How to Sell in Any Type of Market
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
I came across an article in the Investor’s Business Daily about “Selling in a Down Market” and I think it applies to selling in any type of market. My summary of the main points is below.
Below is an adaptation of an article “Selling in a Down Market” by Cord Cooper in the December 5, 2002 edition of Investor’s Business Daily.
Cooper states that sales management has a choice in how to handle selling in a down market. He then goes on to give strategies for properly preparing your sales force.
Make your salespeople your first market.
They must be sold on what they are selling if clients are to be sold too.
Think benefit
A few of the questions in this section were:
“What is the minimum return our clients need from our products or services?”
“How can we out do that by 50% to 100%?”
“What has been the client’s experience with the competition?”
“What sets us apart?” or “What is our unique selling proposition or specialization?”
Suggestion:
Take some time during a sales meeting to discuss these questions, take notes of the answers, put them in an email and distribute them electronically via email so they can be modified and expanded by people throughout your company. You could be surprised at who comes up with unique ways to help a customer or make it easier for them to do business with your company.
Set service standards.
Define what the best type of customer service is and then measure and deliver it.
Sell your track record.
Get permission to use specific client’s names and documented numerical results to increase your credibility.
Nail it down.
Don’t assume the customer has a clear understanding of the detail
Be sure to go over information and especially contracts in detail.
Work back-to-front.
If your start with a prospect’s budget and vision it is easier to work backward and demonstrate how your product or service will fit their requirements.
Bridge the gap
Specify the results you want from your sales force, compare them to the current situation, and then center your strategy to bridge the gaps.
Don’t promise more than your organization can deliver.
Promising and not delivering is as bad as hearing complaints and ignoring them.
Use prospects’ names as marketing tools.
Create a seating chart in front of you and take note of their name
Use their names during a presentation to gain attention, control conversations and underscore points.
Realize that past successes don’t cut future deal
Track client’s post sales shifting priorities and work them into renewal contracts.
Put the customer in charge.
Adapt your company policies to meet the customer’s needs.
The bottom line.
Let your customers be in charge by letting their needs drive your strategy. It worked for Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart and it will work for you too.
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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive a complimentary special report “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine by entering your email address at http://www.ast-incorp.com. No spam ever is our policy. If you would like information on Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™ – Live Cold Calling Training, call Ron at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved. Please reprint this article in its entirety including the Reprint Permission.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Cold Calling made Easy, Fun & Profitable!™
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, 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.
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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive two complimentary special reports “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND “Characteristics of Top Sales Executives” PLUS the free bimonthly “Sales Tips for Selling Success” eZine by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. Want details on Cold Calling made Easy, Fun & Profitable™ – Live Cold Calling Training, then call me, Ron LaVine at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Cold Calling made Easy, Fun & Profitable!™
Finding new business can be a snap, if you know where to look and what to do with the information you find. Using the telephone along with publicly available information, you can turn data into dollar
Understanding the importance of the “fact finding step” in the sales cycle, is key to making more sales. We need information resources to enable us to determine who is responsible for decision making, where an account is now, where they want to be and how they plan to get there.
It is easy to mishandle this part of the sales cycle in an eagerness to sell. Finding data about a shift in the way an account does business is not enough. Understanding the potential effects of the change is key to finding revenue producing events.
Show Me the Money
Look for accounts in your territory who:
* Acquire, merge or joint venture with another company,
* Have been acquired by another company,
* Add additional equipment or hardware or facilities,
* Announce a change in staffing requirements or business, practices due to expansion, restructuring or relocation,
* Receive contract awards,
* Mention cost cutting initiatives,
* Outsource certain services to concentrate on core businesses,
* Are embarking on new projects,
* Issue an IPO to raise operating capital for buying more assets,
* Spin off a division into a new company with new ownership,
* Maybe affected by pending legislation or regulations.
