February | Click links (>>) below to read articles Cold Calling in Today's Marketplace by Gerry Layo >> Making The Most Out Of Each Outside Sales Call by Roy Chitwood, CSP >> Selling is about Getting into the Buyer's Head by Michael Nick >> 11 Things Salespeople Do That Irk Decision Makers by Kelley Robertson >> Please… Return My Call By Eric Slife >> Why Sales Questions Build Confidence And Rapport by Jim Meisenheimer >>

Cold Calling in Today's Marketplace
by Gerry Layo

Now, as a sales guy for years myself (and when running your own company, you still are), I realize and acknowledge that prospecting is not always fun. In today's world of e-mail, automated attendants, voice-mail and other screens, it can be even more challenging. But one absolute remains the same: If they ain't knocking at your door, you need to be knocking at theirs!! Now, for those of you who have attended some of my seminars, you know that I discuss using appropriate approach campaigns and touch campaigns as a means of prospecting for opportunity. I discuss the importance of lowering the screens by creating several value-add touch pieces that can precede your call. However, this article is based upon the good old fashioned cold-call and the prospecting tools necessary to be effective.

Why does Cold Calling cause so much fear? The biggest fear of cold calling is the fear of the unknown. Our mind races to ask:

“What if this person is rude?”

“What if they ask me a question and I don’t know the answer?”

“What if they are too busy to take my call, even if I do get through?”

“What is the purpose of this call?”

But, perhaps the scariest unknown of all is . . . “What am I going to say when I get this person on the phone?” Many or all of these questions and fears can be overcome with appropriate planning and pre-call preparation. Let’s face it….if you are clear on the purpose of the call, you have a much greater chance of accomplishing the purpose. It is way too often that salespeople tend to get on the phone and feel that they have to sell, sell, sell, instead of accomplishing the purpose of the call, which may be as basic as setting an appointment.

We can overcome fear with the big 3 P’s; planning, preparation and practice. In anything that we do (from sports and fitness to development of relationships) we tend to improve and increase results through focused action in these three areas. It is very natural to lay this theory over the daily development of professional sports teams. They map out a solid game plan where everyone plays a role. They prepare for any and all scenarios and how to counter any resistance where again, everyone plays a specific role. And then they practice, practice, practice! It amazes me how few companies and professionals with whom I work every year actually take the time to practice their skills to improve their results. It seems that in sales, the rule is that you improve by doing, not by practicing. Doesn’t this seem ridiculous?

Most of what we commonly refer to as Cold Calls, are really “first” calls, but there is no reason why they have to be cold. There are several ways we can warm them up. As with most things in life, planning and preparation can make us much more effective and in this case, it may also serve to substantially improve our confidence. Prepare yourself before you call. There are several ways you can prepare yourself for success even before you pick up the phone:

Do your research before you call. That way, when you get someone on the phone, you can have a relevant conversation about something you’ve read or heard about their industry, their business, or even about them personally.

Precede your call with some other form of communication. Use an organized series of cards, postcards, letters, fax, voicemail, and email, to introduce yourself and your company before you make the first call. It has been said that people do business with whom they know. If you do not have the ability to introduce yourself physically in advance of the initial call, look for different means by which to accomplish this. If a prospect has been “touched” by you several times previous to the first call, you will increase your chances of making the impact you desire on that call. *A word of caution here however: Be creative, but be relevant. Make sure that your “touches” are relevant and provide a value-add component to your prospect and/or their business. And most of all don’t do the same thing that everyone else is doing!

Before you actually get a prospect on the phone, make sure that you develop a short value proposition –preferably referencing how you’ve helped a similar client – that is clear, concise and compelling. Then, learn how to ask the questions that “set you up” to weave the story into your conversations. Don’t just start spewing information at them as soon as you get them on the phone. Remember, the shortest course on selling is to Ask Questions and Listen. Although your job on the initial phone call may not be to sell, it is important that you engage the interest of your prospect so that they are open to hearing your value proposition.

