Author: mike

The Right Way and the Wrong Way to Open Your Call

by mike

[This is an excerpt from my completely revised and updated for 2014 eBook, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts.”]

Because you only have a few precious seconds to make a connection and establish interest, you’d better have a good opening prepared in advance. Besides being very busy, your prospects get a lot of sales calls every week, and many of them from your direct competition. So why would they want to talk to you? What can you do to separate yourself from all the other calls they get?

The answer is that you have to establish a real connection with your prospect and stop sounding like all the other sales reps who call them!

The Wrong Way to Open Your Call:

“Oh hi Mr. __________, this is _______ _______ with the MLT Group. __________, we are an industry supply manufacturer and we help companies streamline their production process. We work with many companies in your field and save them between 10 to 15% on the cost of their storage and delivery process. What I’d like to do is ask you some questions to see how our process may save you that kind of money as well. Where are you currently getting your…”

Do you see how this opening makes NO connection with the prospect? Do you see how it just starts pitching at the prospect and doesn’t acknowledge that the prospect might be busy, or not interested? Do you see how there is no rapport built here and how it’s a one sided conversation?

How do you feel when someone barges in on your day and starts in with a pitch like this? You’re probably thinking what most prospects are thinking: “How do I get this sales rep off the phone?!”

Now let’s look at the right way to open your call. Your goal in the first few seconds is to make a connection and get them to interact. You have to acknowledge that they may be busy or that you respect their time and you have to establish some rapport and separate yourself from all the other sales reps calling them.

The Right Way to Open Your Call:

Opening example: Acknowledge that you know your prospect gets a lot of calls — this will immediately help you establish a connection because you will be saying exactly what they’re thinking and feeling. Use:

“Hi ________ this is _______ _______ with (your company), how is your Tuesday going?

Great. _______, I know you probably get a ton of calls so I’ll make this brief.”

Now go into a one to two sentence explanation of why you’re calling and what it means to them. Quickly state your value proposition and ask a qualifying question:

“________ we provide/service/work with (companies like yours) helping them service/provide/process/do better at _________. Let me ask you a quick question…”

Ask a specific qualifying question tied with a value statement here. Something like:

“If I could show you a way to increase the number of leads you’re getting right now and show you how you can easily afford to do so, would you be willing to invest 5 minutes to find out how?”

Now it’s important to listen to not only what they say here, but to how they say it. Most of the time you’ll be able to tell if you have an interested prospect or not, and after you read a bit more of this section on cold calling, you’ll know exactly what to do with both kinds of prospects…

There are a ton of other word for word opening scripts, initial resistance scripts, qualifying scripts, closing scripts, etc., in my completely updated and revised for 2014 eBook, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts.”

Learn More About it Here.

How to Overcome the “I want to think about it” Objection

by mike

Out of all the possible objections you get when selling your product or service, the nebulous, “I want to think about it” is probably one of the hardest ones to overcome. The prospect isn’t saying no, exactly, but he isn’t giving us an objection that we can overcome either. So what do you do?

If you’re like most sales reps, then you fumble around for some kind of response and end the call with a wimpy, “Well, when should I call you back?” The prospect is thinking, “How about the 12th of never?” :–)

Any good closer knows that this objection is the mother of all smokescreens and can hide a number of real objections. The real skill in dealing with this is to get your prospect to reveal what the real reason he’s not going with it is. And that’s what the following responses to this objection provide you with.

(These scripted responses are taken from Mike’s bestselling, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts” eBook. He’s completely updated and revised it for 2014 and I highly recommend it!) See it Here

I’ll explain the technique that lies behind each one and when you read them, just remember, your goal here is to get to the real objection – even if it’s a “no” (which it often is…)

You’ll notice that the responses have numbers after them. This is because they are taken directly from the “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts” eBook. There are 10 different responses to handle this objection alone!

