adictoaloshombres: Calling

Showing posts with label Calling. Show all posts

High Probability Selling for Sales Professionals: Turn Cold Calling into Warm Sales Leads

To grow your business you need prospective clients and customers: If you don't have a customer list from which to solicit referrals, and if you also lack an advertising/marketing budget, cold-calling to a highly targeted list is the fastest route to finding high probability prospects. Learn how.

Keywords:

sales leads, cold calling, high probability selling, telephone prospecting, sales prospecting, selling techniques, telesales

Article Body:

Like most sales lead consultants, I do not advocate cold calling . However, I acknowledge that cold calling is necessary at times.

You need prospective clients and customers: If you don't have a customer list from which to solicit referrals, and you also lack an advertising/marketing budget, cold-calling to a highly targeted list is the fastest route to finding high probability prospects.

A High Probability Prospect is one who wants, needs, can afford, and is ready to buy your product or service- now. Those who only want, need, and can afford- but are not ready to buy now- are prospects that you will not meet with now. But, you will continue to contact in the future, until they are ready to buy.

How does Cold Calling fit into High Probability Prospecting?

Before picking up the phone, you need to define your target market. Your target markets are consumers and/or companies who are likely to want your product or service. If you haven't gone through the exercise of defining your target market, start by making a list of your best customers: What characteristics do they share? Are they in similar industries? Are they companies of about the same size, or in the same vertical markets? In B2C sales, look for similar socio-economic factors.

Your prospect list, whether you've created it yourself or purchased it, is the basis of your prospecting campaign. Contact each person on the list repeatedly, each time with a different offer. In High Probability Prospecting, an offer is a succinct distillation of two features of your product or service. Every time you re-contact a prospect, present a different offer.

When call your list, only first-time calls are cold calls in High Probability Prospecting. A truly effective prospecting campaign requires that you call the same list every 3 to 4 weeks, so after a short period of time, most of your calls will be 'warm' calls. A higher percentage of the people on your list will say "Yes" to your prospecting offer with each successive call.

5 Simple rules for maximum effectiveness and maximum efficiency:

Don't repeat the same prospecting offer more frequently than every third call.

Your offer must be no longer than 45 words, describing your product/service and mentioning two if its features.

Your prospecting offer must clearly request a "Yes" or "No" answer.

When prospects say "No," you say, "Okay, good-bye."

When prospects say "Yes," you say, "Why?"

With practice, you should be able to make at least 50 dials per hour. You'll find an increasing number of High Probability Prospects- people who respond with 'Yes' to your offer- with each pass through your list. You'll be on your way to making appointments with people who are ready to buy what you're selling- right now.

High Probability Prospecting doesn't eliminate cold-calling entirely. You will, however, make successively fewer Cold Calls and far more "Warm Calls". That will eliminate most of the Rejection associated with cold-calling. Thus, you will turn telephone prospecting into an efficient and enjoyable activity.

Choosing the Right Prepaid Calling Card in Making Calls

If you are a student, travel a lot or living abroad and you would like to always keep in touch with family and friends, there will be no better way but to give them a call. How enjoyable it is for you to hear their voices and share things with them.

Keywords:

prepaid calling card calling card international communication telephone tips advice buying buy sell call

Article Body:

If you want to keep in touch and to do long distance calls, prepaid calling cards are the answers. With the use of prepaid calling card, you can save money and can cut your phone bills in half and it can help you track your calls.

Indeed, using prepaid calling cards have lots advantages. In using prepaid calling card, you can stay with your budget. You also won’t be stressed out in thinking about the money you owe a company. With prepaid calling card, you can say goodbye with monthly bills and worries about the money that you need to pay for company for your accumulating outstanding balance.

There are so many prepaid calling cards in the market nowadays. But you do not have to simply buy one and use it without actually knowing the information about the prepaid calling card. There are some prepaid calling cards that come up with very cheap rates but you will be surprise with the surcharges and taxes midway. Many customers were lured with cheap prepaid calling cards, so be careful, do not let this happen to you too.

So how can you find the right prepaid calling card that can give you convenience and satisfaction? So just read on in order to have the answer.

If you do not want to waste your money in checking out the right prepaid calling card that can suit your needs, you can ask for referrals or recommendations from family and friends. Of course, these people will very much willing to help you out; they are open to criticism and also in giving you the best one for you.

You can also try to do simple research in finding it for your own you can use the internet in finding the right prepaid calling card. The best thing to do is to find a reliable company or site first. You can check out its reliability if the company or site can give you the necessary information or details about the prepaid calling card.

As soon as you find the right company or site, you can start searching for prepaid calling card. So if you are eyeing for a particular prepaid calling card, you can make an assessment in order to check out if it is the right one.

You can also try out the prepaid calling card by buying a small amount and find it for yourself if it is a good one, if it can give you the satisfaction and convenience you need.

If you could only give some of your time and effort in finding the right one, soon you can conveniently make calls any time and any where with the use of your prepaid calling card.