Turning Data into Dollars
Once a change occurs, ask yourself these questions. “How can my products fulfill a need or challenge as a result of the change?” “What additional services can my company provide to lessen the impact of the shift?” When the change effects a company who is your customer, ask yourself “How can I expand the use of or prevent the replacement of my services?”
For instance, you read an account plans to expand their operations. When companies expand or restructure, typically the management re-evaluates human resources and capital assets to decide what stays, what goes and what’s needed. When preparing your sales strategy, keep in mind the big picture. An enterprise wide sale is far more valuable than an individual business unit sale.
Different Ways to Create More Sales
1. Assembling a plan showing how the effects of the change relate to the benefits your products and services provide can position you for a sale.
2. Taking note of changes or trends that may affect both you and your account’s industries will make you sound intelligent and increase the odds of a sale.
3. Looking for stories about accounts using your competitor’s products and applying that application to your offerings is another way to make more sale
4. Keeping your account records up to date allows you to invest your time locating who is responsible for and capable of making a buying decision.
5. Finding and calling up users of your competitor’s products is a way to replace or augment existing products. Be sure to explain up front, you are looking for ways to improve your product
* What do you like about their products or services?
* Is there anything you dislike or have found unsatisfactory?
* If you had a wish list, what features would you like to see their product have?
Assuming your service provides missing features and benefits your competitors do not offer, you have yourself a potential sale.
6. Calling your customers pro-actively and assuring them of continuous service provides an opening to
* Find out more about an account’s future strategic direction.
* Expand and cement contact relationships,
* Uncover potential evaluations, projects or initiatives,
* Locate the main or new users of your products,
* Gauge customer satisfaction and nip potential problems in the bud before they become unmanageable,
* Offer consulting services, education or documentation,
* Inquire about other business units that may need your products,
* Provide greater customer service, making difficult for competitors to replace your product
Understanding the effects of change can present an opportunity to persuade management to invest in new products, services or technologies.
Free Sources of Business Sales Intelligence
An account’s sales literature
Employee telephone interviews
Competitor user telephone interviews
Online and hard copy business and finance publications
State and federal government agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget or the General Services Administration (GSA).
Using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain your competitor’s GSA schedules
Classified advertisements
Visit the SEC website
Other suppliers who service your account
Finding information is easy. Systematically connecting the shift effects to the benefits your products provide, is the challenge. Correlating specific benefits to specific contact wins will place you in a position to watch your sales climb. However, you must act upon the change, before your competitors do. Change is constant and change creates sales opportunities.
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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive two complimentary special reports “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND “Characteristics of Top Sales Executives” PLUS the free bimonthly “Sales Tips for Selling Success” eZine by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. Want details on Cold Calling made Easy, Fun & Profitable™ – Live Cold Calling Training, then call me, Ron LaVine at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
Top Sales Executives Work Smart
Top sales executives recognize their time is precious and finite. These sales representatives know their primary job is to identify and call on the most profitable accounts first. Examining their current customer base and finding the common characteristics or demographics (gross sales, number of employees, industries, etc.) top salespeople know in advance what types of accounts where they make the most money. They separate their accounts by time zone enabling them to make the best use of their phone time throughout the day.
Once prioritized and sorted, top sales executives use their sharp questioning and listening skills to reach the decision maker and determine, with reasonable certainty, whether or not a business opportunity exists within an account. When a business opportunity is found within a department, business unit, location, joint venture, affiliate, reseller or partner, these successful sales reps always remember to set up specific action steps or a SALES M.A.P. (Mutually Agreed upon Process™) with the individual or individuals who influence the buying decision. Then they politely yet persistently follow up on these action steps through completion. Knowing how valuable their time is, the most successful salespeople do only those things they cannot delegate to someone else.
Top Sales Executives Think like Business Owners
Top sales executives adopt an attitude that they are in business for themselves not in business by themselves. These top salespeople make decisions upon seeing themselves as the business owner.
