Author: mike

Have You Signed Up For My Life Quotes Yet?

by mike

As you burn through your summer, either looking forward to a well-deserved vacation or just coming back from one, you may be looking for a brief diversion from sales. And I have one for you!

As some of you may know, in addition to inside sales consulting, I am actively writing the books I’ve always wanted to—but was too busy to write!

My latest book is: The Owner’s Manual to Life—In Case You Missed That Day in School When They Passed It out! Filled with one-hundred life quotes and lessons, it’s perfect to help pump you up, as well as calm you down …

See it here

In addition: If you enjoy life quotes, did you know I send out three new quotes for free every Wednesday? Here is a sample from last Wednesday:

“The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you.”
—David Foster Wallace

“Life has a practice of living you if you don’t live it.”
—Philip Larkin

“A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books.”
—Director Andrei Tarkovsky

If you’d like to be added to that email list, simply click here and scroll down and sign up.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

Best Way to Spend the Fourth of July

by mike

Happy Fourth of July! If you’re looking forward to an extended holiday and want to know the best way to spend it, then I’ve got a suggestion:

Why not spend some of it learning and getting better at your craft of sales?

Why not come back to the office after the holiday better than you left it? Better than the other sales reps competing with you?

Years ago, I made a commitment to be one of the best reps in my company, to make more money than I ever had before, and to make my job easier and enjoy it more. How did I do that?

I invested time, energy, and, yes, a little bit of money in myself! You can, too!

Imagine how much better you’ll be if you learned a couple of better responses to the brush offs and objections you get day in and day out?

How much more confidence will you have if you successfully overcome the objections that used to frustrate you and cost you commission?

Here is a proven resource—both hardcover book or audible recording—of over 500 proven and effective scripts to help you improve and make more money: Power Phone Scripts!

Imagine: for less than $18 you can suddenly fly past gatekeepers, overcome initial resistance statements from prospects, and qualify leads so you’ll know exactly how to close them!

And all it takes is a little bit of effort, time, and a tiny amount of money.

I sincerely hope you respect yourself, your career, and your future as much as other top producers who rely on this book—and others!—to put them ahead of their competition.

So invest in yourself now! Click this link and use the Fourth of July to FREE yourself from mediocre performance and disappointment.

You owe it to yourself!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

Best Way to Open a Closing Call

by mike

Want the best way to open your closing presentations?

Some reps have an entire presentation planned in advance, and then they launch into it, only latter getting to questions and comments.

I used to do it that way, until I found that if I got to initial questions or comments (and yes, even objections!) first, I could save myself A LOT of time and energy.

So here is how I currently start my closing calls (yes, I’m still closing sales!):

Once I get my prospect on the phone for our chosen closing time, I open with:

“Before I get started, I’m sure you’ve looked over things, so, what questions do you have for me?”

And then I hit MUTE. One of three things happen:

  1. They start asking questions. This is GREAT because it tells me they are engaged and interested, and every question they ask—even if it seems negative—is a buying question.
  2. They tell me they don’t have any questions. This isn’t so good, because it tells me they aren’t that involved. What I do in this case is gently requalify here (before I begin my closing presentation), and then begin my presentation, checking in often for buy in.
  3. They go right into objections and stalls. This isn’t terrible, because it tells me where I stand, and each objection they give me tells me how to close them (or even if they are closeable at all!).

The important thing is that knowing where my prospect is in the beginning not only tells me which direction to go, but it also saves me a ton of time! I can drill down to what’s important to them, OR save myself time pitching an unqualified lead.

Warning: This is a Top 20% technique, and you have to be willing to ask the tough questions, use your MUTE button so you don’t talk past the close, and be willing to work with the answers you get.

But if you’re willing to do that, you’ll instantly elevate yourself into the top closer status at your company. Won’t that be nice?

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

Assumptive Questions: The Quick Way to Improve Your Selling Skills

by mike

If you would like to instantly improve your selling skills—and so your open and close rate—you can do so by taking just a few minutes to complete the following exercise (don’t worry, it’s easy and fun!).

What you’ll do is make a list of all the common closed ended questions you ask, and then turn them into assumptive questions instead! I’ll get you started:

For the Gatekeeper:

Closed ended: “Is _______ available?” (or—“Can I talk to _______?)

Assumptive: “Hi, can you connect me with ________ please?” (or just—“Hi, ________ please.”)

Questions while qualifying:

Closed ended: “Do you ever use an outside vendor?”

Assumptive: “How often do you use outside vendors?”

Closed ended: “Are you the best person to speak to about this?”

Assumptive: “How do you get involved in this?”

Following up on emails sent or information sent:

Closed ended: “Did you get a chance to read the email I sent?”

Assumptive: “I’m sure you browsed the email I sent, question: how do our capabilities line up with what you’re looking for?”

Closing the sale:

Closed ended: “Do you have any questions?”

Assumptive: “What questions do you have?”