Calling all Inventors: Six ways to make money on your big idea.

Learn how to turn your dream into a true money-making invention. Use these six tips to build a foundation for success in today’s competitive mass retail market.

Keywords:

product marketing, invention marketing, as seen on tv, inventions, making money

Article Body:

Learn how to turn your dream into a true money-making invention. Use these six tips to build a foundation for success in today’s competitive mass retail market.

1. Protect yourself. The first step to success is making the investment to protect yourself. It can cost anywhere from $500 or even $10,000 to patent your idea, but it’s worth it. This is an area you don’t want to skimp on, even if it means you have less to spend elsewhere. Without a strong patent, you’re more vulnerable to dishonest marketers and get-rich quick schemes and less attractive to the reputable marketers. Ensure the patent is in your name only; don’t assign your patent to any other entities.

2. Do your market research. Market research doesn’t have to cost big bucks. In fact, it can be as simple as mailing or e-mailing a quick survey to your friends and family. Ask questions that will help you determine whether there is a need for your product, if it’s appealing and if it solves a problem. Ask for honest answers and evaluations. You may find you need to change a few things about your product, but this initial step can save you valuable time and money later on.

3. Develop a real prototype. Marketers are looking for real products, not just ideas. Take the time to purchase your own materials and design a prototype by hand, or investigate other options. Enlist the services of an industrial design company to build a good prototype. Or try your local college or university. Many have industrial design departments that provide this service. However, avoid the urge to mass produce your product at this stage in the process. You want to get some sales experience and develop a marketing strategy before investing the money in mass production.

4. Get some sales experience. Most marketers want to see a little sales success before agreeing to represent a new product. It can be as simple as visiting your local hardware store and pitching your new product to the owner. This is a great way to get some feedback. Retailers know what sells and why, so they can lend valuable insight. Plus, if you are able to find a few stores that are willing to sell your product, and you can demonstrate a sales history, it’s more likely a marketer will agree to represent your product.

5. Create a video demo. To entice a marketer to choose your product, it’s important to include a demo that shows your product in action. This doesn’t have to be anything more than a home video, but a video is the best approach. Drawings just don’t do a good job of demonstrating how a new product works. Real people using the real product is always best. Be sure to record close-up views of the product, along with several action shots. Talk about the product, what problem it solves and highlight any bells and whistles that make it unique.

6. Find a reputable backer. Once you’ve patented your idea, conducted market research, developed a prototype, created a video demo and have some sales experience, it’s time to find a marketer to help you sell and promote your product in the mass retail market. It’s important to spend time researching companies. Generally, it’s best to avoid all-in-one shops. The more work you do yourself, the better. Look for a marketing company that is credible and that has established relationships with mass retailers. Experience is of the essence here. Beware of those who seem dishonest or appear to take advantage of inventors and/or manufacturers by charging high fees. If possible, ask to talk to other inventors or manufacturers the company represents.

To take your invention to the next level, visit http://www.GardenWeasel.com

Getting A Job Through Cold Calling

Keywords:

cold calling,cold call,an interview,to sell yourself,company,hiring

Article Body:

It sounds a little like a telephone on ice, but the cold call is actually an important tool of networking. Cold calling is calling a person or business without prior contact in order to inquire about employment opportunities. For many, the idea of cold calling is chilling. Dialing up a complete stranger doesn't seem like a logical way to carry out a job search. Yet when done correctly, a cold call can showcase some important professional traits, including resilience, determination, and interpersonal skills. In the best-case scenario, it can also lead to an interview.

Cold calling is a salesman's device. The premise is that the more people you contact, the better your chances of scoring a deal. In a way salesmanship is integrally connected to the job search, only instead of selling a product or service, you're selling yourself. Specifically, you're selling the notion that you would be a valuable addition to a company's team. And therein lies the key to the cold call. When you pick up the phone, you must think of yourself not as a nervous jobseeker eager for a lead, but rather, as a confident professional who has the qualifications that would benefit an employer.

How do you make this leap? It's not easy, admits one woman in retail who had taken off several years to raise two children and wanted to rejoin the workforce. She admits the cold call took some practice. "I was much smoother on my eighth or ninth attempt than I was on my first.... I called up many businesses, and the majority of them didn't take more than fifteen seconds to decide they weren't interested. Finally, I caught one man who asked me where I'd gone to school. As it happened, we'd gone to the same college. He took a liking to me after that. I was asked in for an interview the following week."

This woman's example shows that it helps to make a connection with the person you are cold calling. However, this is not always possible. The plain truth about cold calling is that the failure rate is high. Yet the rewards can be great if you encounter even one person who recognizes your potential. Below are some techniques for making the cold call a little warmer.

* Write a script for your cold call, outlining one or two of your most valuable Key Selling Points (see chapter 7). Remember that you are trying to impress the person on the other end of the line. Modify your script so that these selling points are in sync with each company's specific needs. A customized delivery is crucial.

* Be clear on your goals and what you have to offer. Nothing will turn off an employer faster than a person who is not clear about his objectives.

