Author: mike

My Favorite Closing Line

by mike

I was giving a training today and emphasizing the importance of directing the sale, assuming the deal, and leading the prospect through the close.

As I did, I reminded the team of closers of my very favorite closing phrase, and one that has literally made me millions of dollars in my career.

When you get to the reason to place the order now, or purchase your product or service, what’s important is not to ask if they agree, or if they have the budget, or anything like that.

Instead…

What you do is end your close with, “Here’s what I recommend we do…” and then suggest the order.

If you want to take it even further, you can say, “Here’s what I recommend we do. Since we’ve got just five left right now, I’ll go ahead and ship them to you while we have them. That way, you’ll have them on hand when you need them. Where would you like me to ship these to?”

Do you see how I combined the, “Here’s what I recommend we do…” with a buying/assumptive question, “Where would you like me to ship these to?”

This is the ultimate way to assume the sale.

But let’s back up to that initial order phrase: “Here’s what I recommend we do…” There are many variations on this, like:

“Here’s what my best clients are doing right now…”

“My biggest clients are thinking ahead and they’re….and I recommend you do the same…where should I ship these to?”

“Smart companies are picking these up now, while they’re available, and not waiting until they go on back order. Here’s what I recommend you do…”

You see how this goes. The point is: if you want to dramatically increase your number of sales, then take the prospect all the way through the sale by leading them to the buy action.

It’s surprisingly effective and once you get in the habit of doing it, you’ll wonder why you never thought of it before!

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

Don’t Handle the Objection—Eliminate It!

by mike

One of the best things about sales is that you already know what all the objections are.

For every sale, there are only about five core objections: price, think about it, talk to someone else, etc., and then some outliers you get less frequently.

But overall, you know what’s coming. So, why not eliminate, in advance, your top one or two objections?

Here’s how:

If you’re qualifying a prospect to pitch later, and you know that price is the biggest objection you get, then qualify for it so you’re not ambushed when you get to the close.

Ask:

“Ballpark, what is your budget for this?”

And then:

“And do you have that budget available should you like what you see during our demo?”

Or:

“Our solution is adaptable to most budgets, and runs anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000. If you like what you see next week, is something like that within what you have available right now?”

I’m sure you can come up with other budget related qualifying questions, but the point is that it is ALWAYS best to qualify for this objection in advance so you don’t waste 45 minutes + pitching only to find that they can’t afford your solution.

If you are dealing with a customer who buys their products from another vendor, then ask:

“Who are you getting that from now?”

And:

“I’ve certainly heard of them, just out of curiosity, what keeps you coming back to them?”

And:

“What would it take to earn a portion of your business?”

You get the idea here. It’s ALWAYS better to qualify out an objection before you get it. Take some time this week to script out ways to qualify for and overcome your common objections before they ruin your sale.

Remember: You can’t close an unqualified lead!

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

Two-Day Sale—Save BIG to Double Your Sales!

by mike

Ready to use the summer months to learn some proven skills that will enable you to double or even triple your sales the rest of the year?

Take advantage of this two-day sale now:

Invest in yourself or your team by getting my bestselling audio product: The Secrets of the Top 20%: How to Double Your Income in 90 Days!

For just $59 only (Lowest Price EVER on this proven, bestselling tool), you will learn how to:

·      Breeze past gatekeepers

·      Easily handle the brush offs you get now

·      Qualify and identify exactly what it will take to sell someone

·      Overcome objections! Learn a proven 5-Step approach

·      And so much more!

Top Sales reps know and use these secrets to blow past their competition and their sales quotas, and now you can, too!

And you can get the lowest price on either instantly downloadable MP3s, OR physical copies (domestic only) of the five CDs with FREE shipping—Your Choice!

Click Here to read about the program.

Click this special link to make a purchase. Please specify in the “Add a note” field whether you’d like physical CDs or MP3 links.

Within minutes, you can be listening to me walk you through the secrets that you can apply on your very next phone call!

Do yourself and your sales team a favor: Give them these valuable sales tools to help them finish the year stronger than they ever have!

But HURRY: This Two-Day Sale ends at midnight on Thursday, July 21st!

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

Work on One Thing a Week to Get Better

by mike

It’s mid-July, and I’d like to ask you a question: How much better of a sales rep are you today than you were in January?

Can you identify the areas you’ve improved in and measure their impact on your closing rates?

If you’re like the vast majority of sales reps (or sales teams), the answer is, “I don’t really know…”

Here’s a quick tip: If nothing changes, nothing changes.

You’ve all probably heard this before, but in sales this has an added weight: If you aren’t actively working to improve your skill set, then you’re likely making the same mistakes you always make—and getting the same results.

There is an easy way to change this. Simply buy a good book on improving sales, pick just one technique or idea you feel applies to your selling situation, and then commit to adapting, using, and perfecting that one technique for a week.

