Pre-Call Planning: Why Secondary Goals Are More Important Than Primary Goals

Before you pick up the handset to make a customer call or cold call, you need to set not one, but two goals. By doing so, you will increase your sales/lead volume and reduce your frustration level. While both goals are extremely important, one is more significant than the other.

The main objective

Whether it’s a call to an existing customer or a prospect, take a few seconds to think and state your main goal. In a perfect sales world, the primary objective is the ideal goal that you would like to achieve. It is the end result. A main objective does not necessarily have to be a ‘sale’. Depending on the nature of your call, a primary goal could be an appointment, gathering key information, committing to the next one, attending a webinar, agreeing to review a proposal, or whatever you decide you want. that particular call.

Write that goal down somewhere, even if it’s in a column on a piece of paper. Studies show that writing a goal down increases the chances of it being achieved compared to a goal that is not written down. It seems that the ‘mind’s eye’ becomes more fixed on goal achievement and tends to drive behavior towards that result. Of course, the main goal is important. It is vital. But interestingly, it’s not necessarily the more important of the two.

secondary objectives

You see, most sales reps “get” the main goals of the concept. They are somewhat obvious and intuitive. But what many reps don’t “get” is the concept of sub-goals, and sadly, they tend to ignore them entirely. But it’s these little pups that often produce the best results because they maximize the moment. This is precisely why secondary goals are more important than primary goals.

Secondary goals are ‘backup’ goals; things you would like to achieve if you do not achieve your main goal or things you would like to achieve in addition to achieving the main goal. It’s the little extras; the good ones to have. hidden gems. Diamonds in the ruff. They are the elements that take advantage of your telephone contact and help to make the most of the moment. Put another way, the secondary target can act as catalysts that help “synergize” the net result of your call.

Secondary targets can be any number of things. For example, they may include a cross-sell, a referral or testimonial request, an upsell, a piece of “market intelligence”, an inquiry about an ongoing project, a strategic question, an email address of another contact, a request for more information, a mention of a new product, the best time to reach someone… pretty much anything beyond your primary goal.

Here’s the other thing about secondary goals. Suppose you don’t achieve your main goal. It can be daunting, especially when prospecting. But a secondary goal helps you save a portion of that call. It gives you the feeling of accomplishment; a psychological advantage. Helps fight frustration and exhaustion. You hang up feeling like the call wasn’t a complete waste of time and effort. And of course, if you achieve your main goal, anything above that is pure gravity.

Like the main goals, write them down. This will help you remember them and improve the probability of achieving them. It’s that easy. Period. Has to!

Summary

Getting a hold of a client or prospect over the phone is difficult at the best of times. And often you only have a minute or two of your busy time. Make the MOST of those minutes and seconds by being prepared. Think about your primary and secondary objectives, write them down and seek to achieve them. Your results will improve dramatically.