* Introduce yourself in a way that will spark interest. Saying your name immediately followed by your area of expertise might do the trick.

* Work on your voice-make sure you sound professional, sharp, and cheerful, but never insincere or calculating. It helps to practice both your voice and your script on a trusted friend who can offer you feedback and suggestions.

* Figure out who is on the other end of the line. Receptionists and other gatekeepers will usually pick up the phone before hiring managers will. Be prepared to answer gatekeeper-type questions such as "What is the reason for your call?" and "What company are you with?" A confident answer and an assured tone might allow you to pass through this initial screen. No matter who picks up the phone, be professional. Treat everyone with equal courtesy and respect.

* Use the "rule of three." If you've tried calling three times, or left up to three messages with no response, throw in the towel. Calling any more than that will only irritate the person you are trying to reach. Says a senior human resources consultant with a wellknown mutual insurance company: "Candidates can call me and leave a voicemail message, but it's hard for me to do callbacks due to the volume of calls I receive." She goes on to say she does follow up with many people who leave inquiries, but that repeat messages "are more burden than value."

* Substitute your e-mail account for your phone. These days many businesspeople are more apt to answer e-mails than voicemail messages anyway. E-mailing requires less effort on both ends because people don't need to think and speak on the fly; they can actually take the time to word their correspondence carefully if you're better at written communication than you are at oral communication, consider sending "cold e-mails" rather than making cold calls. In this case, though, you'll need to address your e-mail to a single person. Consider calling the company gatekeeper, who may be more inclined to pass along the e-mail address of the hiring manager than the phone number. Blindly e-mailing a company at a general address can pretty much guarantee a lack of resultsunless the company happens to be very small.

* Keep track of your phone calls. If you leave a message, you'll want to know the name and title of the person who is returning your call and what information you've already provided.

* Be prepared for standard responses from human resources personnel and other hiring managers. You will probably receive some brush-off responses like, "The only thing you can do is send your resume to our HR department," or even, "We are not currently hiring." However, some responses will allow you more opportunity to sell yourself Be prepared to sell yourself if you hear a question such as "What kind of experience do you have?" or "What attracts you to our company?"

* Don't become discouraged. Cold calling isn't easy, and a few hang-ups can make even the most stalwart person question himself Take breaks and keep in mind that the process isn't personal.

* Remember that your ultimate goal is to get an interview. To that end, if you do speak with someone who has hiring power and if you establish a rapport with that person, ask outright if you can come in for an interview. The question might seem presumptuous, but it's been known to work.

Cold Calling May Be A Waste Of Time

too many sales managers these days preach cold calling as the way to go to generate sales leads. But why do they keep pushing a system that has such a low success rate when their are more practical ways to generate new business?

Keywords:

cold calling,cold calls,salespeople,dream sales job,generate leads,sales managers

Article Body:

It is a fact of life for most new sales people; they get the dream sales job with unlimited earning potential and expect to earn so much money that they can now enjoy the fruits of their coming wealth. Everything seems perfect until they realize that before closing a sale and earning the big commission, they must first prospect for new customers (read, cold calls). Cold calling is hard to do. People hate to make cold calls and people hate being on the receiving end of them as well.

Prospecting is the most difficult part of the sales job. There are many ways to go about it but, for some reason, sales managers preach cold calling as the only way for young sales people to generate leads. As someone who has been through it, I wish that these attitudes would change.

I recently read one of the best selling books on cold calling. In this book, the author stresses persistence. He uses the 15-3-1 rule. That is, you need to make fifteen cold calls to make three appointments with prospects. Out of these 3 appointments you will close one sale. By being persistent and making fifteen cold calls a day, this will translate to, on average, one sale a day, five sales a week, twenty sales a month, etc. Further, the author explains that he doesn't mind the rejection that he gets when he cold calls. The reason is that since it takes fifteen calls to get an appointment, that means that he will hear the word "no" (rejection) fourteen times before he hears the word "yes."

This is simplistic and anybody reading this book may get overexcited and think that this is easy. It's not easy and the author's arguments don't hold up in real life selling.

Take the fifteen cold calls a day rule. Anybody reading this book will think that fifteen cold calls a day is nothing. If it takes 2-3 minutes to make a phone call, it shouldn't take more than 45 minutes to make your mandatory 15 calls. Then the rest of the day is spent selling in front of prospects.

But it doesn't work this way. If you've ever cold called, you will know that it usually takes at least 10 phone calls to reach a decision maker. Think about it, executives aren't sitting in their offices waiting for your call. They're either on the phone, in meetings, on vacation, or they just don't want to talk to you. So now, to talk to fifteen people, you need to make 150 cold calls. This is not 45 minutes of work; this can take days.

Further, for someone to say that he enjoys hearing the word "no" because it means he is getting closer to a "yes" is just misleading. Although a select few people can take this kind of rejection day in and day out, most cannot. It is only human nature to be discouraged by so much rejection.

