Archive for the ‘Listening Skills’ Category
By Ron LaVine, MBA and President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Sales Success – Live Cold Call Training Workshops®
According to Josh Gordon’s book “Selling 2.0 – Motivating Customers in the New Economy”, building trust is ranked by customers as the number one way to motivate and persuade them to buy. Trust ranked ahead of building relationships, selling value, problem solving, adding value, building loyalty and finally competitive positioning. It is important to be well trusted and you should not underestimate the importance of building trust in areas such as aggressive problem solving and missionary selling before the buying even begins. Trust is the assured reliance on character, strength or truth of someone.
One of the biggest factors in building trust is establishing consistency. This means the other person always knows what to expect from you. In addition to consistency these characteristics are also important when building trust.
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Confidentiality
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Listening
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Making the other person feel heard and understood
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Being clear about what is being exchanged in the relationship
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Like-ability of the provider
When you work over the telephone, the only feedback you receive is the sound of the person’s voice and what is going on in the background. You cannot see their face or how their body language changes based upon what is being said. Therefore, it is key, to build trust up front.
Since building trust over the phone disables the reliance on visual feedback, one of the ways you can build trust is to match and mirror the speed, tone and volume of the other person’s voice. If they speak fast you need to speed up your rate of speech. If they speak slow then slow down. The same applies to louder and softer.
People feel comfortable speaking and buying from people they know, like (like means similar) and trust.
Trust is a key factor in how people make decisions. Therefore it is important to understand how to build and maintain trust. The more you understand about your accounts and their unique situations, combined with an establishment of a positive working relationship, the easier it will be to build trust.
Ten Ways to Establish Trust
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People trust people who are honest about the truth even if it is uncomfortable.
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People who look and act professionally build trust.
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People trust people who ask good questions and are willing to listen.
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Trust comes from being able to demonstrate your knowledge or technical proficiency.
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Trusted professionals ask tough, thought provoking questions, while reaching meaningful issues quickly.
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People trust other people who respect their values.
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People trust people who make them think.
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You create trust when you focus on what your accounts are trying to accomplish.
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People trust people have had similar experiences to theirs.
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People trust people who have a genuine interest in what they have to say.
Slick words or trying to impress people with all the features of your solutions do not build trust they fuel skepticism. Being able to have proof readily available in the form of testimonial letters and phone or email references builds trust. Improve your trust building skills and you’ll improve your sales.
Reference: Selling 2.0: Motivating Customers in the New Economy, by Josh Gordon available at: http://amzn.to/11MzUia.
You can use this content in your own publications.
Please include the following reprint permission…
This article is reprinted with permission from Ron LaVine’s “Sales Tips for Success” complementary e-Zine. Ron LaVine, MBA is President and Founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., an Oak Park, CA cold call training company. Get two FREE Reports, plus the FREE e-Zine, Sales Tips for Success by clicking here. Learn more about Cold Calling for Sales Success On-site, Virtual, Individual or Group, Live Cold Call Training Workshops® by calling me, Ron LaVine at 818-991-6487 by clicking here. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
By Ron LaVine, MBA and President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Sales Success® – Live Cold Call Training Workshops
Imagine an orchestra playing before you. Now think what would happen if one of the violin players suddenly ignored the what the composer had written on the sheet music started playing another tune right during the middle of another piece. Or what if the violin player kept their instrument aloft and accidentally played a note or two?
What would happen? At the very least, the harmony would end. Why? The person was not paying attention or was intent on making themselves heard.
Now imagine being on the telephone having a conversation with a prospect when all of a sudden instead of listening to what is being said to you, you decide you must start talking about all the features and benefits you feel the prospect must know about your technology. Instead of continuing to listen and discuss what is important to the prospect, you interrupt thinking if only they knew how great your technology is they would buy immediately.
Let’s go back to our orchestra scenario. What happens when a violinist decides to play another piece or accidentally plays a note during the middle of a piece? Similar to the disharmony they would cause, you would probably end up with something equally bad. This maybe the loss of a sale and possibly damaging any future relationship.
The telephone is similar to a violin. It is an instrument. It takes practice to learn how to derive the most benefits from using it. When you learn how to play the violin, unless you are a prodigy born with innate talent, you need to practice following what the composer has written (or in the case of a conversation, listening to what the prospect is saying without interrupting).
