3 Steps to Knocking Out Your Fear of Cold Calling Forever
by Adam PriceIf you're like most people who sell, you probably have some serious resistance to making cold calls. The fear of cold calling is practically an epidemic - but not the kind that gets publicized. It's a silent and personal struggle.
But it really doesn't have to be this way. Your fears can be overcome when you keep in mind these 3 basic concepts to cold calling the new way.
1. Rejection doesn't have to be a part of cold calling
Cold calling the old way means you're probably preparing for the call by "thinking positive" and hoping for a sale. But the problem with this is that your mindset almost guarantees disappointment when a sale doesn't happen. And so you keep dialing, hoping that the next contact will result in a sale.
But let's stop for a moment and think about what would happen if you shift your focus away from "getting the sale" into seeing whether you can help someone solve a problem. In other words, you're not eager for a sale - you're exploring whether what you have to offer can help someone. And if not, you're comfortable with the outcome.
You see, when your mindset shifts away from targeting a sale, you can be relaxed and okay with any result. You can approach your cold calls from a place of wanting to assist. And if it turns out your product isn't a "match," for the other person, you can leave the conversation feeling fine.
When you shift into this new mindset, you'll no longer feel deflated and disappointed when a sale doesn't unfold. The fear of rejection vanishes. You're more at ease. Others can sense this, and many more cold calls will turn into productive, pleasant conversations.
2. You can make cold calls without feeling intrusive
In the old cold calling approach, you dial a number, introduce yourself, and hope someone will be interested in what you have to offer. It feels somewhat intrusive to both of you, and that's one of the reasons you have a knot in your stomach when you call
Well, there's a better way to start your conversation. Instead of talking about yourself, your company, and your product, you can focus on the other person. It'll feel much less awkward.
So you might say something like, "I'm just calling to see if you're grappling with loss of revenue due to unpaid invoices."
This kind of introduction revolves around the other person and their world. It'll feel much less intrusive, and they'll be more likely to explore possibilities with you.
3. You can be natural when cold calling
Many people find themselves putting on an artificial persona when they make cold calls. Maybe they're reading from a script, or they're trying to carry the other person along with high enthusiasm - or both.
Well, artificial enthusiasm actually backfires on you.You see, it includes the unspoken presumption that your product or service is a great fit for the other person. But you've never spoken with them before, much less had a full conversation with them. You can't possibly know much about them or their needs.
So it's really much better to simply be natural and unassuming. You'll come across as a real person who's really interested in them and their needs. And others will respond much more positively to your calls.
We all want to feel good about what we're doing. Following the new mindset in these three important ways will help banish the fear of cold calling and allow you to feel comfortable and relaxed in your work.
Adam Price is a professional online business networker, sales trainer and author around effective referral networking & internet marketing. Learn how tap into the powerful online world of networking, sales and trust building by visiting:
http://www.Law-Of-Attraction-And-Success.com/SalesSuccess.html
Lead Management-5 Ways to Get Higher Sales Conversion with Lead Scoring
by Bill RiceAny efficiency expert will tell you that increased productivity comes from prioritization. Sounds intuitive enough--work on those things that give us the biggest bang for the buck. If we have lots of things to work on then start with the ones with the highest potential for positive results.
Unfortunately, when we manage sales we seem to throw our brain and these laws of success out the door.
Here are 5 simple ways to get your sale pipeline back in shape and pumping out closed deals:
1. Start managing the pipeline: First, and foremost start managing your leads. So often I enter a sales organization and see nothing even resembling sales management. Whether you are managing debt leads or enterprise software leads there should be a defined process. Sales agents should be following a consistent sales process. Otherwise, measuring and analyzing results to improve sales output is going to be impossible.
Managing your pipeline will begin highlight categories of marketing sources and sales processes that are most effective. These top performers should get top priority.
2. Discrete dispositions on every opportunity: Common mistake number two, bad data. Define your lead dispositions and then annotate (consistently) every lead, every time it is touched. This will immediately assist your lead management program. You will understand what happened to every sales opportunity, how long it took, and when it turned into a deal or death.