There are better ways to get sales leads and increase your sales. People buy from people that they trust. Your time should be spent networking with your friends, colleagues, and business contacts. Get referrals, get introductions, get testimonials and the sales will come. Not only that, your job will be better; nobody likes the rejection and time consuming nature of cold calling.

Cold Calling Has A Dark Side

New York Times Best-Seller Frank Rumbauskas explains the dark side of how companies use cold calling in an attempt to cut costs at the salesperson's expense.

Keywords:

cold calling, cold call, sales, selling, how to sell, sales training, sales management

Article Body:

Copyright 2006 Frank Rumbauskas

Have you ever wondered why sales managers are so insistent that you cold call?

Have you ever wondered why many companies will not even consider a marketing budget, and instead mandate cold calling, make it a job requirement, and tell you you’ll be fired if you don’t do it?

Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that you’d be paid so much in salary just to run around collecting fifty business cards a day, or making fifty telephone calls when your talents are so much better than that?

There is a reason for all this insanity. It’s the dark side of cold calling, and the real reasons why many companies still force salespeople to engage in this old, antiquated method of doing business.

First of all, cold calling doesn’t cost the company money. It costs you money. They get to avoid spending money on marketing, and instead they let you do the hard work of cold calling. This is in spite of the fact that cold calling has the lowest returns of any and all sales activities, and therefore leaves you with the lowest possible paycheck.

Second, cold calling doesn’t cost the company time. If they wanted to put together a marketing plan they’d either have to hire more employees to do it, take current employees away from other duties, or hire an outside firm to implement it. Instead, they tell you to do it. This saves manpower and eliminates the need to either hire new employees or hire an outside consultant. The end result is that is costs you time and forces you to waste your valuable time on the lowest-percentage sales activity instead of on something more productive.

The insanity of all this is that trying to save time and money by forcing you to cold call ends up costing the company huge amounts of time and money! It obviously isn’t profitable to have salespeople cold calling when it consistently has the lowest returns of all sales activities. However, they do it anyway, with the belief that it’s a smart way to cut corners. The fact of the matter is that having salespeople cold call is penny-wise and pound-foolish. It lets companies cut corners in the short term, but with very dire long-term consequences. Cold calling, when relied upon as the main source of new business, frequently leads to lost profits, downsizing and even bankruptcy.

Companies that are succeeding today don’t bother with cold calling. They implement a marketing plan that generates qualified leads, and they provide those leads to the salespeople, who simply go out and close them. This is the only sensible way to do business in the twenty-first century.

Cold Calls - A New Way to Open - Cold Calling Tips to Create Openings for Real Conversation!

Most of us design our cold calling around scripts and strategies. Isn’t that how we’ve been taught by the sales gurus? Scripts are linear and systematic so you can move calls in the direction you want them to go. Sales strategies do the exact same thing.

Keywords:

cold call, cold calling, sales training, phone selling, phone prospecting, sales prospecting, sales scripts, telesales, telemarketing, mortgage selling, mortgage cold calling, insurance sales

Article Body:

That’s why as soon as we make a cold call, the other person knows right away that our agenda is not to have a conversation, but to make a sale. There’s something about scripts and sales strategies -- it always shows. We’re not being natural, and other people can sense within the first few seconds that we’re out to make a sale. Once that happens, potential clients are immediately put on the defensive. They don’t want to be maneuvered into a sale. As soon as they recognize that you’re a salesperson with a sales agenda, most of the time they just want you to go away.

I call this "The Wall." It goes something like this: "Uh-oh, another salesperson. I'm about to be sold something. How fast can I get this person off the phone?" In other words, it’s over at "Hello." Hence, the moment you use the old cold calling approach, which is using sales scripts and strategies, you’ve triggered the negative "salesperson" stereotype in the mind of the person you’ve called. That almost always means immediate rejection.

The problem is with how you're selling, not what you're selling. The traditional cold calling approach, which has been taught by the sales gurus for years, involves immediately giving a pitch about who you are and what you have to offer. However, this is a one-sided conversation. In our normal lives, it would seem self-absorbed to start any conversation by talking only about ourselves. Yet, in cold calling we expect ourselves to do exactly that. We begin with a monologue rather than inviting a dialogue.

On top of that, we’ve all been trained to try to push prospects into a "yes" response somewhere within the first call. This creates sales pressure. Pressure from a stranger is never welcome. It feels intrusive to the other person.

The first step to overcoming this is to let go of your script or sales strategy as a crutch. This idea may sound scary at first because you’ve been programmed to think you have to have a script or strategy to make a successful cold call. I assure you that quite the opposite is true.

These old approaches create a "box" that doesn’t allow a conversation to flow. You’re thinking only about your agenda and following "the plan." The person on the other end of the phone senses this, and immediately begins to retreat.

Instead, start thinking about language that will engage people rather than language that will trigger rejection. If you can start a conversation that triggers a "What do you mean?" from the other person, you’ll find you can explain yourself in a natural way. This also creates a two-way dialogue, which lets you flow with the conversation without feeling you’re getting off-track.