This can and is a real challenge for many of us. Why? We like to hear ourselves speak. We like to share all of what we know.
While on the telephone, one of the ways you can prevent this is to place a finger over your mouth reminding yourself that your job at this point is to listen and not speak. This serves four purposes.
One, it is very difficult to talk when your finger is covering your mouth.
Two, it will remind you to listen (and concentrate) more and while speaking less.
Three, you will begin to become conscious of your need to speak.
Four, you will be able to learn how to control your urge to speak.
This is a simple yet useful technique to force yourself to get in the habit of listening.
Using the telephone to make sales requires discipline. Since you cannot see the other person and therefore cannot rely upon visual signs, you must rely solely upon what you hear. Decide to listen. STOP! Stop talking on purpose.
Encourage the person to answer each question in detail by remaining silent. Remember that silence often gives the person on the other end of the line time to think about an answer to your question. If you interrupt them, you may never know what important piece of information they were going to tell you.
Allow them time to think, you will get more information that way, rather than trying to fill in the gaps of silence. Show you are listening by using statements such as “I see” or “I hear you” “Okay” “I understand what you mean” or “Right.” If you overlook this step, misunderstandings can come back to haunt you later.
Have you ever watched an orchestra when a group of instruments are not playing or are not getting ready to play? What do they do? Typically they put their instruments down or away from their mouths. Why do you think they do this? Could it be so they don’t accidentally play a note and ruin the piece that is being played?
Control your urge to speak and you will make more sales. Remember, the secret to listening is to be interested, not interesting.
You can use this content in your own publications.
Please include the following reprint permission…
This article is reprinted with permission from Ron LaVine’s “Sales Tips for Success” complementary e-Zine. Ron LaVine, MBA is President and Founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., an Oak Park, CA cold call training company. Get two FREE Reports, plus the FREE e-Zine, Sales Tips for Success by clicking here. Learn more about Cold Calling for Sales Success On-site, Virtual, Individual or Group, Live Cold Call Training Workshops® by calling me, Ron LaVine at 818-991-6487 by clicking here. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
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By Ron LaVine, MBA and President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Sales Success – Live Cold Call Training Workshops®
Are you having a hard time reaching decision-makers, setting up well-qualified appointments, getting past gatekeepers, gathering information or finding if you are calling on an appropriate prospect in the first place? Maybe it seems impossible to get your cold calls returned or you are getting stuck into an endless loop of voice mail.
The big problem today in cold calling on businesses, is it is so hard to get a response. It is a bad situation but it really doesn’t have to be. This problem often stems from sales training where reps are trained to start selling BEFORE they have determined if there is a need to sell. The problem becomes further compounded when sales reps think they are speaking with a decision maker but they really aren’t Add the urge to speak about their solutions rather than to ask questions and listen to the complete answers and all of a sudden cold calling becomes real difficult.
Becoming successful at cold calling requires you switch from the old “If I make enough calls, I’ll sell something” to “If I speak with the person who has the authority and need to buy and if I have the right solution to fit their needs, then they will buy” approach. This approach emphasizes finding the decision-maker(s), using exploratory questions and active listening to gather the information needed to understand who has the authority to buy, if there is a need to buy, and if so, what you should be presenting so the prospect will buy.
Step 1. Establish call objectives.
Your first objective should be to locate what we will call the “WHO” or decision-maker(s). Second, you need to determine if a need exists. Third, suggest a solution based upon the information you’ve gathered. Fourth, ask for and set up time and date specific action steps.
Step 2. Find the decision-maker(s) first.
Before you can find the “WHO”, you must first know how to work your way through the maze of a large organization. It is easy to get sidetracked by someone who says they have the authority to buy but doesn’t.
There are three approaches into an organization. TOP DOWN (most effective) or SIDEWAYS IN or BOTTOM UP. Whatever direction you choose, remember to seek out the “WHO” first.
The easiest one of the three is the “top down” approach using the power of referral from above. Cold calling goes much easier if you always start at the top of an organization and work your way down. It is much easier to work your way downstream then fight your way up stream.