Prioritization starts with sales status. The classic sale funnel is still one of the best prioritization mechanisms, but you have to annotate the status.
3. Analyze contact rates: There is no clearer gateway to sales success than contacting a prospect. If you don't get the opportunity to talk to someone you certainly won't close a deal. So, track and analyze contact rates. If you can increase conversations you will increase sales. If you improve your sales to contact rate you will have the top sales team. However, you have to start by tracking and measuring contact rates.
Contact rates can help you to focus on the most responsive marketing channels first, speeding overall sales velocity and increasing sale motivation.
4. Analyze velocity: Time is the number one killer of sales. If you let an opportunity age or wander you will lose. Track your call back periods and create a rhythm that works. Use these tracking metrics to analyze overall sales velocity.
Sales velocity is critical to pushing more revenue through your sales organization. Tracking and prioritizing the fastest converting lead types can help apply sale pressure to the right places in your pipeline.
5. Analyze revenue concentration: This is probably the most logical of the 5 steps, but least applied. Sales activity should be concentrated on the top revenue producing lead sources or marketing channels. Whether this is sorted by opportunity attributes, product type, or marketing channel identify the top correlations between category and revenue. Then work them in that order.
Prioritization is the key to effectively getting more out of any limited resource or investment. Your sales and marketing processes should be organized to help you prioritize for more revenue.
Bill Rice is a leading authority on
sales lead management and
lead generation. He is a frequent writer, speaker, and keynote on sales and marketing topics.
Making Your Sales Soar
Copyright © 2008 Soaring Eagle Companies LLCEven if you think you are doing pretty well, these ideas can help take your sales to a new level. If you are in a slump, these ideas can jump start your business. Remember, it is never too late to start over!
After each and every sale, follow-up with the customer. Follow-up can be in a lot of forms, but one of the strongest is by phone or by mail. There are some great computer programs out there including Send-Out-Cards that make it easy to keep in touch with your customers. Email is okay and easy to do, but it also easy for the person you send it to ignore it or delete it.
Upsell to your customers. This is actually providing a higher level of customer service. Using what they already ordered as a basis, make suggestions for other products they might like. By giving them suggestions of other products you are also letting them know about these other products. You can also carry this principal over to the web. When they're at your order page, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. They could just add it to their original order.
Offer an incentive if customers send you a referral. You can offer a discount on a future order or maybe a free gift. Referrals are one of the fastest ways to grow your business. Referrals also give you and your business credibility since we all like to buy from people we know and trust.
Consider developing an affiliate program. When you sell a product, give your customers the option of joining your affiliate program. An affiliate program turns your customer into your sales force. Plus they can make commissions selling your product.
Cross promote your product with other businesses' products in a package deal. Cross promoting is a win-win for everyone and is one of the oldest promotional ideas. It will also help control your advertising costs. Pick businesses that are complementary to your business for the best results.
If you ship out or deliver your product, include a coupon for other related products you sell in the package. If the order is large enough, you might also want to include a discount coupon for future sales. Both will increase the chances that your customer will buy from you again. Don't forget the follow-up!
Offer gift certificates for your products or services. You will gain a new customer when the recipient of the gift certificate cashes it in!
Promotional items can be very useful for promoting your business. Keep in mind they should be good quality items. Pens and pads of paper are particularly useful. Put your picture and all your contact information on the pads of papers. That way, people will keep them on their desk or by their phone and they will be more likely to think of you for their needs.
Always be on the look out for new ideas and always continue your training. There are a lot of experts out there and they all have different information to offer.
"Dr. Robin Rushlo", is a well known MLM Radio personality and is nationally recognized as an expert in the network marketing business.He is the current host of the radio show, "Networking with the Blindguy"live daily from SEAD RADIO Network,providing Success and Retention Training for the network marketing industry brought to you at the Successful People Builders Network
http://drinkcoffeegetpaid.com and
http://www.drblindguy.com
Sales Prospecting in Down Economies
by Bob UrichuckSales prospecting in down economies is no different than sales prospecting in up economies. It is still a behaviour, a discipline - doing what we have to do, even when we do not want to do it.