Developing a problem statement makes this whole process much easier. Find out what issue or problem your potential client is likely to be experiencing, and build an open-ended conversation around that.

Here are three basic steps to opening up a dialogue and having a real conversation with your cold calls:

1. Begin with the question, "Maybe you can help me out for a moment?" The reply is almost always something like, "Sure, how can I help you?"

2. Continue with something like, "I’m just calling to see if your company is still having issues with unpaid invoices." The response probably will be, "Well, yeah, we are. Who’s this?"

3. You can then respond in a very relaxed tone, "This is John. I’m with XYZ Collection Agency. I’m just calling to see if you’d be open to some new ideas on how to better solve that problem." This makes it easy for the other person to reply, "What do you mean?" or "Tell me more." After that, the possibilities of your conversation are endless. Try these new cold calling ideas. You will be amazed at how much value you receive, both personally and professionally.

Getting Past Gatekeepers: Don't Get Left At the Gate When Calling on Decision Makers

Keywords:

sales trainer, sales training, salesmanship, customer service, customer retention, motivational speaker, sales trainer, sales training, cold calls, humorist, storyteller, communicator, better communication

Article Body:

DOES IT SOMETIMES SEEM AS THOUGH DECISION MAKERS are residing in a gated community? Learn how to bypass gatekeepers (GK) — those professionals who “guard” the decision makers and often run interference for them — to get in front of decision makers (DM).

Traditionally a secretary, administrative assistant or switchboard operator blocked entry. Now there are electronic nemeses as well: voice mailboxes and blind e-mail addresses. Yet gatekeepers can be your adversaries or allies, depending on your approach. Your challenge: to be regarded as important enough to be allowed into their inner sanctum.

Here are my rules of thumb for “Passing Gate” and receiving consideration by decision makers:

DO's
1. Turn GateKeepers into allies: treat them with respect, humor and compassion. Their job is tough too. They get it from both ends. They are people with their own personality, not faceless obstacles to be overcome at all costs.

2. Help decision makers look good in their manager's eyes. Can you solve his/her problem? Let the GK know. They will "carry your torch" for you. presenting you as his/her solution to the DM’s problem.

3. Recognize GKs and other intermediaries as vital to your information-gathering mission. Learn more about the DM, his/her department, recent trends, internal machinations within company, from the GK. Be nice to all.

4. Calling before/after GK’s shift will get you through directly. Many DMs work long hours and feel less pressured before/after hours.

5. Gather information with every call you make. Ask appropriate questions and gather information about the decision maker, his or her schedule, what else is happening in the company at the time. Be attuned to insights into the psychological make-up of the person you are calling for. Ask when the best (and worst) time to call is? How do you pronounce your DM's name? Does he or she prefer an informal name: "T" for Hortence or Condy for Condelezza.

6. Utilize multiple forms of communication to make contact. Use calls, postcards, faxes and e-mails. Ask GKs and DMs about their preferred ways of communicating.

7. The phrase “returning his/her call” upgrades your call’s importance in GK’s eyes. Use it to indicate past history.

8. When leaving repeated voice mail messages, list a different benefit you provide during each message, as a way to both qualify and distinguish yourself.

9. Keep your messages succinct: be short and sweet.

10. Stay upbeat — even if it’s the 10th unreturned message you’re leaving.

11. Be creative/funny/distinguishable so as to get consideration.

12. Humor works. Self-effacing humor and humor in solidarity with the gatekeeper help open doors.

13. When all else fails, have your Gatekeeper call theirs!

DON'Ts
1. Call and claim you're family, or claim to be calling from the police, IRS or FBI.

2. Become surly, rude or sarcastic. It's a turn-off and suggests immaturity and a lack of flexibility.

3. Avoiding filling up your recipient's voice mailbox with long and detailed messages. It's inconsiderate and shows bad judgment on your part. Use your short elevator speech instead.

4. Don't make the Decision Maker wrong for not being there to answer you in person, or for not having responded yet. Believe it or not, you're not the center of their universe!

5. Avoid using clichés and following scripts. Show some personality and spunk such that you'll stand apart from the crowd when you call and be memorable when they decide who to call back.

Treat others like the valued individuals they are and remain confident you're someone whose call decision makers will be glad they took. The only Gates you may not master on your first call…Bill Gates.

Cold Calling Executives in Brisbane Sales Training

The Amazingly Simple Secret For Successful Cold Calls To Company Executuves

Your colleagues are extremely interested in cold calling company executives like you, everybody with business savvy wants to reach the executives quickly to close top dollar sales.In this business environment with collapsed organizational structures, the elimination of middle management, and the increased workload for executive assistants it’s even more challenging to break through to the inner-circle of decision-makers.So consider this--stop making the cold-call process more complicated (and considerably more painful) than it needs to be. Quit agonizing over the writing of pre-approach letters and searching out friends who can provide warm introductions that’ll break you through, get you into the hallowed halls of the executive suites. Sure pre-approach letters and warm introductions are a good mix to add to any sales strategy but even big time local and long distance phone companies are finally catching on to the fact that the product they market, the telephone, is the most direct, effective tool for increasing sales by leaps and bounds.