On your initial call, your goal is to discover “WHO” is responsible for making decisions to buy your type of solution. Start with these questions. “Maybe you can help me? Who is responsible for [your solution?]” “Do you have a [ask for the highest level title responsible for the final decision to acquire [your solution]“. Such as, “Do you have a CIO of a CFO?”
This isn’t the time to talk about your solution. Your goal is to find the “WHO” first. This set of questions in order will keep you out of sales mode and help you stay in information mode. These questions will diminish your fear of rejection and build your confidence since people are usually willing and able to answer them. You’ll also find people less defensive and more helpful when they don’t feel like they are being sold something.
You start by calling the headquarters receptionist and after confirming the address, you ask for the name and correct spelling of the CEO (or President, etc.). Next ask to be transferred to the CEO’s assistant.
The advantage of calling the CEO’s assistant is twofold. One is they work and deal with the higher level people (C-level, VPs, etc.) and secondly when they give refer you to the person they believe is the “WHO”, that person or their office’s gatekeeper will usually take your cold call.
The reason for this is it is very difficult for a subordinate to refuse a call coming from a superior or a superior’s office (make sure you tell the truth and say you were referred by the CEO’s office). This fact alone eliminates many of the road blocks such as getting return calls or being put through to the decision makers themselves. Remember you DO NOT want to speak with the CEO or President, you want their assistant.
When you are transferred the first thing you need to say is that you were referred by the CEO’s office (or the CEO if you speak with them).
Using the sideways approach begins with choosing a department such as Investor or Public Relations, Purchasing or Sales. Your objective again is to find the “WHO”.
Finding the “WHO” using the bottom up approach begins by calling on people who work in the mail room, an outlying factory, retail location, or customer service and then working your way upwards.
Remember to be flexible and continue transferring to different departments to maximize the value of each call. The objective is to find a live person who will speak with you and provide more pieces of the selling puzzle.
Starting from the top and establishing the who’s who of the organizational hierarchy eliminates a person at a lower level in the organization from saying don’t go above me, you deal only with me. This is because you can mention all the names of the people above.
Step 3. Ask permission to speak.
From a business perspective, there may be nothing more valuable than our time. Let people know that you respect their time by asking, “Is this a good time to speak?” or “Do you have a few moments?” before using your opening statement. Not only is this a more professional approach, you’ll find people will offer their full attention since you’ve been given their permission to speak.
If it isn’t a convenient time for your prospect to talk, SCHEDULE A FOLLOW-UP CALL and then HANG UP THE PHONE. Why waste their time or yours? If they are busy, you certainly will not have their attention. Make a good impression by being polite and respectful of the other person’s time.
Step 4: Use direct open-ended questions.
Start by using direct questions such as: “Who is responsible for.?” or “How do you currently handle.? Or “What are you doing in the area of.?” or “When do you plan to make a decision on .?” or “Why do you think that is?” Direct questions demonstrate you are in control of the conversation and you know what you are doing.
Avoid using weak questions or statements: “Could you possibly” or “Might you be able to tell me?” or “I’m just trying to find out some information” or “I was hoping to find out” These type of statements imply a lack confidence.
Step 5: Summarize your conversation.
At the end and after any conversation involving action items, summarize verbally and in writing important points and clarify time and date specific next steps. Follow the verbal summary with a written one in an e-mail and then call to be sure the information was received.
Use a Summary Email to help you move forward towards the close of a sale. This email provides a detailed summary of what you heard during the conversation, what it means and what are the next steps to be taken, by who and by when in order to complete the sale.
In this email include:
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Prospect’s Company Background (Describe the past and current company situations).
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Current Challenges or Situation (List the needs, problems, pains or challenges and why they are occurring).
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Timing (Specify the evaluation completion and decision dates you have been told).
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Evaluation Process (Identify who will conduct the evaluation and the criterion that will be used).
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Decision Process (Note who will be involved in making the decision and how will they decide).
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Budget (Establish that budget has been set aside or there is access to budget).
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The Next Step (Layout the process of who will do what and by when).
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A Signature (Include your complete contact information and a tag line explaining the benefits of your solution).
Summary
You can make cold calling easier and more effective by starting at the top and by following these steps.