If you do that, within 90 days you’ll have picked up twelve proven new sales skills that will have a dramatic effect on your bottom line.

This is a simple solution to getting better, but it isn’t always easy to commit to. We’re all very busy, and we may be doing okay with sales now, and who wants to put in all that extra work anyway?

The top 20% do, that’s who.

And that’s why top producers across industries earn more money, enjoy better bonuses and perks, and find their jobs easier and more enjoyable than 80% of their so-called competition.

Hey, you deserve all those perks and extra income, but they aren’t going to just fall into your lap. You’re going to have to do something to get them.

Focusing on learning and applying just one new skill or scripted technique is an easy, proven way to make more sales with more confidence.

And that’s worth a little bit of effort, isn’t it?

If you’re wondering where to start, check this book out.

It makes it easy to find and adapt proven sales scripts that will instantly make you better!

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

Three Inspiring Summer Reads for Sales Professionals

by mike

Hope you had a great July Fourth!

Summer is now officially started, and it’s a great time to enjoy some family time, go on vacation, recharge your batteries, and enjoy a little downtime before the big push of the 3rd & 4th quarters.

It’s also a great time to feed your motivational well! I love to read—or reread—inspiring books that get me thinking about ways to improve my attitude and performance.

Below are three books that inspire me each time I read them. If you haven’t read them yet—or in a while—then I encourage you to pick one up!

Book #1: Beyond Positive Thinking: A No Nonsense Formula for Getting What You Want, by Dr. Robert Anthony

Dr. Robert Anthony has been one of my favorite motivational authors for decades. This book, Beyond Positive Thinking, is a complete rewrite of my all-time favorite motivational book of his: The Advanced Formula for Total Success.

If you’re new to his work, this is a great place to start (Beyond Positive Thinking).

Book #2: The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, by Jack Canfield

Yes, THAT Jack Canfield. This is a comprehensive roadmap to developing and then imprinting a success blueprint. If you’re looking to identify and then build a plan of action toward accomplishing something special in your life, then this is a must read!

Book #3: Your Best Year Yet!: Ten Questions for making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Yet, by Jinny Ditzler

I’ve been using Jinny’s book for years, and what I love about it—besides the ten powerful questions—is that you can start this any month or week of the year! Learn what holds you back the most, and what helps the most so you can build on your success!

Enjoy 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

3 Things You Should Stop Saying in Sales

by mike

I have listened to thousands of sales calls over the years, and I spend the majority of my coaching and training hours listening to sales calls even today. And I still hear the same mistakes….

Here are three things NOT to say if you want to become more effective at opening and closing more sales:

#1: When speaking with a gatekeeper and they ask if they can tell the prospect who is calling, don’t:

  • Just say your name (“John,” or “John Davis”)—and then nothing else…
  • Say your name and company name
  • Say your name and company name and then start pitching the gatekeeper…

Instead, respond with: “Absolutely! Please tell prospect’s first name, that John Davis is holding, please.”

#2: If you’re speaking with a client and you’re asking if they need to order anything, don’t say:

  • I’m just calling to see if you need anything today?

Instead, change the question to make it assumptive. Ask: “While I have you on the phone, what’s on your white board that you’ll be needing soon?”

You can adjust this to fit your product or service, but always change “Is there anything” to “What are you looking for…”

#3: When you are scheduling an appointment to follow up, don’t use the generic:

  • I’ll call you in a month to follow up…

Instead, you should ask the prospect when a good time to follow up is. AND, make this ask assumptive. Try: “When would you like me to check back in with you?”

By asking the prospect when you should follow up, you’ll be able to gauge their urgency and assess their buying rhythms. If they tell you 6 months, then suggest you’ll check in with them in 3, just in case something changes.

Little tweaks like this can make a huge difference in your overall sales results. Remember: practice doesn’t make perfect; it just makes permanent.

Only practice of perfection makes perfect.

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 Struggle Less, While Making More Sales

by mike

Jeffrey Gitomer tells a great story about how he once bet a client his entire training fee on whether there were more than eight objections their sales team got on a regular basis.

The client, sure their sales cycle was more complicated and therefore required more advanced closing techniques, considered the bet: If the sales team could come up with more than eight standard objections, then Jeffrey would do the training for free.

If there were eight or less, then the client would pay him double his fee…

After the client thought about it, he declined Jeffrey’s offer, and then he polled the sales team, and here were their common objections:

#1: Too expensive (don’t have the budget)

#2: Have to get approval

#3: Need to think about it

#4: Going to use their old vendor

#5: Need to get several quotes

#6: They needed a different solution

#7:

#8:

Turns out, this company’s “complicated sale” had just six objections they got 90% of the time. It’s a good thing (for the client) he declined Jeffrey’s offer!