Organization and Prioritization of Goals
Top sales executives recognize the importance of organizing and prioritizing their goals. These people get ahead by planning ahead. They have clearly defined lofty goals and self discipline to see them through. Top sales executives are goal getters not just goal setter
Top Sales Executives are Persuasive Communicators
The top successful salespeople are listening for reasons to buy and for ways to sell. Sensitive to an account’s time available to speak with them and enthusiastic in their presentations and these top sales reps have mastered the technique of carefully selecting words for their positive connotations.
Top Sales Executives Are Always Striving for Self-improvement
Always growing, studying, reading, attending seminars, learning all the time, their goal is movement in a positive direction. These salespeople seek out opportunities to perfect their presentations and volunteer for leadership positions so they can stretch themselves as people and professionals.
Top Sales Executives have Positive Self-esteem
Strong, balanced sense of self worth combined with confidence in themselves and a belief in what they are doing are the hallmark of a great sales rep. Enthusiasm, excitement and zeal are elements of their character.
These people do a better job and become more productive by learning, practicing, changing and developing these new habits so they are incorporated and internalized qualities in both their personal and professional life.
Conclusion
First and foremost is the right attitude. You will hear this throughout most sales workshops because the right attitude is the difference between those that give up and those who never quit. There is no silver or magic bullet. Only hard work and persistence pays off.
To become a great sales executive, one must enjoy working with people and have a strong sense of curiosity, great listening skills and the ability to see the big picture. The best sales executives are able to produce results. Pay for performance is the way they prefer to work.
A great sales executive is someone who has a working knowledge of their company’s operations, products and services, and possesses the ability to collect useful business sales intelligence(tm) about their accounts and translate the information into additional sales. They are persistent and tenacious to find the answers to their questions and they keep going until they do.
David R. Bender of the Special Libraries Association sums it up well: “…how many people have the expertise to evaluate, analyze, organize and package raw data-transforming it into meaningful information that can be put to work?”
He goes on to say “…not many, and the explanation is quite simple.” As management expert Peter Drucker wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, “There is a big difference between being computer literate and information literate.”
Bender writes, “Drucker explained that for data to become useful information, it must be organized for a task or applied to a decision.” He contended, however, “Few people are adept at determining exactly what information they need to do their jobs, when they need the information, and where they can get it.”
A great sales executive knows what data is needed, where it can be found and how to get it and provide it in a manner enabling them to increase their sales. In striving to become the best, top sales executives focus on creating value for their clients and a sense of pride and accomplishment for themselves.
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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc., a cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. If you would like information on How to Make Successful Cold Calls – LIVE Call Training please call Ron at 818-519-3852 or visit www.ast-incorp.com. © 2011 by Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
1. If a business or an idea does not exist, create it. Create your own future by being open to change. As one door closes another one open I’ve created two businesses that did not exist since I was laid off in December of 1994.
2. Be willing to take risks, however, make them calculated risks by taking the time to develop and write a business plan.
3. Place a heavy emphasis on marketing by answering these questions:
Who We Are
What is the purpose of your page?
Why are you in business?
What We Do
What are the products or services you are offering?
What Makes Us Unique
How are you different from others? What is your (USP) Unique Selling Proposition?
Why Use Our Products or Services
Why would people want to do business with you?
How You Benefit
How does your potential customer benefit?
For example: A feature is a car door lock.
The benefit is the door cannot open when locked and therefore you cannot fall out.
Benefits are usually stated in terms of faster, better or less expensive (cheaper).
Who We Work With
Client lists establish credibility as do testimonials or comments from satisfied customers.
The Next Step
What action is the visitor directed to take?
For example: buy a product, request information on a service, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.
4. Develop an email newsletter to keep your name in front of your clients on a regular basis. My eZine comes out 27 weeks per year. Find content that helps prospects and customers with their business.
5. Establishing a presence on the World Wide Web is critical especially, if you do business nationwide or internationally.
6. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities. See if you can find a faster, better or less expensive way to perform a service or make a product.