1. Establish call objectives.
2. Find the decision-maker(s) first.
3. Ask permission to speak.
4. Use direct open-ended questions.
5. Summarize your conversation.
Want to remove fear and rejection from cold calling? View cold calling as an informational puzzle. Your goal is to see how many pieces of information you can get on every call. When you gather information you didn’t have before you’ve gotten a result. If you’ve gotten a result then you haven’t been rejected.
This puzzle approach will allow you to maximize your valuable selling time by calling on the people who can and will buy from you.
You can use this content in your own publications.
Please include the following reprint permission…
This article is reprinted with permission from Ron LaVine’s “Sales Tips for Success” complementary e-Zine. Ron LaVine, MBA is President and Founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., an Oak Park, CA cold call training company. Get two FREE Reports, plus the FREE e-Zine, Sales Tips for Success by clicking here. Learn more about Cold Calling for Sales Success On-site, Virtual, Individual or Group, Live Cold Call Training Workshops® by calling me, Ron LaVine at +1-818-991-6487 by clicking here. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
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By Ron LaVine, MBA and President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Sales Success – Live Cold Calling Training Workshops®
Where to Begin?
Clear your desk and prepare yourself for each call by having everything you need within reach or eyesight. To maximize each call, use a headset, lean slightly forward while sitting in your chair and minimize or remove all distractions around you.
Think of yourself as a sponge. Give your full attention to what is being said by the contact. Listen closely to not only what is being said, and how it is being said.
A helpful tip is to record your conversations to be sure you do not miss any important details. Then play the recording after the call confirming the notes you took based upon what you heard are correct.
When entering a new industry, most people know little, if anything, about the terminology (nomenclature) being used. People in the software industry use acronyms like MVS (multiple virtual storage), VM (virtual machine), VSE (virtual storage extended) or CICS (customer information control system) and it can get confusing fast.
A good strategy to overcome this challenge is to ask the people you speak with, if they have a moment to explain what different terms mean and how the terms relate. Never be afraid to admit you do not know or understand something. Remember to be interested, not interesting, by becoming a good listener.
You can receive a free education worth thousands of dollars just by asking questions and letting people have the opportunity to teach you what they have learned after years of experience in their industry. Is everyone helpful? No. Many people are too busy to take the time to speak with you. Yet there are plenty of people who will spend the time to educate you if you ask politely and show a genuine interest in what they have to say.
What makes your call different from any other type of call is you are truly trying to benefit the account. You do this by using seeing (“I see what you mean”), hearing (“I hear what you are saying”) or feeling (“I understand how you feel”) terms.1 These terms enable your contact to understand the results they can attain using your solution.
You can demonstrate to a contact how to alleviate dissatisfaction with current suppliers; get rid potential problems or challenges while taking advantage of proven solutions. You do this by relaying the benefits your products or services provide along with the corresponding results in terms they can relate to.
During a qualification call, accounts tend to be naturally wary of unexpected calls therefore it is imperative you differentiate yourself from other account executives by respecting your account’s time. Is your calendar handy and are you ready to schedule a phone appointment if the contact you are calling is busy?
Remember to be exceptionally friendly and polite to everyone you speak with in the account’s company. People with influence can come from any area of a company.
How does the person sound when they answer the phone? Are they harried, angry, busy or distracted? It’s a good idea to ask “Am I catching you at a busy point?” If they say yes, then ask when would be a good time to call back and schedule an appointment to call them on a specific day and time. Make a note in your schedule and be sure to place the call. If handled correctly they will feel obligated to spend at least a minute speaking with you since they agreed to the appointment or if they don’t want to make an appointment they may give you 30 seconds to a minute to briefly explain the reason why you’re calling.
If you practice these TIPs (techniques, ideas and processes), while making your calls, your can increase your success. People like to speak with people who can establish credibility by speaking on the same level as they do rather than above or below them. My experience shows, people, when asked politely for their time, and have granted permission to speak with them, enjoy speaking with someone who has a genuine interest in listening to what they have to say.
You can use this content in your own publications.