The only difference is that you may have to invest more time in sales prospecting in a down economy.
Sales prospecting can be time consuming in itself, but in a down economy, it is even more time consuming as sales prospects seem to be harder to find.
Therefore, more time invested in sales prospecting is required. If you did ten daily sales prospecting calls before, you may now have to do twenty to get the same results.
However, besides investing time, there is a better way to get the same or better results when it comes to sales prospecting. But first, you have to do your homework.
You need to know what our sales prospects should look like - you need to profile them so that you can take a targeted sales prospecting approach and not a shot gun approach.
It is the shot gun approach that is time consuming and does not get you the sales prospecting results you are looking for.
In a targeted sales strategy you need to define the criteria for three customer levels - A, B, and C.
The 80/20 rule states that 80% of your sales results come from 20% of your customers.
That 20% would be considered as your best customers. They are "A" or absolute customers, because they provide you with 80% of your revenues and without them, you would be out of business.
Answer this question: What criteria best describes you're A customers? Is it profitability, loyalty, margin, volume, brand, relationship, etc.? Note your answers.
Then you need to proceed with the same question for the next level of sales prospecting - "B" beneficial customers. So, what is the sales criteria for your "B" level of customers ? How are they distinguished from A customers? Note your answers.
You can then proceed with what is the sales criteria for your next level of customers - "C" - convenient customers? How are they distinguished from B customers? Note your answers.
You may find that most of your prospecting activities are probably to "C" or convenient customers, as most sales people invest 80% of their sales prospecting time where they get 20% of the revenues.
So, let's do the opposite and focus our sales prospecting activities on the A customers.
Once your sales criteria is defined for each level of customer, go to your sales data base and using the sales criteria identify your existing customers as A, B or C.
Separate the A customers and create their profile based on the information on hand. You will find that there is something different about them, compared to the B's and C's.
What is that difference? Now map that profile over to the market place for sales prospecting. Who are the A sales prospects out there that are not presently doing business with you?
Do the same with the B customers and identified the sales prospects for you B category in the marketplace. Also, look at your existing B customers who have potential to be come A's.
Sales prospecting can be fun and most rewarding for sales results when you invest the time and plan your sales prospecting approach.
Bob Urichuck is an International Speaker, Trainer and Best-Selling Author. Learn personally from Bob in the areas of Sales, Motivation, Leadership and Team Skills. Bob presents a series of great ideas and strategies with combination of facts, humor, and practical concept in a high-energy and self-discovery process that you can apply right away to achieve results. Subscribe to Bob's Free Newsletter, worth $297, visit
http://www.BobU.com Now!
Selling Skills For Today's Economy
by Bob UrichuckIn today's economy sales professionals need to be equipped with the appropriate selling skills, following a proven selling system or sales process, in order to succeed and meet their sales targets.
They can no longer afford to carry on with traditional selling skills of doing dog and pony shows, feature and benefit dumps, or hit and run closes.
Today's economy demands engaging selling skills, not telling selling skills. Engaging selling skills attract and engage prospects into personal and business conversations - Personal conversations to build rapport and trust; Business conversations to qualify opportunities to do business.
Engaging sales skills starts with a desire to create relationships. Keep in mind that people buy from people, people they like and they trust. Once trust is established, a relationship starts. That is the sales skill foundation to a sales transaction.
To build that rapport, or trust, requires conversational selling skills focused on the prospect, not on you, your company or your products. The selling skill required here is to show a genuine personal interest in the person in front of you. You do that by asking questions, questions that they would like to respond to and talk about.
So, what do people like to talk about?
People like to talk about themselves, their families, hobbies, job, etc. These are more personal conversations. The selling skills required here are asking questions, listening and using your body language to show interest.
Your job is to get them to open up and to keep talking. The more they talk, the more you listen, the more you learn and the more they like and trust you.
Mind you there are also other selling skill techniques to build rapport. One of the best rapport building sales skills comes from Nero Linguistic programming (NLP) where mirroring and matching body language, tonality and words enhances rapport building quickly and magically.
