“I follow this “post call” routine to increase effectiveness…for each person I actually talked to each day during a cold call I would always f/u with a simple “thank you” card hand written in the mail.

I simply write “thank you for taking time out of your day to talk with me and I look forward to growing our business relationship” That’s it. It worked well and set me apart from my competition, really, think about it.

What if their “current” vendor gets a boat load of business from them but never once sent a quick thank you note? And all they did was give you 5 minutes of their day and you send them a thank you card. It will begin to at least have them start thinking about their current sales person being complacent and comfortable getting all of the business, taking it for pure granted.

Sometimes the little things can set you apart from your competition. Sales is very HARD but not extremely difficult in terms of having to reinvent the wheel, people tend to do business with people they like.”

Contributed by Spencer Yu, Corporate Account Manager at MarkMonitor

For more information visit www.GenerationSalesGroup.com or Contact David Juris at djuris@GenerationSalesGroup.com or at (303) 793-1111.

1. Inability to manage objections

Our research shows that most sales teams cannot properly answer basic objections, let alone complex objections. The root problem is that most sales people are not trained in the basic principles of refutation. They have not been exposed to the concept of managing all objections head-on. The Must-React System facilitates the identification of all objections and the creation of rebuttals for each. Further, Must-React includes extensive and structured role playing to insure that sellers demonstrated the techniques so as to overpower targets and administrators.

2. Incompetence at leaving voice mail messages

We observed some rather bizarre voice mail messages that were, well… un-nerving! Surprisingly, we have never observed a sales team that could achieve more than a 3% callback rate from voice mail messages. The average callback rate is less than 1%. After Must-React certification, however, the callback rate jumps to 35% on average. When these callbacks are converted to initial meetings, our clients are able to systematically build pipeline.

3. Wrongful usage of product-benefit statements

In the context of cold-calling, product-benefit statements simply do not work. Because sales resistance is deeply embedded in our culture, incorporating product-benefit statements into introductory messaging is fatal. Sadly, this approach shows a true lack of creativity and effort.
4. Inviting target-buyers to attend a sales call

The fastest way to insure that your prospects will not meet with you is to invite them to attend a sales call. Think about it: Who wakes up in the morning, hops in the shower and imagines how great their day will be if they get cold-called by some sales person they have never met, to attend a sales meeting about a product for which they have no prior knowledge? And yet, I observe sellers waste company resources daily with this non-productive activity. Teams need to replace initial sales calls with Analyst-Briefings. Why? Your targeted buyers are far more inclined to accept a meeting where the purpose is to deliver research that is relevant to his / her professional life. When structured properly, the analyst-briefing becomes the perfect venue for deeply qualifying the target, and converting the target to a sales cycle if qualified. Blaire Group has helped build dozens of Analyst-Briefings for our clients.

5. Inclusion of Easy-Outs

Most sellers make it easy for their targets to say no by including “easy out” statements in their first sentence.

* Is this a good time?
* Do you have a minute?
* Are you free to talk now?

We agree that these types of statements are polite and show respect for your target’s time. But the usage of these statements in the context of cold-calling is W A Y – W R O N G! Getting targets on the phone is difficult enough as it is. Please, don’t provide them with an easy escape!”

Submitted by: Kraig Kleeman, CEO, Blaire Group

For more information visit www.GenerationSalesGroup.com or Contact David Juris at djuris@GenerationSalesGroup.com or at (303) 793-1111.

42 Rules of Cold Calling Executives: A Practical Guide for Telesales, Telemarketing, Direct Marketing and Lead Generation (Paperback)

For more information visit www.GenerationSalesGroup.com or Contact David Juris at djuris@GenerationSalesGroup.com or at (303) 793-1111.

We only have a few seconds to make an impression on a cold call, so every detail counts. Our elevator pitch should hit some key areas right up front.

1. Identify yourself and the company.

2. Tell what the company does, while adding credibility

3. Address a pain point and how you overcame it.

4. Offer to give them the same level of service

5. Book a meeting with two or more options for a specific time.

Example:

Hello, my name is David Juris with Generation Sales Group. Generation Sales Group has helped companies like, Coca Cola, and American Express with their outbound sales. One of the chief concerns with companies is finding ways to increase sales, while decreasing costs with outsourced sales and lead generation. I have been successful at saving my clients money, and increasing their revenue. I would like to share with you just how I do that. I have two days open next week, Monday and Tuesday, which day can we meet?