7. Keep the overhead down. Expenses and lack of marketing will put anyone out of business.
8. Set up a Board of Advisors (not directors) composed of people you respect (professors, business people, friends, etc.). Seek their advice when necessary.
9. Enroll in classes and read books. Learn, how to do, what you do, better. Classes on selling, marketing and business skills are especially valuable.
10. Believe in yourself. You can if you think you can. Actions follow thought. So think good thoughts and focus on the positive.
11. Exude passion, excitement and enthusiasm when speaking about what you do.
12. People want to do business with people they know like and trust. Building credibility is crucial.
13. Right after completing a successful assignment, be sure to ask your client for a testimonial letter. These letters make very powerful marketing tools and enhance your credibility.
14. Persistence is key. Don’ give up. It took 9 months to land my first client.
15. Take time to enjoy your success
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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc., a cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. If you would like information on How to Make Successful Cold Calls – LIVE Call Training please call Ron at 818-519-3852 or visit www.ast-incorp.com. © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Call Training, Inc.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™
1. If a business or an idea does not exist, create it. Create your own future by being open to change. As one door closes another one opens. I’ve created two businesses that did not exist since I was laid off in December of 1994.
2. Be willing to take risks, however, make them calculated risks by taking the time to develop and write a business plan.
3. Place a heavy emphasis on marketing by answering these questions:
Who We Are
What is the purpose of your page?
Why are you in business?
What We Do
What are the products or services you are offering?
What Makes Us Unique
How are you different from others? What is your (USP) Unique Selling Proposition?
Why Use Our Products or Services
Why would people want to do business with you?
How You Benefit
How does your potential customer benefit?
For example: A feature is a car door lock.
The benefit is the door cannot open when locked and therefore you cannot fall out.
Benefits are usually stated in terms of faster, better or less expensive (cheaper).
Who We Work With
Client lists establish credibility as do testimonials or comments from satisfied customers.
The Next Step
What action is the visitor directed to take?
For example: buy a product, request information on a service, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.
4. Develop an email newsletter to keep your name in front of your clients on a regular basis. My e-mail newsletters comes out 26 weeks per year. Find content that helps prospects and customers with their business.
5. Establishing a presence on the World Wide Web is critical especially, if you do business nationwide or internationally.
6. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities. See if you can find a faster, better or cheaper way to perform a service or make a product.
7. Keep the overhead down. Expenses and lack of marketing will put anyone out of business.
8. Set up a Board of Advisors (not directors) composed of people you respect (professors, business people, friends, etc.). Seek their advice when necessary.
9. Enroll in classes and read books. Learn, how to do, what you do, better. Classes on selling, marketing and business skills are especially valuable.
10. Believe in yourself. You can if you think you can. Actions follow thoughts. So think good thoughts and focus on the positive.
11. Exude passion, excitement and enthusiasm when speaking about what you do.
12. People want to do business with people they know like and trust. Building credibility is crucial.
13. Right after completing a successful assignment, be sure to ask your client for a testimonial letter. These letters make very powerful marketing tools and enhance your credibility.
14. Persistence is key. Don’ give up. It took 9 months to land my first client.
15. Take time to enjoy your success.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive a complimentary special report “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine by entering your email address at http://www.ast-incorp.com. No spam ever is our policy. If you would like information on Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™ – Live Cold Calling Training, call Ron at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved. Please reprint this article in its entirety including the Reprint Permission.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™
There has been a great deal of questions in my workshops lately about how to use email in conjunction with leads coming off the Internet. How do you know if you have research before following up? How can you use email as an effective tool to create specific follow-up action steps? With that in mind, here is an example of an email I received from a company we’ll call “WeKnowItAll Company”.
Our story begins with WeKnowItAll sending me an email inviting me to access their online company research subscription service free for two days. One of the things I love to do, is to use the WWW for doing research on my competitors, my clients, my client’s clients, their industry and competitors, my prospects, my prospect’s clients and my prospect’s industry and competitors.
