly our new product rollout will be held back unless we find a solution right now." Here, I'd want to find out immediately what the new product is, ask about projected revenue for that product, and really drill down on the rollout issue. But I don't want to forget about Dave, because I'll need to find out who Dave is before the call ends. On my notes, I'll write that statement, and draw a star in the middle of my notes page, with a connecting line to the statement. Before the end of the conversation, all I have to do is scan the right hand side of my notes page for the stars, and ask about each one of them.
2) Use a big enough piece of paper. I've seen reps use sticky notes for notepaper, their writing gets cramped, and they leave important information out for brevity. After the call, they can't remember everything they heard, and it's not on their notes, either.
3) Enter your notes into the CRM database immediately after the call. If not you might forget something important. It's quite common, when putting notes into the database, that you'll realize that you forgot to ask something vitally important to your sale. Because you're entering the notes immediately after the call, you can call right back instantaneously to get the information. And the prospect will be happy to take your second call, because he or she realizes that you were really listening, and that you are thorough.
4) Handwriting your notes is critically important: Unless you're in tech support or entering an order, people don't like to hear you typing on the phone. They intrinsically feel you're not listening, and will slow their conversations to match you, which interrupts their thought process. They'll be far more engaged conversationally if they don't hear you pecking away while they're talking.
These are four basic concepts regarding taking great notes, and why doing so will make you more successful. Add them to your Best Practices playbook. And be sure to post a blog note if you have a great note taking idea that's worked for you!