OK, now this first response is to give your prospect some options so they can give you an idea of what they really mean – and their answer will give you the direction YOU then need to go in to close the sale:

Response #1:
“_________, whenever I tell someone I need to think about it, it usually means one of three things: 1 – I’m not going to be a deal for whatever reason, and I just want to get them off the phone, 2 – I kind of like the idea but I’m going to have to find the money or talk to my partner, or something else is holding me back, or 3 – I really like the idea, and I just have to move something around before I say yes.

Be honest with me; which one of those things is it for you right now?”

As always when asking questions, use your MUTE button and let your prospect get everything out. Use the “Oh?” technique to prod him/her on further…

This next response is one of my favorites because in going through each of these options, you’re actually qualifying your prospect as well. Especially when you get to the last question about budget,

Response #8:
“Perfectly fine. Just to be sure, you do understand how this (your product or service) would work in your environment, right? And are you confident that if you moved forward with it you would get positive results? And finally, if you decide to give this a try, is the budget there to move forward with it?

Then just to clarify my thinking, what factors will you be considering in thinking about this?”

Again, listen carefully and give your prospect the time to finish his thoughts and give you all the info you need – in other words, use your MUTE button when he/she is speaking.

This tenth response is a little tongue in cheek, but it works! The important thing is not only what your prospect responds with, but HOW they say it…

Response #10:
“No problem, ___________. When should I call you back on this? And what is going to happen between then and now that will convince you to move forward with this?”

So there you have it! Three proven ways to handle the bane of every sales person’s existence: the dreaded “I want to think about it” smokescreen. Use them today and put an end to the stalls you get when trying to close your sale.

Special Offer: Get over $500 worth of powerful selling MP3’s and eBooks from people like Jeffrey Gitomer, when you get my Bestselling Book of Scripts! Check it out here.

When an Objection isn’t an Objection

by mike

When is an objection NOT an objection? When it comes at the beginning of your presentation.

The blow offs you get at this stage are merely initial resistance, and the last thing you want to do is try to overcome them. Instead, you must acknowledge you heard them and direct your prospect to get your proposal, quote or other material so you can engage with them and deliver your presentation.

This is easy to do if you have the right scripts and techniques to accomplish this and if you don’t, then you’re in luck! What follows are some proven scripts from my Completely Updated and Revised, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts.” If you like these, then you’ll find another 16 word for word scripts just to handle initial resistance! This newly revised script book is now over 130 pages long and it ROCKS!

See it here.

Here are some sample scripts to deal with the initial resistance you get when closing:

Initial resistance #1:
“I looked it over and I’m/we’re not interested.”

Response #2:
“I didn’t expect you to be interested; our marketing department hasn’t yet figured out a way to get our prospects to call us back – and that’s why they hired me!

But seriously, this (product/service) has some great features that aren’t readily available in the (demo/material/information) I sent you, and it’ll only take a couple of minutes to find out if they would be a fit and benefit you.

Tell you what, do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes with me to find out how and if this would be right for you. Grab the information/quote/brochure and let me cover a few things – do you have it handy?

Initial resistance #2:
“I don’t have the time right now.”

Response #1:
“That’s fine ________, we’ll schedule a better time to go over this. Quick question, though: when we do get back together on this, what are some of the areas I should be prepared to go over with you?”

Initial resistance #3:
“It’s not for us/me.”

Response #2:
“It may appear that way now ________, and you may not have enough information nor understand it well enough to be interested. In fact, most people I call back feel the same way you do – they think this is (Quickly list one or two perceived negative points), so I don’t blame you for not being interested. I wouldn’t be either if that was true.

But ________, that isn’t how this (product/service) works. To begin with (list two or three benefits that contradict the first couple of negatives you just gave). These are just some of the things you need to be aware of before you make any decision. Do yourself a favor and get that (quote/demo/email/brochure) and I’ll show you how this might work for you, too. I’ll be happy to hold on while you grab it.”

