Phone Sales - Elevator Speech

[Eldorado2k]

The best salespeople have learned or will learn over time to evaluate the customer's needs and address them.

Figure out what your customer wants from you and if you can give them that you'll make the sale.

100% agree with this statement.

[mk9750]

I'm a purchasing agent by trade. I've got a lot of years as a professional on "the other side of the desk". And from my perspective, both sides of this coin are heads. Sales is customer focused, and if you don't allow the customer to tell you what his wants are, success will be limited. However, You've got no idea how many calls and e-mails I take in a week in which the sales person can't get to his or her point, and I can't get a sense for how they can help my company.

So, in my opinion, humble as it is, knowing how to SUCCINCTLY describe how you can provide value to a potential customer is vital as hearing the customer. If that short "speech" (which, BTW needs to come off as unrehearsed, even when it is memorized), also helps turn your customer's "want" into a "need", you're even further along to a successful sale.