Closed ended: “Does this sound like something you’d like to do?”

Assumptive: “Would you like to start with the X package or the Y package?”

Based on these closed ended questions, I’ll bet you use many of them now, don’t you? Again, if you want to immediately improve, make the switch today to assumptive questions. You’ll see a change the better right away!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

“How Are You?” Ask It—Or Not?

by mike

Who do you think knows why your prospect buys?

If you have followed me for a while, you may know that my opinion on whether to ask a prospect, “How are you,” has changed over the years.

What I’ve discovered, is that asking this simple and socially accepted icebreaker is more important than you might think. Here’s why:

Selling over the phone is challenging because you don’t have all the visual cues an outside sales rep has—and uses. You can’t tell if your prospect is annoyed, resistant, bothered, or if they are willing to have a conversation with you. You just can’t read their expressions and so react to those physical cues.

That’s where asking the simple: “How are you doing today?” comes in. The seasoned inside sales rep knows that the answer to that question, and more importantly how a prospect answers it, makes up for all the cues missing from a face-to-face interaction.

Think about it: You can immediately tell if a prospect is in a hurry when they answer the phone, can’t you? You can tell by their tone of voice if they are open to communicating with you or if they are annoyed, right?

That’s why asking this simple (and accepted) question is the way to go.

What you need to do next is respond accordingly to what (and how) they respond. For example, if they tell you they’re doing well and ask how you’re doing, you must respond with, “Thanks for asking! I’m well also . . .” before going on with your opening.

If they say, “Fine, how can I help you?” then you’d better react to that as well. Something along the lines of, “I’m sure you’re busy, so I’ll be brief. The reason for the call is . . .”

I’m sure you see now how asking this simple question at the beginning of your call gives you more leverage than not asking it.

Hope this helps take the “cold” out of “cold-calling”!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

Your Prospect Has All The Answers

by mike

Who do you think knows why your prospect buys?

Who do you think knows when your prospect is going to buy? 

Or who they like to buy from?

The answer, of course, is your prospect!

The problem for many sales reps, is that they prefer to pitch and talk at prospects more than they actually ask questions and listen.

Sounds simple, but trust me, it isn’t. To prove this, just listen to a few phone calls of yourself or some of the reps in your office.

That’s why the top reps are in the habit of asking more questions than they are of talking at their prospects.

A great technique to develop is to get to a question as quickly as possible. Use or adapt the following opening to get your prospect to open up and reveal the answers to the questions above:

“Hi _______, this is ______ ______ with XYZ company. How’s your Tuesday going?”

[Listen here and react accordingly . . ]

“_________, briefly, I’m calling because we do XYZ, and after reviewing your website (or LinkedIn page), I have a quick question for you: How do you get involved with that there at your company?”

This can be adjusted to:

“_________, briefly, I’m calling because we do XYZ, and after reviewing your website (or LinkedIn page), I have a quick question for you: How does your company use XYZ there?”

You can adjust this further to fit your product or offering, but the point is that you’re getting to an engagement (and qualifying) question immediately, and you’re letting your prospect reveal the important information you need to know—or need to know to determine the next direction or question you’ll ask.

This may seem like a subtle approach, but it’s the proven one if you want your prospect to tell you the answers you’re looking for at the beginning of this blog post.

Try it and begin finding ways to let your prospect tell you what you need to know—remember, they have all the answers anyway!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

How NOT to Follow Up on an Email

by mike

I hope you’re not making this common mistake when following up on an email you sent:

“I’m just calling to see if you got the email I sent you?”

While this may sound like a reasonable way to follow up after sending an email, do you see how you’re providing your prospect with the perfect stall?

How many times you hear:

“Ah, when did you send it?”

Or

“I haven’t had time to look at it yet.”

OR

“Who are you again?”

If any of these blow offs sound familiar (and I’m sure you can come up with a few of your own), recognize that you are to blame for them because of how you’re following up.

The best practice way is to assume your prospect received it and even glanced through it. Here is a much better way of following up:

“I’m sure you received the email I sent on (date), and probably went through it a bit. Question: How do you see our services matching up with what you’re looking for?”

You can adjust this to fit what it is you’re selling, but the point is not to give your prospect an out, but rather, to assume they received and read through it.

Try using it this week and watch your engagement level rise!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

One Key to Combatting Negativity

by mike

Good morning everyone!

I just returned from a “Day of Development” seminar in Charlotte with the Jon Gordon company. Several of his books include: “The Power of Positive Leadership,” “The Energy Bus,” etc. Check them out on Amazon if you’re interested in learning more.

There was a lot of great stuff in the meeting, and one thing I wanted to share with you all is a way to combat the recurring negativity that silently creeps into our heads every so often. You know how it is: You’ll be minding your own business and then suddenly you’ll hear things like:

“These leads suck . . .”

“I can’t make any real money here . . .”

“I can’t believe this company is asking me to actually show up to an office!”

