S.O.X. Sales Call Planner
Use this planning worksheet to collate important information about your client or prospect,
and how you will manage the sales encounter. Tip: Plan ahead and make sure you know
what to say to control the discussion and achieve your objectives.
Your Client: ________________________________________________________________
Pre-Call Planning. What do you know about this client?
What business are they in?
What is their background?
Who are their customers?
What are their priorities?
Names & titles of contacts
you are meeting.
Who are the final decision
makers?
How urgent is this ‘buying’
decision for the client?
Other information you know
about them or their
industry…
What outcome are you planning to achieve?
Order/agreement (for which
service/product?)
Another meeting (with
who? e.g. managers,
users, committee)
Opportunity to submit
further information or
proposal.
Initiate a trial of service or
product.
Other positive outcome.
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What material will you need for a presentation? ( ü and add comment if needed)
Information/Data sheet.
Testimonials or client list.
Company profile document.
Examples of previous
projects or related work.
Flowchart, timeline, or
project management chart.
Electronic presentation:
Laptop/USB/projector etc?
Which SOX questions do you need to ask?
(NOTE: List the relevant questions you must ask. Your objective is to create a conversation
around the questions so you can obtain the relevant information. Avoid creating an interrogation
by asking too many questions in a rapid-fire manner. If needed, clarify their answers as you go.)
Situation Questions
Remember:
These questions identify the
facts and obtain data from the
client about their current
situation, preferences, past
activities, and who is involved in
this decision process.
There are usually many Situation
questions, and they may be
either open or closed questions.
Situation questions are often in
clusters pertaining to the main
factors that are relevant for the
type of product or service you
are offering.
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Opportunity Questions
Remember:
These questions are forwardlooking, and identify and/or
confirm the opportunity for the
client. What do they want to
achieve? Or, What they want to
avoid?
The objective of these questions
is to have the client explain or
acknowledge how they will
benefit if their perceived problem
is resolved, or if they achieve
their opportunity.
Tip – first identify the positive
and meaningful outcome for the
client (using Opportunity
questions), and then you will
have the best chance of
presenting your recommended
product or service in a way that
wins the sale.
aXtion Questions
Remember:
These questions confirm and
gain commitment for what must
be done to make progress.
aXtion questions create a
transition to the next phase,
where you to present your
recommendation or solution.
What will be your preferred way to ask for a commitment?
At the conclusion of your
presentation, which
phrase/s do you plan to use
to move on to the next step
or gain commitment?
Examples:
- Would you like to make a start
with this now?
- When could I meet with the
other decision makers?
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copies for your organisation may be obtained by contacting info@marketingnous.com.au.
KEY POINTS
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The SOX question strategy puts you in control of the sales discussion.
The overall objective is to create a thorough and professional sales dialogue.
Structure your questions and use active listening skills to maintain a relaxed setting.
Understand what information you are really looking for from each question.
Don’t ask questions if you don’t have to. Encourage the customer to expand on their
answers to elicit more information from them.
Use Situation Questions to get the customer talking about what they need. This
helps them focus their thinking, and prevents you doing too much talking during the
early stage of the meeting.
Make sure you take notes of key comments and requirements. You don’t want to
forget any important points, or ask your customer to repeat their replies.
As well as using this planner for individual sales discussions, you can use it to create
a discussion plan template for each type (or category) of client you may have. For
example, if you sell different services/products to different types of clients, create
one planner for each type of client – giving you a template you can use for every
sales discussion with that type of client.
NOTES:
© Marketing Nous. All Rights Reserved. For personal use only. Permission to reprint
copies for your organisation may be obtained by contacting info@marketingnous.com.au.