The biggest danger of using the Web for research is you can find yourself in “analysis paralysis” and can often end up spending more time on the Internet then you do on the phone selling and generating revenue. My suggestion is to set up a specific set of questions to answer, which once answered should provide enough basic pre-call research. Ron, stop stalling, where’s the list of questions? Hey, relax and don’t worry, the list is towards the bottom.
Now I’m saying to myself, hmmm, free trial for two days. Oh boy, I’m going to have some fun and put this baby through its paces. Let’s see what types of information I can find that is really useful for my specific needs. I set a specific goal for this test. My goal was to identify certain personnel within target prospect companies I’m looking to do business with. I was evaluating based upon two criteria at this point. One was what was the quality of the information provided? Secondly, how easy was it to access that information?
I start using WeKnowItAll online database by myself without any guidance and off the bat I’ve got a log-on problem. Rule number one; if you want someone to try something, without any assistance, providing clear and simple instructions is an excellent way to make a good impression. Finally I’m able to log-in, and the amounts of choices are mind boggling. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big fan of simplicity and ease of use. This site, although very comprehensive it was also very cluttered and confusing.
I found myself going back and forth from one screen to another trying to find where the profiles of company personnel were located. Apparently, depending on the type of company (public or private), there may or may not be personnel information and it may or may not be always located on the same page. In other words you often had to spend a lot of time digging for it.
After about fifteen minutes I started to get frustrated with my free two-day trial and moved on to other tasks. Below is the email I received the day after my two-day trial (or in my case fifteen minute) was over.
In between the person’s statements, you’ll find my comments in [brackets]. Finally you’ll read my email response back to this person with a list of 12 pre-call research questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the email I received after my trial ended…
Hi Ron:
[Do I know you? I've never met you. Wouldn't it be wiser to err on the side of good manners? Change the salutation to "Hello Mr. LaVine"]
I just left you a voice mail message also.
[About what?]
Please let me know when you would be interested in scheduling a demo of the site.
[Why would I want to take my valuable time and schedule a demo of your site since it is not clear to me what value you bring to the table?]
As you may know, WeKnowItAll provides unbiased editorial coverage on over 18,500 large and medium-sized companies. We also show accurate details on each company such as contact names, products, competitive landscapes and financials.
[How would I know this? What's a competitive landscape? Is it a cross-matrix comparing one company's products to another's? Is it a simple listing of competitors, which I can get off of Yahoo's company profiles? Come to think of it, what information does your service provide that I can't get either for free or from one of your competitors?]
We also offer Advanced Search functions that would allow you to search for specific companies or contacts by title, industry, location, private companies, Fiscal Year End, or other means.
[And this means I'll be able to do what? What are the benefits of knowing this information? What will knowing this information enable me to do?]
There are two levels of business subscriptions:
[What are the specific benefits of subscribing? How will it enable me to do my job faster, better, less expensively (cheaper) or easier? What types of increases or decreases, more or less results can I expect based upon testimonials from other of your clients?]
WeKnowItAll Power Plus (all access + unlimited free lead downloads into Excel) WeKnowItAll Total Power (all access)
[If for some reason I don't have Excel, can it be downloaded into Comma Delimited Text Fields (name, title, phone number, etc.) What I really need is a CD-Version. I wonder if they have one.]
Sample WeKnowItAll Profiles: http://www.WeKnowItAll.com
Please give me a call if you have any questions or would like a demo of the site.
[You already let me have a free two-day demo without any kind of commitment. I might give you call, however first I've got to figure out (in this case by myself) how to get the service to work, so don't expect a call. Besides, I don't know your office hours or if there are alternative means to reach you such a responding to this email or calling your cell phone.]
Kind regards,
Ann Smartster 1.888.123.4567 ext. 1234 asmartster@ WeKnowItAll.com http://www.WeKnowItAll.com
[Where is your tag line explaining what you do? For example: WeKnowItAll enables you to easily turn raw online data into real revenue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is my response to her prior email.