Initial resistance #4:
“We looked at your material and this just isn’t for us right now.”

Response #2:
“No problem ________. Tell you what let’s do – because things change, and while this is fresh in your mind, let’s take a few minutes now to match up how this can help you when the timing is better for you. Is that (brochure, quote, demo) handy, or do I need to hold on while you grab it?”

Initial resistance #5:
“We already have a supplier or dealer or service person.”

Response #1:
“I know and we spoke about that earlier. Remember, I’m not calling to have you replace your current supplier/company, rather, you were looking at this to see how you might improve the results of what you’re currently getting. Tell you what, do me a favor and grab the (demo, information) and let me show you how, if you decide to branch out in the future, this might help you (fill their expressed need from your first call). I’ll be happy to hold on while you grab it.”

Do you see how this works? Again, do not try to overcome the initial resistance you get when closing, instead, be prepared for it and earn the right to present your product or service!

Would you like 16 more word for word scripts targeted to overcome initial resistance when closing? And, would you like over 200 other scripts and techniques to help you overcome resistance, build rapport with decision makers and close more sales over the phone?

Then Click Here and get a copy of my completely Updated and Revised for 2014 ebook, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts!” You’ll be glad you did!

The magic of “Oh?”

by mike

Have you ever been at a complete loss of words after a client or prospect has said something so outrageous that at first you find it hard to believe they may have said it? Or have you ever gotten a question or a statement during your close that you just haven’t known how to answer? Or, have you ever reached the end of your presentation and asked for the order and your prospect said something that gave you no idea of what to do or say next?

If you’re in sales, then I know this has happened to you before. When it does, 90% of sales reps have no idea how to respond and they either freeze up or worse – they just keep pitching or talking over their prospect. Obviously both approaches are wrong, so what DO you do?

Years ago I learned a technique so simple, so powerful that the first time I tried it I couldn’t believe how effective it was. In fact, at first it was so simple that I found it hard to use! The magic of the technique isn’t just in the small word, but in what you do immediately afterwards. And here it is:

Whenever a prospect or client says something to you that you either don’t know how to respond to, or – and this is really important – if they give you an answer and you don’t have enough information from them to know which direction to go in or what to say next, then simply say:

“Oh?” And then immediately hit MUTE and listen…

OK, I know what you’re thinking – “Oh, Mike, that’s cheesy, it’s not going to work and they’ll probably say something like, ‘What did you say?’”

Do me a favor and put your skepticism on hold for a moment and try it. In fact, you don’t even have to take my word for it – try it for yourself and see how powerful this technique is.

What you’ll find is that as soon as you ask them, “Oh?” – and by the way, you have to use this with a questioning tone and really mean it like you’re confused and want and need to know more – and hit MUTE, it will be during that silence when your prospect or client will give you what I call, “The Gold.” In other words, they will almost always elaborate on what they really mean and it is this response that will finally tell you what direction you need to go to close the sale.

There was an old saying years ago in sales (by the way, I never fully endorsed it, but it sure was true) that the first one who talks loses. I agree that saying IS a little cheesy, but it does have some truth in it. You see, if you don’t know what the real objection is or how to answer an objection or stall, then if you talk over it, you WILL lose.

The magic of this technique is that your prospect or client will almost always give up the Gold. No matter what they say, the more they talk, the more you’ll learn. And the more you know, the more you’ll know how to proceed.

Again, don’t take my word for this. Instead, give yourself the week to try this technique and make sure and hit your MUTE button after you do. I guarantee you will benefit from it and one of the best parts is that it will teach you and your sales team how to start listening.

And listening is still the greatest skill any sales professional can possess.