Prepare a list of the ten most common questions or objections your prospect is likely to have and the appropriate responses for each. There is usually only a handful that we hear over and over and over. Let’s get prepared with a strong explanation or rebuttal for each. In doing so, make sure that you clarify their question, validate their concern, address their specific issue, and thus explain your point to potentially overcome their challenge. Avoid sounding like you are reading from a screen by practicing this approach many, many times in advance.

Compile a list of happy clients to use for “name dropping” during your conversation.Make sure you understand exactly what kind of value your solutions have delivered to make them happy, and how your functional capabilities can do the same for your new prospect. In selling, we call this 3rd Party Success Selling. This technique is used by top pros the world over and can be used on the phone prior to the sale. Using another company name creates validation, increases prospect confidence, and adds credibility. Again, however, I caution you on making sure that the names that you drop are relevant to the prospect with whom you are speaking. Using references is one thing…using references that resonate with the prospective buyer is much more impactful!

Stop trying to “fight it.”Accept the fact that for most sales people, Cold Calling is just part of the job. It is a necessary evil that must be something in which you engage every day in order to continue to grow your book of business. Spend your energy learning to enhance your skills instead of dreading and avoiding the phone. If Cold Calling is something that you must master in order to build your career, then learn to grow your skills on purpose. Read the books, listen to the tapes and CDs, attend the seminars, and practice. Heck, it’s only your career. It’s only the thing that feeds your family, puts a roof over your head, and clothes on your back. So……be the best you can be by design!

Stop taking yourself so darn serious. You must realize that, in order to grow in this area of your sales career, you must detach yourself (and your ego) from the process. After all, when you boil Cold Calling down to the basics, it is really just a series of actions such as:

1. Dialing the phone

2. Posing certain specific questions

3. Proposing the prospect take a specific action

In order to cope with the anxiety and stress, you have to let yourself off the hook. You can’t control your prospect's reaction to your proposal. All you can control is the actions you take to propose it, and the resolve to take the action again regardless of the outcome. What could happen on every call? I believe there are only a handful of potential outcomes:

1. The prospect is not available and you leave a voice mail or live message.

2. The prospect is not interested and hangs up on you.

3. The prospect is not interested but thanks you for asking.

4. The prospect is not interested today, but states that they may be a player later.

5. The prospect is not interested but refers you to someone who may be.

6. The prospect is interested and sets an appointment to meet with you.

I look at this list and feel that 50% of the potential outcomes seem fairly positive. What do you think…everybody wants what you have to offer? Simply dig in and get the right attitude to get through these tasks as quickly and effectively as possible. The better you get at doing this, the less calls you will have to make.

If you are to set only one goal this year, make it one that allows you to open more doors. Set a goal to increase your amount of quality in AND quantity of those FIRST calls on prospective buyers for your product or service. One of the beautiful and most exciting things about outbound sales is that you have the power to increase your income and success by increasing the quality and quantity of contacts that you make into your marketplace. It is not merely a good suggestion that you do this…it is an absolute mandate in order to grow in an ever-changing marketplace.

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As a sales professional, you're probably aware of how crucial successful selling is to your company's profits.

Unless you work for a charitable organization, your company's ultimate goal, beyond serving the customer, is to produce revenue.

To achieve consistent sales success, however, you must first set objectives and then focus on achieving those goals for every sales call you make.

Sales calls with no clear-cut objectives waste both your time and your company's money.

I have met salespeople who sincerely feel they can't set objectives before making sales calls because they say every prospect and every selling situation is different. Some salespeople feel they are especially expert if they can think fast on their feet, wing it and "live on the edge."

Unfortunately, all that "living on the edge" can cost your company a tremendous amount of money.

It has been estimated that the average business spends between $99 and $452 on each individual sales call. In this era of cutbacks and budget constraints, neither you or your organization can afford to make sales calls that serve no real purpose.

Most companies, particularly small businesses, do not have the luxury of wasting money on ineffective sales calls that don't forward the sale in any meaningful way.

Considering, then, that a sales call without a purpose costs just as much as a purposeful one, the smart salesperson uses every call to his or her advantage.

Each call should be considered an investment in the potential sale -- whether it's the first call or the twenty-first.