And this is the key to how you can struggle less and close more business.

Because your product or service also has a set number of objections (usually under eight), the easy way to make more sales is to script out two to three responses to these recurring objections, memorize them, and then use them each time you get into one of these selling situations.

This will GREATLY reduce the work you do, and it will lead to you closing (more easily) more business.

This is the real “secret” to becoming a top producer at your company or in your industry.

Make it easy on yourself and do this exercise today. If you need some help with your scripts, then click here. You’ll find over 500 proven scripts you can start using 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

Inbound Leads: Slam Dunks or Looky-loos?

by mike

What is a sales person’s dream? An inbound lead.

Someone has found your company, responded online or sent an email, and wants to know more about how you can help them.

A slam dunk deal, right?

Not so fast…

If you’ve been fielding inbound leads for a while, then you’ve probably noticed something: Not all inbound leads buy.

But how can this be? Didn’t the prospect reach out to me? Shouldn’t he/she be a deal?

Many sales reps today still make the mistake of taking “implied interest” in your company or service, to mean someone is interested, qualified, and ready to buy.

The way to capture a deal in this situation—if there is one—is to treat an inbound lead like any other: you need to qualify them.

Here are a few questions that will help you separate the slam dunks from the looky-loos:

“Thanks for reaching out to us today. Tell me, what motivated you to contact us?”

And

“I’m sure you’re looking at other companies, just out of curiosity, what is most important when choosing a company for this?”

And

“Who, besides yourself, is involved in making this decision?”

And

“After you’ve found the company that you think is best for you, what is your timeline for purchasing this?”

The next time you get an inbound lead, make sure and ask the questions above. It will help you decide who to spend your time with, versus who to let go of. And knowing that will save you a lot of aggravation later on.

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

Simple Habit to Improve Sales Today

by mike

Someone once said, “First we form habits, and then they form us.”

And in sales, this is especially true.

Here’s a quick example from a new client I’m working with now:

At the end of speaking with current accounts, the habit of the sales team is to ask: “If you need anything, please give me a call…”

Developing a better habit during this part of the call will greatly increase your sales. Here is what the reps should be saying in this situation:

“While I have you on the phone, what do you have coming up that you’d like me to check on for you?”

OR

“While we’re on the phone, what do you think you’ll be needing in the next couple of weeks?”

OR

“What are some of the things you order frequently that you’d like me to keep an eye out for?”

The difference here is that asking an account for a sale is the best way of getting a possible sale today.

While some clients might not need anything right then, some will! And how sweet will it be to get an instant order today, rather than calling back a month from now to find out they just ordered from someone else?

Habits.

When you break down your sales calls and begin looking for the habits that make up your pitch, ask yourself: What can you change to become more effective?

Chances are, there are many techniques that will have a huge impact on your sales results. Why not start with this one habit 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

Metrics—Which One is Most Important?

by mike

Feeling a little overwhelmed by all the new sales tracking technology that seems to come out every month (almost every week)?

If you’re like most companies, then you’ve probably got enough technology in place to measure just about everything: talk time, conversion rates, number of demos being given, lead flow and lead placement in the funnel—top end, middle, and end stage of leads.

And now with A.I., you can automate just about everything else—including phone calls, voice mails, email campaigns, etc.

While working with a new client last week, his management team was asking me which metrics they should focus on as they begin adopting the new best practice approaches we introduced.

Should they look at the increase in leads (or decrease because the leads will now be more qualified) or the number of opportunities?

Should they drill down on length of presentations?

How about numbers of calls? Contacts? Length of the first call?

While all things are important, my suggestion was to focus on the one metric that drives all the others: How the rep is performing while on the call.

What I stressed is using recordings to measure how well a rep handles each part of the phone call. For example, what does your team say when they are told to “Just email me something”?

How about: “We wouldn’t be interested right now?”

How well does your sales team respond to the objection given at the end of the demo: “Can you send me those slides and let me share this with a colleague?”

Measuring your team’s response to these crucial selling situations is what drives everything else, especially your bottom line: Sales.

So here are some questions for you (whether you are a sales manager or V.P. or business owner):

**Are you consistently listening to your team’s calls, grading them, and using the lessons learned to help them perform better each and every day?

If not, then don’t think that if they just make more calls or get more leads or schedule more demos, then you’ll improve your team’s closing percentage and make more sales.

They won’t.

What they will do is waste more time and resources and generate more frustration.

What you need to do is improve your team’s skills sets and improve the way they deal with the common selling situations they get over and over again.

And once you do that, you’ll finally move the needle on all the other metrics of your sales team.

So, begin paying attention to and measuring the most important metric of all: How your team responds to the recurring selling situations they get day in and day out.

If you’d like to know how to improve those skills, then get your team into my new on-demand inside sales training! See it here.

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