The One Key to Setting Appointments by Phone

by mike

If you set appointments by phone, then you know how hard it can be. Getting past gatekeepers, identifying decision makers, overcoming brush offs, overcoming objections, it can get pretty discouraging, can’t it? What if I told you that the hardest thing about setting appointments is often something that you yourself create? That would be even more discouraging, wouldn’t it? Unless I also gave you the solution which is what I’m going to do…

So let’s start at the beginning. Quick question: What is the goal of an appointment call? No, this isn’t a trick question, although you’d be amazed at the answers I get. People say things like: “To make a sale,” or “To overcome objections,” or “To qualify for the order,” and things like that. I’m sure you can add to that list. Perhaps the reason the right answer is so often missed is because it seems so pedestrian. The right answer, of course, is “To make an appointment!”

The reason sales reps struggle so much to achieve this simple aim is because they try to do too much. And the biggest area they do this in is when it comes to handling objections. You know the kind: “I/we don’t have any money,” or “I/we’ve already got everything taken care of,” or “Just put it in the mail,” etc.

Ok, now here’s the key:

There is a HUGE difference between an objection and an initial resistance statement, and you handle them both VERY differently.

This is a BIG deal when it comes to making appointments and here’s why: All the so-called objections you get are in fact just initial resistance. It’s the same as when you go to a store (especially when you know what you’re going to buy) and a sales rep greets you with, “Can I help you?” What do you usually say? How about, “Oh, just looking.” You aren’t just looking, you’re there to buy, but your initial reaction to a sales rep is to put them off.

This is the same when you’re setting an appointment. All the statements above are just initial resistance. They aren’t objections because you haven’t pitched anyone yet. In other words, there isn’t anything to object TO. And because of this, you’re making a big mistake if you try to overcome initial resistance statements like you handle objections. Because as soon as you do this, you’ll lose because your prospect can just dismiss you and hang up.

So here’s what you SHOULD do when you get initial resistance when you make an appointment call: You should simply acknowledge you heard it, give a quick sentence or two to help you get around it, and then move back into asking for the appointment again. Here’s how it goes:

The Wrong Way to handle initial resistance:

Prospect: “We don’t have the money right now”

Sales Rep: “No problem. We have a variety of payment plans that can fit into any budget. In fact you can get started today for as little as $150 down, and we’ll bill you monthly for as little as $35 for the next 10 years. You can afford that, can’t you?”

The Right Way to handle initial resistance:

Prospect: “We don’t have the money right now”

Sales Rep: “That’s perfectly fine and this isn’t about money. Instead, it’s about making a connection and introducing you to our firm and providing you with some options for the future for when you are in the market for this. Now, to make sure I bring you out the right brochure, let me just ask you a couple of quick questions…”

You see the difference? When you get initial resistance, don’t try to overcome it like you would an objection, instead, you should disarm your prospect, move past it, qualify and then ask for the appointment again.

If you can learn this key difference, you’ll stop fighting with prospects, and you’ll begin setting more appointments. And isn’t that the real objective of an appointment call?

The 4 Secrets of Leadership

by mike

Can you name the one or two best sales managers, or business owners you ever worked for? If so, how did they make you feel? What qualities or traits did they have in common, or which ones do you most try to emulate in your own company?

I work with a lot of business owners and managers, and I can tell you that the most successful ones all have at least four core characters in common. Many of them possess other qualities as well, but these four “Secrets” as I call them are always at the center of their power and charisma.

As you read through them, ask yourself which ones you currently have, which ones you’d like to strengthen, or which ones you can develop. Once you master them all, you will be able to lead any team and any company to greatness.

Here they are:

#1: Unbounded Optimism. Ask any great leader to describe the future, and they will always tell you it’s a wonderful place. Leaders are extremely goal oriented, have clearly identified what it is they want and what they are willing to sacrifice to get there, and they radiate an optimistic glow because they already live there in their mind’s eye.

Because people want to feel good about themselves and their futures, they naturally gravitate to winners. People want to work for and, in fact, work harder for people who are optimistic. Plus, optimism is contagious. A great leader can often turn an organization full of negativity around, and the excitement they inspire can result in greater morale and greater results.