Keywords:

brisbane sales training, sales training brisbane, cold calling

Article Body:

Now, you don’t wanna miss out on use of a proven, effective sales tool. Do you? Of course not! Here’s What Sales Pros AttemptNow, this is interesting a recent client survey revealed that most sales professionals feel pressed to accomplish a lot during a prospecting call. With each executive-level cold call most professionals take a big breath and in one great big run on sentence try to establish rapport by being friendly, gain credibility by giving company history, learn about the prospect with probing questions, introduce and sell products/services all within the parameters of one brief make-it-or-break-it telephone call to the executive suite.You’ll Never See It Coming, Here’s WhyHere’s a news flash it can’t be done! Even bigger news this kind of approach actually signals executive assistants that you don’t belong in the executive’s office. The assistant will simply smile, refer you down to a lower level and you’ll never know why or how you got booted down the ladder so quickly.

So, let’s go to the heart of the matter, take a close look at the structure of the phone call itself. In the 35 to 90 seconds that you’ll have to spend on the telephone at the executive’s level you’ve gotta be prepared to take the call down the straight and very narrow path in which you want it to go. And there is one absolute, positive, no doubt about it purpose for your call. Any hint of a deviation from this purpose will result in fewer executive-level appointments. So here’s the secret ... cherish it and know it’s extremely valuable.

THE amazingly simple secret to successful cold calls to the offices of executives is to be certain that every single one of your prospecting calls has one crystal clear purpose and one purpose only. Each word you speak during your prospecting phone calls directs and redirects the conversation toward that one goal scheduling an executive-level sales call. It doesn’t matter whether you schedule a meeting in person, or schedule a phone meeting every word of the initial phone call must direct the conversation toward getting that meeting booked on the calendar. Period.

Write Down the Words of a Successful Call A technique that’ll catapult you forward is to write down the words exchanged during your cold call. Identify what words, statements and questions keep the conversation on track towards an appointment and what words cause you to lose the appointment. You’ll become consciously aware of the words that flow between you and your prospect and their impact. Won’t be long till you realize that your words either get you what you want or take your cold calls way off the path down some obscure rabbit trail. I guarantee your competition doesn’t have a single-minded focus on high level calls and is unwittingly forfeiting a whole lot of potentially lucrative business. Yet, they hold onto their ill-advised, accomplish-a-lot-in-a-little-bit-of-time approach to prospecting at the top. You on the other hand will find that keeping your prospecting calls on one laser-like focus will bring in more executive-level sales calls than you ever imagined possible. Now, go get ‘em.

Sales training available at Ziglar Australia in public sales training classes and private sales training classess across Brisbane and the Goldcoast.

Ziglar Australia

Phone Brisbane 07 3303 8547 Melbourne 03 8330 0604 Sydney 02 8282 0688 or email info@ziglar.com.au

Cold Calling: How to Warm Yourself Up Before You Start

Why do we hate cold calling so much? Why does the very thought of it send shivers down some people’s spine? But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can do it. All it needs is careful planning and a structured approach. Follow this structure and I’ll show you how you can become a successful cold caller.

Keywords:

cold calling, how to do cold calling, cold calling strategies

Article Body:

Cold calling … even the name is enough to strike fear into the heart of many a small business owner! What image comes into your mind? Sitting in a lonely damp office, surrounded by paper, 2 day old coffee cups and a stack of outstanding work. In other words, something not very nice!

Why do we hate cold calling so much? Why does the very thought of it send shivers down some people’s spine? Firstly, what were we taught at school and by our parents? Don’t talk to strangers! No wonder picking up the phone and speaking to someone you have never met causes such mental problems.

What about every small business owner’s fear – the fear of rejection. That’s enough to find any reason not to pick up the phone. Here’s another one – lack of self confidence and the nagging doubt that you won’t live up to the expectations you put in your prospect’s mind.

I think that’s enough! Perhaps all very good reasons why you may find it hard to pick up the phone but, at the end of the day, to be really successful in business, it’s a necessary evil. Yes, you can convince yourself that you are too busy servicing your existing customers and looking after their every need, but unless you get out and bring in new business, one day you may find yourself with a tired and sold-out customer base.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can do it. All it needs is careful planning and a structured approach. If you can see the error of your ways and understand the impact this lack of action is having on your business, I’ll show you how you can become a successful cold caller. You have got it made if you follow this structure:
Identify, Preparation, Just Do It! and Review.

Let’s consider each of these steps in turn.