By the way, this is just some random negativity about work—there’s a ton more around you in regards to relationship(s), your health or body image, your stage in life, etc.

The saying I heard that I loved was this: “Learn to talk to yourself, rather than listen to yourself.”

What this means is that rather than let that random, negative self-talk just pour into you, you should instead talk back to yourself in advance and feed the positive self-talk you need to succeed. This might include:

“Everyone has these leads, and I’ve written business from them. I just need to put in a little more effort, and when I do, I’ll find buyers—just like everyone else is!”

“I can make just as much money as I set my mind to.”

“Going into the office has tons of benefits, including feeding off the energy of other reps, having constant access to my manager, etc.”

Bottom line: Don’t wait for your head to feed you with negativity and sit by passively and listen to it. Be proactive and learn to talk to yourself first—and give yourself the peptalk you need to succeed!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

How to Handle the Email Blow-Off!

by mike

What’s the number one blow off prospects use these days? “Can you email that to me?”

If you think about it, that’s the perfect stall. They aren’t saying no, and it implies they might be interested . . . but face it—they rarely are.

Not only is it hard to get prospects back on the phone, when you do, you usually lead off with the ineffective opening line of: “Did you have a chance to review that email I sent you?”

And you know how that goes: “What email? Can you send it again?”

The solution? Be prepared with a good script and a good strategy.

Try this: Be prepared with an initial email template written in advance (it can be generic or it can include an initial quote of services) and have it ready to send at a moment’s notice.

And then when a prospect blows you off with, “Can you email that to me?” use the following script from my bestselling book: Power Phone Scripts:

“I’d be more than happy to do that—where would you like me to email that?” 

[Take their email down and then email them your information right now.]

“Okay, it’s on the way to you. What I’d like to do right now is take a minute to get an idea of what’s important to you, and then I can direct you to that part of the information when you get around to it.  Let me ask you:

“How do you get involved in ordering/handling/working with the XYZ?”

OR

“From a needs standpoint, how motivated is (your company/department/are you) to change/fix/replace/buy XYZ right now?”

OR

“What would you need to see in the information I just sent you for you to become seriously interested in making a change in how you’re handling XYZ now?”  

If you follow this strategy, then you’ll be ready to side step the email stall and get right back into qualifying! How great will that be? Try this technique yourself and watch as you begin qualifying real buyers, or disqualifying those who just want to get you off the phone…

And if you’d like more scripted rebuttals to this and many other objections and selling situations, then pick up a copy of my new, best-selling book on phone scripts. You’ll get over 500 word-for-word scripts, questions, and phrases to help you open and close more sales starting today!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today

3 Interviewing Mistakes to Avoid!

by mike

Have you ever interviewed for a job you really want, thought your interview went well, and then didn’t get called back for it?

I’ve helped sales managers and business owners interview hundreds of potential sales reps over the years, and I’ve identified 3 top mistakes that virtually eliminate sales candidates on the spot!

Study these 3 interviewing mistakes and make sure YOU don’t make them the next time you’re trying to land your next sales position.

Mistake Number One: A poorly written resume that shows either gaps between jobs, or worse, lists many jobs where a candidate worked less than 2 years.

Nothing is more of a Red Flag to a potential hiring manager than instability of employment. When we see a candidate has a history of staying at a job for 2 years or less—and we see a string of these jobs, what do you think goes through our minds? Yep: that if we hire that rep, they will be leaving us in under 2 years…

Look over your resume, and make sure and list the companies you worked for that exceeded 2 years. If you have several years where you moved around a lot, simply list: “Speak to me to clarify most recent positions.” This will create intrigue and allow you a chance to explain yourself. (And you’d better have a good explanation!)

Mistake Number Two: Talking past the close. Too many sales reps like to talk . . . and talk . . . What this tells the hiring manager is that you’re likely to “talk past the close” when on the phone with a prospect! The way to correct that is to listen to the question, compose your thoughts, and then give a succinct answer and quit talking. Less is more.

Mistake Number Three: Not doing any research on the company you’re interviewing with, and so not asking any questions about the position or the company. This seems like a no brainer, right? Unfortunately, many sales reps just show up, are not prepared, and haven’t done any research on the company they’re interviewing for.

The way to fix that—and stand out!—is to spend some time on the company’s website, look at their culture, and have some questions ready that will let the hiring manager know you’ve done some due diligence and are actually interested in getting a job there. This will go a long way to separating you from the other candidates they are interviewing.

Conclusion: The next time you’re looking for a new job, avoid making these 3 interviewing mistakes and give yourself the best chance of landing the job you want!

Need More Proven Responses to the Selling Situations You Face Every Day?

ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then get instant access to our On Demand training today. We provide the exact talk tracks, templates, and proven tools your team will be motivated to apply, all structured around an award winning comprehensive inside sales approach that gives your team the confidence to succeed in every selling situation they face today.

Unlimited License: One to 100 reps can attend for one low price!

Perfect for reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated
Get Access Today