Cold calling has different meanings in different businesses, but for B2B Lead Generation, cold calling is the art and the science of using the telephone to introduce a helpful, relevant, new idea to a company or contact with whom you have not worked in the past.
The degree of pre-call preparation will vary and how much to prepare for a call is a tough question, especially for new reps. You need to have a reason to believe you can offer value to the lucky person on the other end of the phone. On the other hand many of the reps I have worked with over the years will over-prepare for a call, given the low probability of making the connection on any one attempt. Over preparation is often ego based. If you connect, use the opportunity to set a meeting - nothing more. The first call opens the door. It doesn’t close the sale- that won’t happen until a lot of questions on both sides have been asked and answered - the magic of a dialogue.
There is a middle ground that recognizes the need to offer value, the advantage of covering as much ground as possible and respect for everyone’s time. Work with lists of similar companies who are likely facing similar issues. Craft an umbrella value proposition and create a 30-45 second summary to communicate that message and leave the door open for a follow up from you. Accept that the chance of making a live contact is pretty low. Use voicemail for the opportunity it presents as a tool to introduce you to your lists. Be honest, direct, personable and client focused. Leave your call back information. Follow up with an email that includes slightly more content. Wait a week and repeat with a different message that follows the same format.
Be respectful. Be patient. Stay client focused. Measure your results. Modify your messages. Be persistent. Expand you contacts in any organization when you don’t get a response after 8-10 attempts. Don’t be afraid to aim high! In years (and years) of selling, I’ve consistently found that it’s no more difficult to reach a VP than a Manager — and generally a lot more helpful.
Source: http://www.eyesonsales.com/content/article/evolving_the_cold_call/
About the author: http://www.eyesonsales.com/author/kirko_papajanis/
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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report 41 Sales Tips You Can Use Right Now AND the complementary bimonthly Sales Tips and Telesales Tips for Selling Success eZine by signing up at http://www.coldcalltraining.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling/New Business Development Sales Training please call 1-818-519-3852.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
**************************************************
Accelerated Cold Call Training enables companies such as yours to:
+ Quickly get into new accounts,
+ Reach decision-makers faster,
+ Identify and qualify opportunities better,
+ Exceed cold calling quotas,
+ Shorten sales cycles by working with actual decision makers.
Over 55 testimonials letters can be read by clicking here: http://coldcalltraining.com/testimonials.htm. Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. For a complementary cold call training consultation, call 1-818-519-3852 or send an Email to: rslavine @ coldcalltraining.com. Over 141 LinkedIn recommendations can be found by clicking here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine.
Showing posts with label cold calling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold calling. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
11 Actions Sales Reps Should Avoid
By Ron S. LaVine, MBA, President
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Success – Live Phone Sales Call Training
01. Sales reps should avoid talking too much and listening too little. Using close-ended questions, which tend to kill a conversation with a yes or no answer instead of open-ended questions that extend a conversation because they cannot be easily answered with a yes or no.
02. Sales reps should avoid not getting people to commit to a yes or no decision rather than a perhaps or a maybe. Get rid of the prospects that keep dragging their feet. Simply ask, "Is there still an interest in [your product or service]? If yes, what's the next step?" The sooner you know the quicker you can invest your time in those prospects who have an interest and are willing to take action or "move forward".
03. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to ask permission to speak or lack respect for the other person's time. An executive's time is one of their most limited and valuable assets. If it is not respected you will quickly find yourself disconnected. Would you want to speak with someone if you were in the middle of an important meeting? No. So remember a little common courtesy goes a long way. ALWAYS ask permission to speak. I happen to like "Is this a good time to speak?" or "Do you have a minute?"
04. Sales reps should avoid asking too many questions in a row. Too many questions in a row are frustrating because the prospect doesn't know which question to answer first and the conversation becomes confusing real fast. Remember one question at a time, then STOP! You'll have plenty of time to ask more questions and the prospect won't be defensive since they are unable to answer multiple questions at once.
05. Sales reps should avoid talking over other the prospect's answer to a question or interrupting while the prospect is speaking. Since most if not all of us like to hear ourselves speak, it takes tremendous discipline to remain silent until someone has finished what they have to say. What if the part of the answer that you spoke over was a crucial piece of information? You'll never know, will you?
06. Sales reps should avoid calling on the wrong people who have no authority to buy. Many reps would rather spend their limited selling time calling upon lower level people who, while they maybe good sources of information, they lack the authority to buy. These people can stymie the sales process by saying don't go above me and don't go below me. I am the only person you need to speak with. What happens then? You become in the "let's talk some more and more or show me more and more" position. This type of scenario will drag your sales process to a halt.
07. Sales reps should avoid speaking too fast, too slow, in a monotone or without enthusiasm or conviction. People buy from people they know, like and trust and trust means similar to them. Learn to match and mirror the rate of speed, tone and the volume of the prospect's voice. Listening to a person's voice mail often provides a clue as to what type of speaker they are. If they speak fast, speed up. If they speak slowly, then slow done. The same applies to louder and softer. As for tone, learn to move your voice up and down and enunciate clearly.