Identify

The first step is to identify who you are going to cold call. How do you go about building up a list? Here are some ideas:

• Ask your customers who they think you should be talking to; who could benefit from your product? Referrals from happy clients can be very powerful when speaking to your prospective customers. It tells them that if their colleague was happy to pass on their name then that’s a good recommendation

• Go through your old database and identify companies that no longer deal with you. Unless you really messed up first time round, they may appreciate a call

• Read all your local newspapers and magazines. Is there a story which would be a great excuse to call them up? “I read about your award in the newspaper and …”

• Use networking events and any other social gatherings to make new contacts

• E-mail everyone in your mailing list and tell them that you are on the look out for new leads!

• Train your brain to spot new opportunities

It doesn’t matter how outlandish your first draft list seems, stick the name down and get thinking about where the others are going to come from.

Preparation

Having got your initial list, the first task in the preparation stage is to tidy it up. Take another look at it and pick the top 5 which are likely to end in success. Why do this? Because to be motivated to carry on with something, there is nothing like success. Failure will not spur you on, but success will. So go for the ones which are likely to yield positive results. With practice, you will be able to tackle the more challenging ones later on!

Next, set yourself an objective. What do you want to achieve out of your phone call? An appointment, an agreement to send a sample, a sale? Being realistic, the best you can hope for is an appointment. Be clear on what your aim is. This will help you focus on the outcome during the rest of your preparation.

The most crucial part of the preparation stage is your research. Find out whatever you can about both the company and person you are going to call. What exactly do they sell? Who are they buying from at the moment? How many employees do they have? Do you know of any problems which you could resolve? What is the perception in the market place? What can you learn from their web site?

All of this information will help you in the next part of your preparation – your opening statement and subsequent words. Actors don’t go out on the stage without thoroughly learning and rehearsal and neither should you. Write out your opening statement, which says who you are, which company you are with and what you do. Keep it short, focused and punchy. Remember that many businesses receive cold calls all the time, so what is the benefit in the person spending some time with you? Think of a clear benefit statement to include in your remarks.

As in any selling situation (which a cold call is after all), you are very likely to be met with objections – can’t see you, too busy with a rush order, its Audit time, too many staff on holiday etc. Try and think of every objection and write down what your response will be. Being this prepared will keep you ahead of the game.

Bearing in mind your end objective, how are you going to go in for the kill? What are you going to say to get that appointment?

Going through all this preparation will give you a much needed confidence boost, ready for the next step.

Just Do It!

If you have identified a number of names, set aside a whole morning or afternoon to make your calls. It’s easy to say to yourself that you will do one call today and another tomorrow. Athletes know that you perform better when you are warmed up, so doing a number of calls in a row means you will get better each time – remember what I said earlier about success breeding success. Put the time in your diary and stick to it!

When should you call? Some people will say it’s better to avoid Mondays and Fridays. On Mondays, people are recovering from the weekend, they are too busy planning their week, or clearing up the mess from the weekend! On Friday’s people are winding down and are recovering from a hectic week.

But think about it – if people are planning their week, wouldn’t Monday’s be a great time to call? If people are winding down on Friday’s, they may be in a good mood with the weekend approaching, so more willing to talk and agree an appointment. The bottom line is that there probably is not an ideal time – just do it!

Now you are ready to go. Before picking up the phone, relax your body and muscles, take some deep breaths and ‘see’ yourself achieving your objective. What does it feel like to have achieved your goal? What are you doing to celebrate all those appointments you have got? See yourself as a success!

Now you are ready to go. Pick up the phone, ask for the person you want to speak to and in a confident, crisp and clear voice, start off with your opening statement. Be warm and friendly. Don’t switch off into your own ‘self-talk’, really listen to what the other person is saying; listen out for those inevitable objections. When they come, answer straight back with your prepared answers. The standard objection is that they are too busy to talk now. If so, agree a time when you can call again as this will avoid telephone tag, where you keep missing each other. In the end you will become a nuisance and you want to avoid this at all costs.

At the end of the call, summarise what was agreed so you are all clear on what will happen next. You don’t want any potential costly misunderstandings.

Review

You will be glad to know that the final step is a review of what took place! After you have put the phone down, sit back and write up your notes, put the agreed meeting time in your diary. Think about what went well; what could have gone better; how you could have approached things differently. Do you think you sounded confident? Did you anticipate all the objections? Did you successfully handle the ones which were thrown at you? Did you meet your planned objective? If so, then celebrate!

Armed with all this new information, pick up the phone and dial the next person on the list.

You may feel cold calling is a bit of a chore. But if you follow these steps then you will very quickly find yourself having too much new business to cope with. What a great problem to have!

Confident at Cold Calling? A Reality Check on Postive Thinking

The old cold calling approach encourages you to be confident that the person you’re calling should seriously consider buying what you have to offer. So people naturally move into a defensive place.

Keywords:

cold call, cold calling, sales training, phone selling, phone prospecting, sales prospecting, sales scripts, telesales, telemarketing, mortgage selling, mortgage cold calling, insurance sales

Article Body:

Before you make a cold call, do you "gear up" first? Do you get excited about your product or service, and try to anticipate making the sale?

Well, if you’re following the old traditional cold calling mindset, that’s probably what you’ve been trained to do. But what you don’t know is that enthusiasm and confidence usually backfire on you.