Hi Ann,
I have a few questions for you.
1. Did you stop by www.ast-incorp.com and see what my company does?
2. Do you know who my clients are?
3. Have you determined the industry in which I specialize?
4. What size is my company in terms of gross sales and number of employees?
5. Based upon the size of my company and the type of information I may need, how profitable of a prospect is my company for you? Should you be investing your limited sales time with me? On what types of companies in which industries do you make the most money?
6. Is my company hiring and if so, what types of people for which types of projects?
7. Have you signed up for my company’s newsletter or requested my company’s literature to learn more about what my company does and what is considered important?
8. Did you read in my bio? If you did you would see that I was a past member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and the Association of Independent Information Professionals. Does knowing that information, help you create some rapport questions to ask me?
9. Are you prepared to show me examples of data gathered from WeKnowItAll on two or three of my clients as examples of the type of data I would have access to on my prospects using different versions of WeKnowItAll?
10. Based upon what I do and the types of companies I target, can you deduce what type of information I’ll be looking for?
11. What are two areas where I could possibly use WeKnowItAll?
12. Since my target market has a demand for your type of service, is there a possibility you can help me to help you sell more of your service to my target market?
I’ll wait for your answers and then we’ll discuss it. You can reach me in my office on Thursday morning when we can set up a time and date to see if there is a fit between our companies.
All the best to you,
Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Continued from above…
Set up a specific list of basic questions for pre-call research. Then think outside the box and look at all the possibilities including reseller and affiliate relationships. Maybe you do business with one of your prospect’s clients. Maybe you are affiliated with one of your prospect’s other suppliers.
After you do make contact, remember, at the end of every call or email, there needs to be specific a request that action be taken. For example, here is a request I use quite often in my emails. It works quite well since people enjoy giving advice:
Example:
“Please advise.”
Thanks, Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Example:
“I found an article on one of your competitors; I think maybe of value to you. Your assistant gave me permission to fax it to you.
“I’ll call this afternoon to be sure you received it and to discuss if there maybe a good fit between our two companies. At that time, I’ll also be able to provide you with some specific ideas where we maybe able to give you a competitive advantage”
All the best to you,
Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Example:
Hi Mr. Smith,
As we discussed, you are looking to hire more reps in the Business Intelligence /Information Management space. We also agreed that our selling philosophies a rather identical.
Your main goal is to teach your reps how to hunt effectively and ferret out opportunities in short order. Your reps are dealing with customers and resellers. I have an article from Software Magazine that I will fax to you. You may it of value to you when you go to cost justify the sales training to your management.
Since you need to have another two people on board before we can finalize the training dates, I sent you a list of web sites where you can find sales reps, sent the job criterion you e-mailed to me out to my job seekers list. I also sent you two possible candidates.
You have people in both Reston and Denver and all will be in Denver the week of September 9th before two weeks of ABC University. We spoke of setting up a two-day class during the week of September 9th.
You mentioned you need to run this by Tim, Dan and then Andy for budget approval. Attached is a sample Agreement with a fee schedule for your review and signature.
I will follow this email with more specific details about the live sales call-training workshop, which you can read at your convenience. This will include comments from people who mentioned they wished they had this type of training prior to their product training.
I look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday, September 28 at 8am PST when I will call you at: 303-555-1234 to discuss the next steps needed to put a live sales call training workshop in place for ABC.
Please call me at 818-991-6487 if you have questions before then.
All the best to you,
Ron
The Lesson…
Don’t send emails asking me to call you or to do something, unless you have provided information or topics of value specifically related to my company. This type of information may include insights you want to share about my clients, prospects, industry or competitors that would be worth me taking my time to discuss.
Separate yourself from the rest of the reps who do no homework and then expect that their products and services alone will generate sales.
REPRINT PERMISSIONRon LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™ Live Cold Calling Training call Ron at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™
When speaking with someone over the phone for the first time, we do not have the luxury of visual cues therefore it becomes even more important to make a good impression suing our voice.