If you’re in a position of authority, ask yourself if you’d want others to catch your attitude. If not, then focus on ways to become optimistic – you’ll be a much more effective leader when you are.

#2: Rock Solid Confidence. Great leaders are convinced they can do anything they set their minds to. I love a saying of Napoleon Bonaparte’s : “The improbable we’ll do at once. The impossible will take a little longer.” A leader’s attitude is: Whatever the challenge, we’ll find a way to overcome it.

Confident also leaders create confident followers, and a company, family, or team with an “I Can” attitude is unstoppable. The confidence of a great leader always inspires the best performance of his/her employees, and their team’s success just adds to and confirms the leader’s confidence.

#3: Integrity. In a recent survey about what qualities employees wanted from the managers and business owners they worked for, integrity was the most desired trait people picked. Integrity, including honesty, fairness and consistency of attitude and action, are traits that build confidence in a leader and that build loyalty in the people who report to them.

Leaders with integrity genuinely care about the company they are building or the job they are doing, and this helps everybody feel as if their work has meaning and makes a difference in people’s lives. Most people spend a third of their lives at their jobs, and while we go to work for a pay check it’s the intrinsic satisfaction someone gets from their work that allows them to feel fulfilled. Leaders with a high degree of integrity help foster this feeling by setting the example.

#4: Decisiveness: All great leaders are decisive and committed to the actions they take. This doesn’t mean they act capriciously, on the contrary, they fully weigh out and think through their options, but the key characteristic is that they aren’t afraid to make a decision and implement a plan of action.

Most employees tell many tales of bosses who are afraid of making a decision, or who frequently go back on them, and this habit of hesitation undermines their authority and the confidence of everyone in the organization. Leaders, on the other hand, may not always make the right decision, but they can be counted on to make a well thought out one, and then to take action on it. If facts change or results warrant it, they are flexible enough to reevaluate and make another decision.

If you’re in a leadership role, don’t shy away from decisions. Evaluate the data at the time and the relative need of making a decision and then choose the best course of action and commit. Making a decision – even if it’s the wrong decision – is better than making no decision at all.

If you are in a position of authority and wish to become an effective leader, then find ways of developing or strengthening these four characteristics in yourself. Remember, everyone is counting on you for guidance, and it is your ability to lead that will determine the ultimate result in your team or company.

I Agree With Jeffrey Gitomer About These Two Things

by mike

Now, let me just say for the record that I agree with a lot more than just these two things that Jeffrey says, but these are things I’ve known for many, many years. I hope they resonate with you, too.

So here’s the scene: Large corporate sales convention in the company’s training center, over 250 sales reps flown in from all over the country; Sales directors, V.P.s, sales managers all running around stressing over the schedule, quotas, current sales, etc.

I’m speaking to the entire group (owners, board members in the audience, too), and after the training portion of my presentation, I ask the question that gets the managers and directors to shift uneasily in their seats: “What are the two most important determining factors in making sales and exceeding quotas?”

The reps raise their hands and start firing away, “Leads,” “The economy,” “The price of the product,” “Territory,” they yell out. The managers and directors are now sweating, and the owners and board members look irritated and even a little angry.

“While those things all play a part, the problem with them is that you have no control over them. So for that reason alone, they don’t qualify as being the most important things.” I tell them.

“There are only two things you CAN control and those happen to be the most important factors affecting your success. And they always will be,” I say. And what are those two things?

Your attitude and your actions.

Everything else flows from those two things. And the good news is that both of those things are directly under your control and when you learn to develop and maintain an expectant and enthusiastic attitude, and you take smart, consistent actions, you will always get the results you plan for.”

After I delivered this (and the rest of my talk), the managers and directors, V.P.’s and owners were all smiles. And so were the Top 20%, because they know the truth.

Ask any top performer this question, and you will get the same answer, albeit, in a different way. Some will say it’s how hard they work; others will say it’s their mental preparation, and still others will attribute their success to visualizing a win. But it all comes down to the same thing.