You will know when your rapport selling skill has been established, just by the way the prospect has opened up with you. When they get to the point where they can't stop talking, you know you got the rapport selling skill that would allow you to move onto the next step in the selling system, or sales process.
With rapport, trust and relationship starting, you can then move from personal to business conversation, by simply interjecting another question - Bill, I really appreciate what you are sharing with me, but how much time have you set aside for our meeting?
With the answer to this sales skill question, a new sort of business conversation starts. Your time allocated is either confirmed or extended, either of which matter, as it is the next sales skill question that will make the difference.
"Bill, what is it that you would like to accomplish over the next X minutes?"
Most sales people only think of their objective, and not that of the customers. It is the customer's objective that is most important, so let's get it out of them first. Then we can add our's into the scenario.
For example, they could reply with, "I would like to learn more about your company and it's products or services."
You can then reply with an inclusion of your objective. For example, "that's great Bill, as I too would like to learn more about your company to determine if there is an opportunity for us to do business together or not. Is it ok if we ask each other questions?
Do you mind if I take some notes?
Getting permission to ask questions, and to take notes, is also an important selling skill. It shows interest, and makes the prospect feel important.
There are other parameters that can be set at this stage, but what is most important is that each step in a sales process or selling system is a selling skill.
The selling skill that is most required in today's economy is to be asking questions, listening, showing concern and taking the prospect through a self discovery qualifying process.
Bob Urichuck is an International Speaker, Trainer and Best-Selling Author. Learn personally from Bob in the areas of Sales, Motivation, Leadership and Team Skills. Bob presents a series of great ideas and strategies with combination of facts, humor, and practical concept in a high-energy and self-discovery process that you can apply right away to achieve results. Subscribe to Bob's Free Newsletter, worth $297, visit
http://www.BobU.com Now!
3 Ideas for "Inbound" Sales Calls (Cold Calls)
by Adam PriceWhen you receive an inbound call from someone who shows interest in your product or service, you're probably more relaxed, right? After all, they called you. So they must be interested in buying.
Well, not necessarily. This is where many conversations go wrong. You see, the person you're talking to isn't always ready buy. Maybe they're just shopping around. Or maybe they got your name from a friend and thought they'd check you out.
So if you let yourself "pounce" on these incoming calls, you're trying to sell something to someone you haven't met. And you can still turn them off with sales pressure if you're not careful.
These calls and leads need to be treated in exactly the same way you treat all your cold calls. Here's three important things to remember:
1. Suspicion Still Abounds
Just because the caller initiated the conversation doesn't mean they trust you. Remember, they don't know you. You haven't developed a relationship with them. And they still get pretty suspicious and defensive around sales pressure.
So take a step back and adjust your thinking. There's a very real possibility you can push someone away simply by being too sure in this place. Slow down and listen. Treat this cold call as you would any outbound cold call. Really, nothing has changed
2. The Temptation to "Sell" is Almost Irresistible
When someone calls you, they're probably going to start by asking questions around your product or service. So it feels natural for you to answer their questions - and you find yourself moving automatically into a sales pitch.
This whole interaction happens within seconds. Before you know it, the emphasis of the call is about your solution rather than about determining the truth of the prospect's situation. You've gotten so into the flow of talking about your product that you've lost sight of the new cold calling mindset.
You've let yourself slip back into the old approach of talking about your world. But you still don't know anything about them. And you have no idea whether what you have to offer is a fit for them.
It's really kind of seductive, isn't it? When someone asks questions about what you have to offer, it's so easy let your focus slip into "selling" them.
So you have to work a lot harder to keep the focus where it really belongs - on the other person's world and whether you can help them solve a problem.
3. Respect the Flow and Make the Shift
You don't want to seem uninterested or unresponsive, so you'll probably want to spend a few minutes answering their initial questions. You'll want to maintain the natural flow of conversation.
But after responding to their questions for a few minutes, you'll want to shift the focus into their world. As soon as you feel you've reached an appropriate, comfortable point in the dialogue, start exploring the truth of your caller's situation.