With many high-end or luxury products, the sales cycle can often be lengthy. It is unrealistic, then, to expect a sale after only one sales call or meeting when you're selling these types of products. In this situation, your objective on each of the multiple calls you'll make will be to get an act of commitment, using each call to move the prospect one step closer to purchasing the product or service.

In this type of longer sales cycle you can utilize the multiple sales calls you make to accomplish objectives such as:

Any of these could be worthwhile objectives for a sales call and each could play an important role in furthering your ultimate goal of closing the sale.

To stay on track during a sales call put your objectives in writing prior to making the call.

Just as in any other aspect of life, you're more likely to commit to and accomplish a goal if it is written down. Committing your objectives to writing creates a kind of internal "magic" that manifests itself as a personal "act of commitment" that in your subsequent behavior, you tend to fulfill.

Therefore, before you make a sales call, identify and then write down the specific objectives you want to accomplish during the contact.

This will allow you to focus, stay on track and achieve exactly what you set out to do.

Putting your objectives in ink also helps you remember them. You can also refer back to your notes periodically during the sales call to keep you on target.

In my experience, setting precise objectives for every sales call and putting your goals in writing will help you to organize your thoughts, clarify your overall objective and be more succinct in your presentation.

You'll seem more professional and intelligent, you will be less likely to repeat information and you will not leave out anything important. Most importantly, you will save time -- both yours and your prospect's.

The process of preparing ahead of time for your sales calls also plays an important role in boosting your confidence in your selling ability.

Being prepared for each call will help you feel assured that you will know exactly what you plan to do at every point in the call.

By planning ahead you also show your prospect that you understand the value of his or her time.

Customers will appreciate doing business with someone who respects their time and conducts sales calls in a productive, efficient, professional manner.

The best way to get the most out of the time you spend selling is to keep your attention focused on achieving the goals you've set for each of your sales calls.

By utilizing the process of identifying and writing down your objectives, you will make more sales more quickly and create a positive selling environment that is a win/win situation.

Ultimately, when the salesperson is a true professional, it is the customer who wins the most.

Roy Chitwood is an author, trainer and consultant in sales and sales management and is president of Max Sacks International, Seattle.

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Selling is about Getting into the Buyer's Head
by Michael Nick

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Please… Return My Call
By Eric Slife

Getting prospects to return your calls is one of the most frustrating problems you experience. You can be 90% sure a deal will close in the next week and suddenly, silence. If you keep calling, you appear desperate and annoying, so what do you do?

Before you drive yourself completely crazy, take solace in the fact your competition faces the same problem. However, that alone won’t pay the bills. Before exploring some tactics that will help you get your calls returned, first ask yourself, “Why don’t prospects return my calls?”

Here are some of the more common reasons prospects don’t return calls:

How do you get people to call you back?

Your first action with your prospect is to establish the ground rules and expectations. Your prospect needs to know it is okay to say, “No.”

For example: “Mr. or Ms. Prospect I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. At the end of today’s meeting, my goal is for us to establish if my product or service is a good fit for you and your company. In order to do this, I’d like to ask you some questions, so I better understand your business. Are you okay with this?

If at any time during our conversation today or future conversations it becomes clear to you that we aren’t a good fit, or you decide to go in a different direction, are you comfortable with telling me, ‘No’? In addition, if at sometime I need you to return a call or reply to an email for additional information or to determine what you want next, what method do you prefer? Great, let’s get started.”

By doing this, you are laying the ground rules. If they don’t return your calls, politely remind them of this conversation. This doesn’t mean you email or call them every other day. Give them an opportunity to respond. I suggest at least 4 business days between contacts.

Let’s say, you’ve laid the ground work, and your calls still aren’t returned, here are some specific techniques you can do to reach your prospect.

“Mr. or Ms. Prospect, unfortunately we’ve been unable to connect, and I’m starting to feel like I’m becoming an annoyance. I certainly don’t want to be a pain in your side, but I’m feeling like your situation has changed. Please let me know what’s changed, and how I should best follow up with you. This politely let’s them know they haven’t returned your calls, and they appreciate your graciousness.”

