Rules for Buyers in a B2B Sales Call

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This post was originally published on the Admarco.net Website under the title Rules for Prospects and Customers During a B2B Sales Call

This blog post is a set of behavioral rules for B2B technology prospects and customers to follow, so as to maximize the value and the time of the hard working, honest and ethical salesperson sitting across the desk or on the other end of the phone. (I hope you find it amusing.)smarter-consumers

The Rules for Buyers

  1. When a salesperson calls you on the phone, you will stop what you are doing, pick up the phone and smile when you say, “Hello, this is (Your Name), how are you?”
  2. You will be amused with the variety blurting-out, fumbling, breathless 90 second introductions, awkward silences and obvious lack of preparation, professionalism and nervousness of the salesperson. After they have finished their intro, you will ask, “how can I help you”? 
  3. You will refrain from hanging up, giving excuses about being in a meeting, or chastising your administrator who let this call slip through.
  4. If the salesperson is planning a trip to your location in the near future, you will consider it a stroke of luck and make space on your calendar to accommodate an in-person call.
  5. You will hear the salesperson out and never ask them to send more information in an email or to call back at a more convenient time for them, because what they have to say could save you and your company serious money…. even get you promoted!
  6. You will answer all questions the salesperson asks to the best of your ability, regardless of their nature, how many they ask or the irrelevance to your role and business.
  7. You will disclose any pain or discomfort in your physical condition, even a minor back-ache, because salespeople are looking for pain and may have something in their bag that can help.
  8. You will inquire about the features of their products and be curious about who else is using them and the benefits they are getting and welcome any opportunity to see the product in action in a live demo.
  9. You will smile knowingly as the sales rep plugs in the Lap-top, fumbles with the LCD projector technology, or these days, more coolly passes you the iPad and brings up the PowerPoint presentation or video clip.
  10. During the presentation you will pay attention to the presentation, no matter how bad the slides are, how small the font or how many bullets the salesperson fires at you.
  11. You will refrain from checking your messages and playing with your smart-phone and stay focused on the presentation or discussion, because there is infinite wisdom, somewhere in the presentation.
  12. You will wait until the salesperson has emptied your bucket of potential objections and enjoy the festival of the salesperson digging holes for themselves while trying to counter them.
  13. You will never promise to get back to the salesperson unless you truly mean it.
  14. You will nod and promise not to smirk when the salesperson asks any question beginning with ” if we could show you a way….” 
  15. You will be grateful when the salesperson interrupts you before you have finished your sentence (while you are discussing the issues that are important to you) and then tells you what you need to do (use their product), because the sooner you find out, the better.
  16. You promise to engage any salesperson with an earnest and professorial look on their face; possibly wearing a chalk-dusted sports coat with leather elbow-pads, carrying a pipe, wearing a sword on their hip or carrying a lance, or even wearing a measuring tape and carrying a pair of scissors. They are going to challenge your assumptions and to teach you about the hidden jewels in your business that only they can help you discover.
  17. This is the biggie – never lie to a salesperson- we can tell!

If you are a sales professional or manager and find this slightly amusing, you are invited to add to it. (Not you Brian.) 

If you are a salesperson or sales leader and you recognize that perhaps you or your team need to evolve your craft, or you believe that there might be something more you can learn, you are invited to download the new WittyParrot eBook, Sales Productivity tips from the Experts.

If you found this amusing or have committed any of the sins above, or know someone who needs to read the rules, please pass it on.

Republished with author's permission from original post.

Mark Gibson
Mark Gibson has been at the forefront of developing sales and marketing tools that create clarity in messaging value for 30 years. As a consultant he is now engaged in helping sales, marketing and enablement teams to get clear about value creation. Clarity attracts inbound leads, clarity converts visitors into leads and leads into customers, clarity builds mindshare, clarity engages customers, clarity differentiates value, clarity helps onboard new hires clarity helps raise funds, clarity + execution win markets.

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