You can do this by saying something like, "I'm wondering whether it might make sense if we understand the exact issues you're trying to solve so we can really help each other determine if we're a good fit. I want to be sensitive to your particular problems so that we can decide together whether we can specifically help you."
You're essentially saying that it would only do your caller a disservice if the two of you continue talking about solutions before really looking at what kinds of problems they want addressed.
Your request is so reasonable and to the caller's benefit, that most people will welcome your interest in their problem - as long as you're not operating out of the hidden agenda of making a sale.
So now you can continue your dialogue in the same way you would if you'd initiated a cold call. You've overcome the temptation to discuss what you have to offer and can move into focusing on your caller's world. You'll leave them with the wonderful awareness that your primary focus is around helping them. And that makes a terrific first impression.
Adam Price is a professional online business networker, sales trainer and author around effective referral networking & internet marketing. Learn how tap into the powerful online world of networking, sales and trust building by visiting:
http://www.Law-Of-Attraction-And-Success.com/SalesSuccess.html
4 Key Elements to Great Cold Calling Sales
by Adam PriceWhen you plan to make a cold call, what are you thinking about? You're probably planning to introduce yourself and then talk about your product or service.
Well - that is, if the person on the other end of the phone lets you.
And that's the problem with old cold calling strategies, isn't it? Your prospects know right away that you want to sell them something. And they're usually just not very interested in talking with you about it.
People put up shields when you primarily talk about your product or service. They sense you're only interested in making a sale - not in what's important to them.
So it makes sense to move away from that old, tired cold calling approach. Focus instead on building a conversation with the other person. You'll become more personable, and your prospect will know you're interested in their world.
So lets take a look at 4 important keys to building a great cold calling conversation:
1. Create an Opportunity for Dialogue
A really great conversation starter is, "Hi...maybe you can help me out for a second?" When you ask people for help, it's not a sales technique. You're genuinely asking for assistance. You're looking for input to some questions you're going to be asking just a little later.
You know, when you open your cold call with this question, people almost always respond by saying something like, "Sure, how can I help you?" That's a normal human reaction.
So now you can continue with your question. It may sound something like, "I'm just calling to see if you're still grappling with revenue loss due to vendor overcharges?"
Now you've opened a dialogue. And even better, you're focused on the other person's world, not on your own.
2. Speak Naturally
Remember to talk in a very relaxed, casual tone. Most people get over-enthusiastic when they make a cold call. It sounds really artificial, and prospects identify you right away as someone who's trying to sell them something.
So speak in a natural, low-key tone. Just be yourself. That's the way conversations work in our regular world. And it's also the best way to have a conversation in the world of cold calling.
3. Stay Interested in the Conversation, Not the Sale
Here's the hard part about building cold calling conversations: you can't have a sales agenda, even if you think you're pretty good at covering it up.
If you're still following the old traditional cold calling mindset, it'll be nearly impossible for you to stay genuinely involved in the conversation process. Instead, you'll always be thinking about how you can move things forward into a sale.
And most prospects feel that. They sense your agenda, and they react with at least a little suspicion. Remember, the other person hasn't met you. They don't know you, and they don't trust you yet. So it's important for you to talk with them without trying to maneuver things into a sales outcome.
4. Focus on Their Problems
So if you're not going to talk about your product or service, what do you talk about?
Well, you talk about the other person. You focus on their problems, and invite a discussion about whether or not your solution might solve one or more of them.
Most people respond warmly and readily to conversations around their issues. It's the best way build a trust-filled connection.
It's important to realize this isn't just another sales technique. It's a crucial step to creating an honest interaction in your cold calls. When your prospects realize that your goal isn't to persuade them to buy your product, but rather to understand their world better, they'll relax more. A productive, genuine conversation can emerge from that place.
So think about the possibilities of building a conversation rather than making a cold calling sales pitch. You're a real person, talking to real people. You'll be talking with others rather than talking at them. Everything is less artificial. And others are more willing to welcome you into their day.
Adam Price is a professional online business networker, sales trainer and author around effective referral networking & internet marketing. Learn how tap into the powerful online world of networking, sales and trust building by visiting:
http://www.law-of-attraction-and-success.com/SalesSuccess.html