Call at Higher Levels: Most sales people think they are speaking with the decision maker, when in reality they aren’t. Many times sales people will ask, “Are you the decision maker?” Unfortunately, too many people don’t want to admit they aren’t the decision maker. To get a more accurate answer, ask them, “Who else besides yourself will be involved in the decision making process?”

 If you start by calling the actual decision maker, you will receive more direct and honest answers. True decision makers don’t have time to play games. In addition, if they tell you to call someone lower in the organization, you can always use that as leverage if someone isn’t returning your calls. You might say something like:

“Mr. or Ms. Prospect I know you are busy. However, I promised _________ (their boss) I would provide them periodic updates, or information by this date. Unfortunately, I can’t provide them with this until I speak with you concerning…”

One final thought. Sometimes deals fall through. In this case, the best thing you can do is to build top of mind awareness. Create your own drip marketing campaign, so when a company is prepared to purchase, you are at the top of their list, or at least number two. In addition, this is a great way to obtain referrals!

About The Author: Eric Slife, is president of Slife Sales Training, Inc. He provides companies a comprehensive sales and sales management training program called Team Training. Team Training gives companies unlimited, on demand access to North America’s premier sales and sales management trainers.

Visit www.salestrainingcentral.com for more information.

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Why Sales Questions Build Confidence And Rapport
by Jim Meisenheimer

About 10 years ago, I was giving a selling skills workshop. One of the topics was "Why sales questions build confidence and rapport." It was in Indianapolis, scheduled for a half-day. In the middle of the presentation, one of the participants raised his hand and asked if he could share an experience. His name was John.

John told the group that he and his wife had been looking for a baby sitter. Two to three weeks went by and they couldn’t find one so they placed an ad in the local newspaper. A couple of teenagers called, and then a woman responded.

The woman started to ask John questions over the phone. Questions like: “What are the names of your children?” “How old are they?” “What did your children like most about the baby sitters you’ve had in the past?” “If your children could change anything about the baby sitters you’ve used in the past, what would they want to change?”

The woman asked a few more questions then gave a brief account of experiences. She also provided references and told John and his wife that she was CPR certified.

As John was finishing his comments, a woman in the back of the room raised her hand. “Did you hire her?” she asked. Before John answered, I asked a question of my own. I turned to John and said, “John, when the woman was asking you all those questions how did it make you feel?”

Now here’s what John said, and I'll never forget this. He said, “It made me feel infinitely more confident in her.”

Then I turned to the woman in the back of the room and asked her to repeat her question. “Well John, did you hire her?” And John said, “I booked her for three months.”

Why do sales questions build confidence?

How do questions build rapport and create a more positive response to us?

If really good sales questions are so powerful, why don’t more salespeople ask them?

Laziness, procrastination, and an “I've always done it this way” attitude are the three major roadblocks to asking better sales questions for most salespeople.

Your questions will only work if you prepare and practice them.

Good sales questions are seldom the result of spontaneous improvisation while you’re seated in front of your customer.

Awesome questions aren't accidents or spontaneous. They are prepared and practiced in advance.

Awesome questions are always the result of preparation and execution. At the end of the day you'll get the opportunity to deliver your products only if you deliver really good customer questions.

And by the way this article is Chapter 18 in my book, "The 12 Best Questions To Ask Customers."

If you liked this Chapter you'll probably enjoy the other 23 Chapters.

http://tinyurl.com/12-best-questions

About The Author:

Make sure you check out Jim's Sales Trailblazer program: http://salestrailblazer.com

Jim is a Sales Strategist and is the creator of No-Brainer Selling Skills. He shows salespeople and entrepreneurs how to increase sales, earn more money, have more fun, and how to do it all in less time. His focus is on practical ideas that get immediate results. He offers Advanced Sales Management Workshops, Sales Coaching, Consulting, In-house Sales Training Programs, and a wide variety of Learning Tools i.e. books, special reports, sales manuals, and CDs.Jim Meisenheimer is a member of The National Speakers Association, where he earned the C.S.P. designation, Certified Speaking Professional. He has authored five books including, "The 12 Best Questions To Ask Customers," and the recently published “57 Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life”.

Websites: http://www.startsellingmore.com

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