Yes, your voice is a sales tool and how it is used over the phone can often make the difference between getting the sale or losing it to a competitor. In their book “Put Your Best Foot Forward, Make a Great Impression By Taking Control of How Others see You” Jo-Ellan Dimitirus, Ph.D. and Mark Mazzarella devote a whole chapter to voice alone.
The key point of the chapter is this. People dislike irritating, harsh, loud, quiet or boring voices and are attracted to deeper, more vibrant, energetic, clear and moderately paced speech. Similar to a car radio if the signal is static-filled or unclear, we change the station. If the signal’s crisp and clear, we listen.
To build a voice that sells requires learning how to send out crisp and clear signals and that takes practice. Here’s an exercise for you to do just that practice.
Pickup a digital recorder and then once a day for a week set aside 15 minutes to pick-up the daily newspaper and read aloud and record the stories on the front page in your normal voice. Next, read the same material only this time, read it with confidence, authority, and credibility just as an anchor on the evening news. How do you sound?
Remember you can control the emotion (up and down), volume (loud or soft), pace (fast or slow), tone and pitch (high or low) and accent of your voice. Your goal is a voice that shows controlled emotion, a lower pitch, has a moderate pace and has a standard accent for your country. It requires conscious effort however in the long run you will have developed a voice that sells.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive a complimentary special report “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine by entering your email address at http://www.ast-incorp.com. No spam ever is our policy. If you would like information on Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™ – Live Cold Calling Training, call Ron at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved. Please reprint this article in its entirety including the Reprint Permission.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™
Recently I was researching a prospect before I planned to call them. I had been given a referral however before calling them; I want to do my homework first. First, I realized that at least five or more of my current clients were direct or indirect competitors. This meant this prospect fit perfectly in my target market and therefore was worth the time spent doing an in depth analysis of their operations.
When conducting my pre-call planning, I always start out in the career section. This tells often me what types skills sets are required of people they are looking for and the type of sales training in use. In this case, they were looking for salespeople with cold calling and prospecting skills.
A good start so far. This description also told me what type of sales training they were currently using. Knowing this information, I planned an augmentation strategy rather than a replacement one. Often it is easier to augment a current solution than to try to replace it initially.
Next I went and read the annual report. Since they are publicly traded, I used the link http://finance.yahoo.com/ combined with their ticker symbol in the Yahoo Finance section which led to a detailed financial overview of the company, their industry and their competitors.
I learned when was the end of their fiscal year which would help me by knowing when they would start planning and budgeting for next year. In this case it was June 30 so beginning my process in March turned out to be good timing.
I read exactly what their strategy was for gaining new business. I learned that in addition to going after their existing customer base, they had set aggressive goals for penetrating Global 3000 enterprises. The report also told me that the quarterly revenue growth was in the low single digits differential in sales from last year to this year was in the single digits and the quarterly earnings were negative.
This meant there was plenty of room for improvement and that their current sales training might not be working as effectively as planned. I also looked at the amount they were spending on Selling, General and Administrative which is where typically the sales training budget comes from. I noticed that it was increasing which meant they were adding salespeople or at least spending more money in the area of sales.
Finally I looked at their competition and noticed that two out of the five major direct competitors were already clients of mine. This fact would make it much easier for me to establish credibility and interest since I was fairly sure they were interested in how their competition was being trained.
Next I went over to Edgar http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml to read their annual report or 10K. After studying the annual report’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations which laid out:
* Business Overview,
* Industry Background,
* Business Imperatives,
* Strategy (plus the key elements of the strategy),
* Product Descriptions,
* Sales and Marketing (including the number of quota carrying salespeople),
* Description of the Competition
Since I teach live cold calling sales training which involves getting your foot in the door into new organizations, the strategy of increased focus and penetration of key markets was of particular interest to me.