Why? Because you’re talking with someone who doesn’t know you. Think about how you’d feel if someone you don’t know approaches you with a lot of zest and enthusiasm.

You’ll probably take a step back. You’re a little suspicious and somewhat on the defensive in the face of all that enthusiasm.

It’s the same when you make cold calls. People don’t like the feeling of being pressured, and that’s usually what gets triggered when you approach someone with too much confidence. It’s called "positive thinking" in the old sales training strategies, but really, it’s overconfidence.

Here are two things for you to consider the next time you start to dial the phone:

1. Artificial sales enthusiasm is – artificial

When I’m coaching someone, many times I like to ask them to role-play with me. And often, just as soon as they move into their cold call presentation, everything changes.

Their natural voice tone shifts, and they sound like a totally different person from the one who called and talked so naturally with me about their sales issues.

You see, sometimes just the idea of making a cold call causes you to talk more loudly, and with a lot of "forward energy momentum."

But most cold calls break down the moment the other person feels all that enthusiasm.

Why? Because with high enthusiasm, prospects feel sort of boxed in. They feel the pressure of your expectations. They feel pushed by someone they don’t know, and who knows nothing about them.

So it’s much better to talk in a natural, conversational way, just as if you were talking with a friend. When you’re being a relaxed and natural, the difference is amazing.

2. Assumptions feel like presumptions

The old cold calling approach encourages you to be confident that the person you’re calling should seriously consider buying what you have to offer. It’s a taken-for-granted assumption that if they fit your profile, your product or service should be a "fit" for them.

But really, how much sense does it make to have assumptions about someone you've never spoken with, much less had a conversation with? How much can you possibly know about their problems, issues, needs, time frame, budget, decision making process, or other key information?

Can you imagine how it feels to the person on the other end of the phone when you presume to know what’s "best" for them? They don’t know you, and they don’t trust you.

So people naturally move into a defensive place.

So it’s best to move away from making any assumptions when you make your cold calls.

Approach your prospects from a modest, humble position. Avoid coming to the conversation already convinced in your own mind that they should be a fit. This way, you'll eliminate sales pressure, which triggers that defensive reaction.

Completely eliminating assumptions and high enthusiasm in your cold calling will help people relate to you as a real person instead of a negative-type "pushy" salesperson. And you’ll find that they’ll usually respond much more warmly and naturally.

Give FREE Long Distance Calling to all Your Customers and Members and Watch Your Business Grow!

AdCalls offers you the opportunity to set up your own branded PC-to-PC and PC-2-Phone service through our Private Label Program. You can offer your own branded AdCalls system to all customers for FREE, while capturing vital contact details about them such as their name, email, zip code, area code etc.

Keywords:

direct marketing,free unlimited long distance calls,local internet advertising,online coupons,permission based e-mail marketing solutions,free VoIP dialing system,special offer advertising,advertising, marketing, media, telecommunications, sales,ad sales,

Article Body:

Instantly increase sales and traffic to your store or web site. AdCalls offers you a complete marketing solution and Customer Relationship Management CRM system to identify and capture vital information about your customers.

Give FREE long distance calling to all your customers and members and watch your business grow!

AdCalls offers you the opportunity to set up your own branded PC-to-PC and PC-2-Phone service through our Private Label Program. You can offer your own branded AdCalls system to all customers for FREE, while capturing vital contact details about them such as their name, email, zip code, area code etc.

You also start to earn immediate income from coupon redeemers while capturing vital demographic data about all your customers. That's why we say "Advertising Doesn't Cost... It Pays With AdCalls".

IDEAL BRANDING SOLUTION

The result is the conversion of interested individuals to loyal customers that help you develop and maintain relationships and maximize the lifetime value of each customer. You’ll be given our administrator management tracking system with which you can frequently communicate with your customers.

Key Benefits and Features

Customer Incentive: Unlimited FREE calling and Print-At-Home Coupon Center for every customer and prospect

Customer Data Base: Complete real time access to all customers and prospects using the free dialer and coupon program.

Name Branding: The Coupon Redemption Center will be customized to include custom icon, dialer and coupon redemption center of your company for your name branding to be seen whenever your customer or prospect uses the coupon program.

Customer Updates and Information: The Private Label Coupon Redemption Center will include customized links to your web site and/or specific website pages , directing customers and prospects to your website

Ideal Viral Marketing: Your company can capture unlimited number of new customers when others refer their friends to download the free dialer.

Run unlimited local and national ad campaigns targeting and capturing vital contact information about your customers.

Ideal income generating system for Non-Profit organizations and Religious groups.

Unlimited access to the Ad Builder Pro so you can modify or add new coupons and specials to all your customers.

Unlimited world wide exposure of your ads to millions of potential viewers

AdCalls360 handles every facet of implementation and management. All you need to do is put up your ads and send to our waiting viewers.

Earn $.05 cents from each coupon print, redemption etc.

For more info go to http://pvtlabel.patbelgrave.com