Is this a style or a science? Sales, to me, is a science.

Contributed by: Terell Jones, Enterprise Solutions Manager. Experienced Solutions Sales Professional (tjones@knowlogy.com)

For more information visit www.GenerationSalesGroup.com or Contact David Juris at djuris@GenerationSalesGroup.com or at (303) 793-1111.

Many great suggestions. Let me answer from the point of view of the call recipient. I was an in-house Marketing Manager for 18 years, so I got quite a few of these calls. Other discussion groups have mentioned the need to ask “how are you” or similar to build rapport. I always hated being asked that by someone who didn’t know me. If I’m being called at work, and you have a valid work product/service, it doesn’t matter how I am — I’m there to work.

Here someone is recommending to not spend too much time on the phone, to just set the meeting. I hated that too, because I needed to know if the product/service in question was worth a meeting with the caller. I would rather spend a moment more on the phone, to determine if there was value. And frankly, if there was, I may not have needed a meeting — I may have bought via phone. And the worst was if I was interested, and the junior telemarketer didn’t know enough to answer my questions — if it was a really valuable product or service, I wouldn’t have wanted to wait for the senior person to call.

I disagree completely with the poster that thinks prospects like to talk about themselves and their companies. I didn’t have time to do that — even if the thing you’re selling is useful, I can usually figure out how my needs fit in. And I hated the caller asking me questions so basic… “what does your company do?”

Anyway, bottom line is that a cold call can be a success, but in my opinion only if you start out telling me why I should care, what value it has for me.

Contributed by: Mona Zemsky, Marketing Strategy for Small Business Owners, Maximizing Bang for the Buck

For more information visit www.GenerationSalesGroup.com or Contact David Juris at djuris@GenerationSalesGroup.com or at (303) 793-1111.

]]> http://www.generationsalesgroup.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=29 http://www.generationsalesgroup.com/blog/?p=14 http://www.generationsalesgroup.com/blog/?p=14#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:16:41 +0000 David Juris http://www.generationsalesgroup.com/blog/?p=14 In my business, it’s all about the face to face and relationships. Therefore, my goal on the call is to set the meeting or lunch. I don’t go into details until I meet with them. The phone is tool to set the meeting. Selling over the phone is tough enough but selling face to face has its advantages.

Suggestions (in no particular order):

1. Sell to set the Meeting!

2. Set the meeting date a week in advance and then follow up with an agenda by email.

3. Hard to get prospects? Call before works hours (7:00am), during lunch (12:00pm), after work hours (5:00pm).

4. Rule of 3. Research the Prospect, their Competition and their Industry.

5. It’s not amateur to have a script. Build a script and tape it to your desk. Use it as a crutch when you need it (I don’t ever read my script word for word but it guides me when I choke).

6. Know your prospect’s objections. Its a game of chess. Know their moves before it happens. If you know what they are going to say you will most likely be prepared to handle objection with no surprise.

7. Give reasons why your calling. Most of the time in the first 20 seconds their trying to figure out why your calling. “The reason for my call, _________ (Pick a topic - article, competition, news, facts, numbers, sponsor, referral, etc.)

8. Get them engage right away. Ask questions and be inquisitive and then add value to the conversation. They love to talk about their business and themselves. Before you know it they have set the meeting for you.

9. Build rapport! Find some common ground.

10. Don’t take it personal if they say NO. It takes an average of 5 to 7 contacts to get them to meet with you. Now that you broke the ice, send an email, package and/or drop by with bagels. It’s like a dating game. Sales people are like romantics. We have to win their hearts to get them to trust you and if you are good enough you could probably get them to marry you (sarcasm).

11. Be genuine! Be yourself. People smell phony.

Contributed by: Outhorn (Uton) Keophila - Business Development / National Account Manager at CompuCom

For more information visit www.GenerationSalesGroup.com or Contact David Juris at djuris@GenerationSalesGroup.com or at (303) 793-1111.