A winner will always take 100% responsibility for their results, while the other 80% will blame it on things outside their control. And that’s why winners will always eventually win, and the rest of the players will lose and make excuses.

It’s like my friend Jeffrey Gitomer once said, “Your boss can’t stop you; your co-workers can’t stop you; your territory can’t stop you; the economy can’t stop you. Only YOU can permanently stop you.” (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of it.)

In today’s business environment of social media, product reviews, so many Internet options to buy, etc., it’s crucially important that you develop, feed, and maintain a positive, expectant attitude of success. No matter what you’re going through right now, circumstances will change, and they WILL get better. The question is, what extra actions are you taking right now to ensure your success? Are you working harder AND smarter? Are you coming in early and leaving late? Are you going that extra mile every day including Fridays? Are you visualizing your success?

The bottom line is that if you focus on and take care of the two things you can control – your attitude and your actions – then nothing will stop you from reaching your goals.

That was a message all 250 sales reps in needed to hear, and I know that 20% of them already knew it and were already practicing it.

How about you?

The Three “Real”’ Secrets of Hiring Top Sales Reps

by mike

Ask any manager, V.P. or business owner what one of the biggest challenges they face in making their revenue numbers and they’ll tell you it’s in identifying, hiring and retaining good sales reps. If you are familiar with my management philosophy, then you’ve heard me talk about the 80/20 rule in sales, and all you have to do is look at your own company or industry to know it’s still true – 80% of the sales and revenue are made by the Top 20%.

So how do you identify who the Top 20% are BEFORE you spend all that time and money on hiring, training and then hoping they perform? There are many ways to try to identify the characteristics in advance, and in fact a whole industry of profiling and assessment testing has sprouted up to help you make the right choice. I have used some of these tests and have found them to be quite accurate and valuable.

I have also found an easier way to identify who the potential top producers are, and I’ve boiled it down into three “Real Secrets.” If you are responsible for identifying and hiring sales reps in your company, then I recommend you use these techniques to help you find the right sales reps before you spend all that time and energy training, managing and hoping you’ve made the right choice.

Real Secret #1) The best predictor of future behavior and performance is past behavior and performance. This is a well known fact in psychology, and it’s one you can use to predict how a new sales rep is likely to perform for you. The bottom line is that however much your candidate earned in income in their last job, and the job before that, is mostly likely the amount they are going to earn working for you as well.

What you must determine is exactly how much money that was. Ask your candidate to provide you with pay stubs or verification of income for the last 6 months, and, in addition, ask them what they earned in income each of the last three years. Find a way to verify this.

Finally, determine how much of your product or service your candidate would have to sell to generate that kind of income again, and ask yourself if you would be happy with that level of performance – because that’s most likely what you’re going to get.

Real Secret #2) Determine what is really motivating your candidate. What we exposed in the first real secret was your candidate’s comfort zone. We all have comfort zones, and sales reps in particular will always live up to – and most likely down to – their comfort zone especially in terms of income.

So if your candidate is really looking to your company and opportunity to better themselves and earn more money, find out what is driving this need and desire for more money. Have their life circumstances changed? For example, have they recently gotten married, had a child, purchased a home? If so, then they may have a real motivation to work harder, make more money and enlarge their comfort zone.

If their situation hasn’t changed, then you can be pretty sure that they will not be motivated to work harder, learn more skills, and make more sales. In essence, they will continue to live down to their current comfort level and you may once again be hiring another 80% producer.

Real Secret #3) Access their sales skills and previous training. This is one of my favorites. During the interview, I ask my candidates how they think they would do selling my product. They all say, “I’d do great!” I then do two things:

1) I ask them to sell me on the product. What I’m looking for is for them to ask me qualifying questions rather than just start pitching. Those who just dive right in and start pitching reveal themselves as middle to low 80% producers. Top 20% producers, on the other hand, start asking me questions and gathering information. They are the ones I’m interested in.
2) Next I give them a couple of objections and watch and listen to how they handle them. You can immediately tell how much training someone has had, and how successful they were, by listening to them handle age old objections like “The price is too high,” and “I’ll have to talk to someone else first.”