08. Sales reps should avoid pitching. Pitching is for baseball games not selling. Pitching implies something will be caught yet not necessarily the "right thing or solution". A good salesperson never needs to pitch since by asking the right questions and listening they know what the prospect wants resented to them and the close becomes a natural conclusion.
09. Sales reps should avoid leaving their phone number only once and speaking too fast when they leave a voice mail. This means the prospect has to play the message over and over again when it is much easy to just erase it. Make it easy for people to do business with you. SLOW DOWN when you leave a message and leave your phone number twice in a row. The first time you leave your number gives the prospect time to find a pen and the second gives them time to write down the number.
10. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to make eye contact. In Nicholas Boothman's book, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds (Workman Publishing $16.95) he claims people make "like/don't like" decisions within the first 90 seconds of meeting someone. This means you must be able to win someone over fast. For you field reps it is a known fact that looking people directly in the eyes establishes you as trustworthy and open. Practice making a mental note of each person's eye color and you'll automatically look each person you meet right in the eye.
11. Sales reps should avoid making selling too complicated. Often it is better to be reminded and return to the basics above rather than to continue behavior, which should be avoided, if you want to be successful in sales.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
Call 1-818-991-6487 for a free sales training or telesales training needs analysis.
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Success – Live Phone Sales Call Training
01. Sales reps should avoid talking too much and listening too little. Using close-ended questions, which tend to kill a conversation with a yes or no answer instead of open-ended questions that extend a conversation because they cannot be easily answered with a yes or no.
02. Sales reps should avoid not getting people to commit to a yes or no decision rather than a perhaps or a maybe. Get rid of the prospects that keep dragging their feet. Simply ask, "Is there still an interest in [your product or service]? If yes, what's the next step?" The sooner you know the quicker you can invest your time in those prospects who have an interest and are willing to take action or "move forward".
03. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to ask permission to speak or lack respect for the other person's time. An executive's time is one of their most limited and valuable assets. If it is not respected you will quickly find yourself disconnected. Would you want to speak with someone if you were in the middle of an important meeting? No. So remember a little common courtesy goes a long way. ALWAYS ask permission to speak. I happen to like "Is this a good time to speak?" or "Do you have a minute?"
04. Sales reps should avoid asking too many questions in a row. Too many questions in a row are frustrating because the prospect doesn't know which question to answer first and the conversation becomes confusing real fast. Remember one question at a time, then STOP! You'll have plenty of time to ask more questions and the prospect won't be defensive since they are unable to answer multiple questions at once.
05. Sales reps should avoid talking over other the prospect's answer to a question or interrupting while the prospect is speaking. Since most if not all of us like to hear ourselves speak, it takes tremendous discipline to remain silent until someone has finished what they have to say. What if the part of the answer that you spoke over was a crucial piece of information? You'll never know, will you?
06. Sales reps should avoid calling on the wrong people who have no authority to buy. Many reps would rather spend their limited selling time calling upon lower level people who, while they maybe good sources of information, they lack the authority to buy. These people can stymie the sales process by saying don't go above me and don't go below me. I am the only person you need to speak with. What happens then? You become in the "let's talk some more and more or show me more and more" position. This type of scenario will drag your sales process to a halt.
07. Sales reps should avoid speaking too fast, too slow, in a monotone or without enthusiasm or conviction. People buy from people they know, like and trust and trust means similar to them. Learn to match and mirror the rate of speed, tone and the volume of the prospect's voice. Listening to a person's voice mail often provides a clue as to what type of speaker they are. If they speak fast, speed up. If they speak slowly, then slow done. The same applies to louder and softer. As for tone, learn to move your voice up and down and enunciate clearly.
08. Sales reps should avoid pitching. Pitching is for baseball games not selling. Pitching implies something will be caught yet not necessarily the "right thing or solution". A good salesperson never needs to pitch since by asking the right questions and listening they know what the prospect wants resented to them and the close becomes a natural conclusion.
09. Sales reps should avoid leaving their phone number only once and speaking too fast when they leave a voice mail. This means the prospect has to play the message over and over again when it is much easy to just erase it. Make it easy for people to do business with you. SLOW DOWN when you leave a message and leave your phone number twice in a row. The first time you leave your number gives the prospect time to find a pen and the second gives them time to write down the number.
10. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to make eye contact. In Nicholas Boothman's book, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds (Workman Publishing $16.95) he claims people make "like/don't like" decisions within the first 90 seconds of meeting someone. This means you must be able to win someone over fast. For you field reps it is a known fact that looking people directly in the eyes establishes you as trustworthy and open. Practice making a mental note of each person's eye color and you'll automatically look each person you meet right in the eye.
11. Sales reps should avoid making selling too complicated. Often it is better to be reminded and return to the basics above rather than to continue behavior, which should be avoided, if you want to be successful in sales.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
Call 1-818-991-6487 for a free sales training or telesales training needs analysis.
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