Please include the following reprint permission…
This article is reprinted with permission from Ron LaVine’s “Sales Tips for Success” complementary e-Zine. Ron LaVine, MBA is President and Founder of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc., an Oak Park, CA live cold calling training company. Get two FREE Reports, plus the FREE e-Zine, Sales Tips for Success by clicking here. Learn more about Cold Calling for Sales Success On-site, Virtual, Individual or Group, Live Cold Calling Training Workshops® by calling me, Ron LaVine at +1-818-991-6487 by clicking here. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
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By Ron LaVine, MBA and President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Sales Success – Live Cold Calling Training Workshops®
As Dennis Miller would say, “Now, I don’t want to get off on a rant” but why have corporations and businesses made it so hard to do business with them? Are they trying to drive business away? In an age where customer loyalty is a prized plum, it never ceases to amaze me to what lengths corporations will go through to aggravate and alienate their customer base.
As I say in class over and over, it is not always the big things that make the difference. In fact, quite often, it is the little things you do or say or how your company operates that sets you apart from the competition and wins you the big deals. It maybe better service, friendlier people, attention to detail, greater accessibility or a better attitude.
Ease of use ranks high on my list when doing business with someone. When companies make it hard or un-enjoyable for me to do business with them, my first thought is “Where else can I take my business?”Where else will my hard-earned dollars will be appreciated and I won’t have to go through a war zone to get simple things done?”
For example, the bank I currently use allows you to bank online. I enjoy using the electronic bill pay feature. I can pay my bills from anywhere in the world. Here’s the catch. I have a business account and a personal account however they cannot access each other (this bank actually has a separate web site for each). This means for me to pay bills using each account, I would need to pay for two bill-paying services. Does this make sense? Of course not and yet it occurs.
Example number two. There is a next-day shipping company whose service I really enjoy. What happened? I closed one credit card account and opened another. The billing department automatically charged me $10 Declined Credit Card charge without notifying me rather than contacting me and asking why my credit card was not working; I called up customer service (at least three times) and explained the situation. I gave the person a new credit card number and requested that they make notes in their customer service system. They did and they told everything was fine and taken care of. Wait a minute, I just opened my mail and there’s another
REPRINT OF ORIGINAL statement showing the same charges and that the bill is now overdue. To cut to the chase, I ended up calling the headquarters and explaining that because the people in billing could not access the notes from the people in customer service, his company nearly lost my account over $10.
Ron you’re saying, $10 is no big deal. You’re right however if you calculate the lifetime value of a client and then multiply by the number of clients you maybe losing due to what I call disconnects within a company’s product and service delivery system, the potential dollars lost rises dramatically. The person at corporate was smart (probably why he was working in the executive offices). He simply asked, “What do we need to do to fix the problem?”
I replied, “Reverse the charge, take down my new credit card number and say I’m sorry. That’s it. That’s all. Nothing fancy.” I also mentioned that if this is happening to me, I wonder how many other clients are being affected by the same situation. He said he’d make a point to check on their notification and CRM systems.
Do you know why I went to all this trouble to bring my business back to a company whom by all rights and means did not deserve it? It is because of the guy who picks up and drops off my packages. He always has a friendly smile and a happy hello. I like people like that and enjoy doing business with companies who employ people like that. He doesn’t know it but it is his behavior that saved his company at least one client and possibly many more.
In closing, as a sales rep or any member of a company large or small, ask yourself every once in while, “How easy is it to do business with your company?” “Are there disconnects in your company’s product and service delivery system (this includes a review of all departments, not one or two)?” “How easy is it to return something?” “When’s the last time Sales asked Marketing for some data and it fell through the cracks or vice versa?” “How well do your departments share information internally?”
Sharing internal information is a very important issue in corporations and maybe why Customer Relationship Management has become such a hot topic that is being looked at very seriously. Studies show over and over again, it can cost 7 to 8 times more to get a new client as it does to keep an existing one. So keep your existing clients happy by making their experiences or points of contact with your company as enjoyable as possible.
You can use this content in your own publications.
Please include the following reprint permission…
This article is reprinted with permission from Ron LaVine’s “Sales Tips for Success” complementary e-Zine. Ron LaVine, MBA is President and Founder of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc., an Oak Park, CA live cold calling training company. Get two FREE Reports, plus the FREE e-Zine, Sales Tips for Success by clicking here. Learn more about Cold Calling for Sales Success On-site, Virtual, Individual or Group, Live Cold Calling Training Workshops® by calling me, Ron LaVine at +1-818-991-6487 by clicking here. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
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