These techniques have saved me hundreds of hours of poor hires, and they have often revealed who the real top producers were. Use them, and you’ll love how they will work for you as well.

The Five Things I Learned From Training

by mike

A few months ago I was in Las Vegas training at a very large company’s sales summit. I love these events because I not only get to train wonderful groups of sales professionals, but because I always learn so much myself. Below is an example of five things I learned from one of the regional sales managers during one of his sessions to the group. They are in no particular order, but you’ll see there is a ton of tried and true wisdom and experience in each one.

#1: “Prospecting is a lot like panning for gold – you’re going to find a lot more dirt than gold.”

I loved this the moment I heard it. And how true it is! Just think of the old gold prospectors who toiled in the hills and caves and rivers panning for gold. They went through a lot more dirt than they did gold, didn’t they? And isn’t it interesting that the term for cold calling is now called prospecting….

Bottom line is that you still need to do a lot of work and make a lot of calls before you find your gold – a qualified client who buys.

#2: “Most sales reps who call prospects and have ‘commission breath.’”

Another gem! I’m sure you know just what that means. The secret to becoming a better sales person is to concentrate on listening to your prospects rather than pitching and begging a deal. Your goal should be to uncover buyers, not force unqualified leads into your pipeline so you can hound them and chase them with “commission breath.”

For some great techniques and word for word scripts to help you avoid commission breath, visit my blog here.

https://mrinsidesales.com/insidesalestrainingblog/tag/cold-calling-scripts

#3: “Don’t let the exceptions dictate the rule.”
I can’t tell you the number of times bad sales reps encounter one situation once and then base their whole approach on either avoiding or preparing for that situation again. And when they do, they throw away all the best practices and proven methods that work in the 90% of other situations. In other words, they let the one exception (“Well, back in ’83 someone said…”) and that hurts them their entire career.

What Top Sales Reps do is follow the fundamentals and practice perfection on each call. Whatever you do, don’t ‘let the exception dictate the rule.’

#4: “Use Bingo to make calling fun!” For all of you sales managers who missed my article on how to use the game of Bingo to make calling fun and rewarding, visit my blog here.

https://mrinsidesales.com/insidesalestrainingblog/how-to-use-bingo-to-increase-sales

#5: “Telemarketing training doesn’t exist anymore.” Another brilliant and right on comment. Back in the day (the eighties) when the word “inside sales” didn’t exist, there were true “telemarketing” rooms. And in these rooms, there was a ton of structure, scripts, recording and training. These rooms were mightily successful and helped build giant companies that are around today.

But along the way something happened. Telemarketing became a bad word, and as it was tossed out, so was all the great structured training and skill sets. This regional manager was right: ‘Telemarketing training doesn’t exist anymore,’ – but I’ll add – for the most part. There are still a few masters around who know how to build multi-million dollar inside sales teams, and luckily, you’re reading one right now.

If you’d like to learn more about how these proven techniques can help you do the same, then visit here.

http://www.mrinsidesales.com/ManagementTraining/

Hope you enjoyed the article!

How to Leave Effective Voice Mails

by mike

One of the hardest things for sales reps to handle is a prospect who is not responding to them after they have done a presentation to them. I’m sure you’ve got some of them in your pipeline right now. You’ve given them your 45 minute demo, answered their few questions, asked for the deal and were told that they would show this to whomever… Then you start chasing them with phone calls and emails but never hear back from them. What do you do now?