After reading the Annual Report, I went over to their web site and began to read the About the Company section. Not only was a clear and concise two sentence description of what the company did, I also learned that their core differentiators or values were innovation and customer focus.
Although I target VP of Sales, it was in the Executive Management section of their site that I learned that the Chief Marketing Officer was actually responsible for direct response and telemarketing around the world. I also learned that this person worked for one of my clients.
This meant I could leverage one of my client relationships as a means to build credibility with the person who was responsible for sales training or who would know who the person was I needed to speak with.
Leaving no stone unturned, I also read the Senior VP of Worldwide Field Operations (which in this case also stood for VP of Sales). He was responsible for field marketing, direct sales, channel management, strategic alliances and consulting services. This meant he too, maybe a prospect for sales training. I also noticed he worked for a client of mine so I planned to leverage that relationship in the same way as with the CMO.
A search on “@companyname.com” led me to some people who were producing the Users Conference for the company. A quick phone call to one of them led to permission to send her an email which she would forward to the person who was in charge of field marketing and also in charge of sales training. She spelled out the person’s name, provided the title, ext and email. When this was all done, I sent off my first email which was followed by a call to be sure it was received.
The whole point of this pre-call planning is to show how important it is to know your prospects BEFORE you begin your approach. I’d say this whole process took no more than 10 to 15 minutes and if this deals closes which I believe it will (although the sales cycle maybe a long one) that time invested may mean thousands and thousands of dollars in revenue.
Your assignment is to choose 10 key target accounts and conduct this type of research before you make your initial call. I think you’ll find this approach will help you not only sound intelligent when speaking with your prospects; it will also help you sell more in less time than before.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive a complimentary special report “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine by entering your email address at http://www.ast-incorp.com. No spam ever is our policy. If you would like information on Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™ – Live Cold Calling Training, call Ron at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved. Please reprint this article in its entirety including the Reprint Permission.
By Ron LaVine, MBA
President of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc.
Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™
Don’t try to sell the Operator: be polite yet respectfully persistent while finding who the right person to speak with is.
Get an internal transfer: the number will come through as an internal transfer and the person will pick up.
Offer to call back: ask when is convenient for them.
Random names: type in a couple of letters, wait for the system to come back; the system will supply other names and their extensions.
Department directories: listen for all menu choices as other departments provide additional points of entry — perhaps they might need a solution from your company.
Best times to call: before or after their ‘gatekeeper’ arrives/leaves – execs will pick up their own phone after hours. Or try them on the hour in between meetings.
Make note of the time you were able to reach the person: typically you can reach them again at the same time.
Change the digits: people in the same department have similar extensions; change 1 or 2 of the digits and ask to be referred or for the correct extension.
Get the main number: use the Internet to find other numbers of points of entry.
Make an error in the extension: ‘I was trying to reach x, maybe you can help me, is Tina within eyesight?’ People like to help each other.
Listen to complete message for additional choices, names and numbers.
Build rapport more quickly by teaching yourself to regulate your voice to gently match theirs.
Practice: call yourself and leave a message. How do you sound? Practice until your voice sounds smooth and melodic. Remember people cannot see you they can only hear your voice.
Use your headset: open your mouth wide and carefully pronounce every word. Do not hold the phone on your shoulder as this tenses your throat and makes you talk from one side of your mouth.
Tip: buy a digital ‘logger’ for example at http://www.astselling.com/store.htm (last item on the list). Record your conversation, replay for yourself and/or your manager. It can eliminate the need to take notes at the time of the call; you can focus on what is being said.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc., a live cold calling training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can receive a complimentary special report “How to Measure your Cold Calling Effectiveness” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine by entering your email address at http://www.ast-incorp.com. No spam ever is our policy. If you would like information on Mastering the Art & Science of Cold Calling™ – Live Cold Calling Training, call Ron at 818-991-6487. This eZine compilation is © 2012 by Accelerated Cold Calling Training, Inc. All rights reserved. Please reprint this article in its entirety including the Reprint Permission.
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