The answer is you must have a structured approach and that starts with perhaps the most important part of the follow up and that is setting an appointment with your prospect before you get off the phone after your demo or presentation. Now I know what you’re thinking: “But they didn’t know when they would get an answer from the decision maker so she just told me I could follow up in a week – or two weeks, etc.” It doesn’t matter and here’s why:

At the end of each contact with a prospect, it is imperative that you schedule a date, or at least get the OK for a day and time to follow up with your prospect. Even if they won’t have the answer yet, that’s fine – what’s important is that you have a day and time to check back in with them. Ask them what day and time is good for them and let them know you’ve got it on your calendar and suggest they do so as well.

Once you’ve made this appointment (and don’t worry – I know there is most likely a 50/50 chance of them remembering or being ready for you, that’s fine – you now can reach out to them and use the following voice mail campaign to begin your reengagement. If they are not there or available when you call on your appointed day and time, use the following scripted voice mail sequence as it is and you will have the best chance of getting them to call you back.

Here is the first voice mail message to be used if, when calling to actually do your demo or presentation, they do not answer their phone:

“Good morning (afternoon) _________ this is ________ _________ with (your company). I’m just calling you for the appointment we have today at (2 pm) for the demonstration of our (marketing solution/lead gen – whatever your product or service is for your business). You may be on the phone or finishing up a meeting, but when you get this message, please reach back out to me.

You can call me on my direct line which is: (Leave number slowly). I’ll stay off the phone for a few minutes in anticipation of your call. Once again, my direct number is (leave slowly) and I look forward to speaking with you soon.”

Here is your follow up voice mail for after you’ve made your demonstration, for if they don’t answer their phone:

“Good morning (afternoon) _________ this is ________ _________ with (your company). I’m just calling you for the appointment we have today at (2 pm) to see if (Corporate/Regional Manager, boss, etc.) has any questions on the proposal I emailed you last (whatever the date was).

You may be on the phone or finishing up a meeting, but when you get this message, please reach back out to me. You can call me on my direct line which is: (Leave number slowly). I’ll stay off the phone for a few minutes in anticipation of your call. Once again, my direct number is (leave slowly) and I look forward to speaking with you soon.”

If you don’t hear back from your prospect for a day or two, then leave this voice mail the next time you call:

Third Voice Mail – Follow up to the initial follow up

“Good morning (afternoon) _________ this is ________ _________ with (your company). I’m sure you’ve been busy, but I do want to connect with you regarding the proposal I sent to you on (date sent).

_______, even if you haven’t gotten an answer from (Corp/Manager/boss) yet, please do me a favor and reach back out to me so we can schedule a time to speak.

You can call me on my direct line which is: (Leave number slowly). I’ll be available most of the day, but if you get my voice mail, just leave me a message. Once again, my direct number is (leave slowly) and I look forward to speaking with you soon.”

Now, if after leaving these messages you don’t hear back for a week or longer, I would send them an email (by the way, you should also follow up each of the voice mails above with an email that is very similar to your voice mails), and your email should be the “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” email. I’ve written about it before, but listed it below for your convenience:

The subject line from the title song by The Clash – “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” – is one you probably know and are already singing the song in your head… And here’s the body of the email:

“_________ I haven’t heard back from you and that tells me one of three things:

1) You’ve already chosen another company for this and if that’s the case please let me know so I can stop bothering you,

2) You’re still interested but haven’t had the time to get back to me yet.

3) You’ve fallen and can’t get up and in that case please let me know and I’ll call 911 for you…

Please let me know which one it is because I’m starting to worry… Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you.”

Are you smiling yet? It’s no wonder that people respond to this. Besides making someone smile, what makes it effective is it gives prospects a way out. It lets them know that it’s OK if they aren’t going to move forward with you, and it’s always better to know this in advance rather than to keep chasing and begging.

Also, this email gets those people who are still interested to reach out to you and let you know that as well.

The bottom line to an effective follow up strategy is to make sure it is set up right (always get an appointment for follow up), to use a structured and integrated voice mail and email approach, and to script these communications out in advance. Start following this approach and you’ll begin seeing more contacts and more deals.