Category: Cold Calling Scripts

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

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

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

How to Handle, “I Want to Think About It.”

by mike

Ah, the amorphous, “I want to think about it . . .”

At first glance, this seems hard to handle because it’s not really an objection, rather, it seems more like a stall. Because of this, it fools many sales reps who think that perhaps after a week or two the prospect might actually buy. But they rarely do.

Make no mistake: this is almost always a “no” disguised as a “maybe.” What you need to do is find out what’s behind this objection and whether or not you can compete with what the real objection is.

Here’s what to say:

“Just out of curiosity, how many other offers are you going to be comparing my offer with?”

[“I want to think about it” means they most likely have a better offer somewhere else. You’d better find out what it is.]

OR

“Are you going to be thinking about the price or the (service, offer, product) that I’m offering?”

[Listen here to what they’re really going to think about.]

OR

“To be honest, whenever I say I’m going to think about something, it usually means I’ve already made a decision to go with another option. Be honest with me, is that what’s happening here?”

[If it is, try to get them to elaborate and compare that other offer to yours.]

Questioning this objection is much better than saying, “Okay, when should I call you back,” which is what most sales reps say.

Like my suggestions from the last two weeks, try this the next time you get this objection, and see if you can have an open, honest discussion with your prospect. That’s the only way to win a sale.

If you’ve found these rebuttals helpful, why not invest in a book of hundreds of other proven responses to the objection you or your team faces every day? Click here and get better tomorrow!

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, “Your Price is Too High”

by mike

Based on how successful my last blog was on handling the objection: “We’ve Already Got a Vendor for That,” I thought I’d give you another proven response to help you overcome the objections and resistance you get daily. In this case, “Your Price is Too High.”

The reason this is such a common objection is because your prospects have figured out it’s the best way to get sales reps to drop their price! And most do!

Top performing reps, however, know better . . .

They know the “Price is too high” objection is just another smokescreen. And they handle it using any of the following scripted techniques:

“Compared to what?”

[Listen here! Don’t rush in to answer…]

OR

“Besides price, what’s important to you?”

[My personal favorite]

And the old Stan Billue technique that takes courage, patience, and finesse to use (but it’s SO effective—and fun to use!):

“Oh?”

[Then remain completely quiet and let your prospect tell you what the REAL objection is!]

Once again, the price objection/smokescreen is just that: a smokescreen hiding the real objection. Unless you question it and get clarification, your only fallback is to lower your price! And that rarely gets you anywhere.

Try these the next time you get this objection and watch your sales and conversion rate soar!

If you’d like 10 more, proven responses to this objection, click here and invest a few bucks in 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

How to Handle, “We’re Already Working with Someone.”

by mike

I don’t know why sales reps still have trouble handing this typical blow off. They know it’s coming; they get it daily or weekly, yet many still struggle to handle it effectively. . . .

The way to not only handle it, but to overcome it is to be prepared in advance with a proven, scripted approach. Like this:

“I’m sure you do, and that’s why I’m calling you today. I know it makes sense to have several vendors you can check pricing and availability with, and having another supplier in your back pocket is only going to help you, right?”

[Get buy in here before you continue . . .]

“So let me email you some information so you’ll have it in case you need it. What’s a good email address to send this to?”

[Now take it down, and then move into qualifying!]

“Just so I’m prepared in case you do need another option, what kind of . . . “

Now ask questions, try to engage, and take your prospect as far as they’ll let you!

You see, the value of having a proven response in your back pocket is that it allows you to move past a prospect’s initial resistance. That’s what most blow offs are!

The next time you get this objection, use the script above and watch how much more effective you become as a sales rep.

If you’d like ten more proven responses to this blow off and hundreds of more scripts, click 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

Don’t Be Afraid to Call Back Sooner!

by mike

Happy Halloween, everyone!

If you want more “treats” than “tricks” when dealing with prospects, then be bold and call back sooner than you are now.

I don’t know why sales reps always default to: “I’ll call you again in a month…” Or 60 days or 90 days, etc, but why would you want to miss all the sales this prospect will place in the meantime?

The smart thing to do is to get a specific idea of when your prospects buy and even ask them when their buying schedule is. Try:

“How often do you find yourself needing these?”

OR

“I’m happy to call you back at the end of this week—do you think you’ll have some clarity over your needs by then?”

OR

“I don’t want to bug you, but I do want to be there for you, so would it be best to call you in a week or would two be better?”

OR

“When would be the best time for me to follow up with you?” (And then call them two weeks before whatever date they give you!)

The bottom line is that most sales reps simply don’t have any idea of when they should follow up—because they never ask!

The next time you have someone on the phone, don’t assume a month or two or three is the best time to follow up. Ask them and follow up sooner than are now!

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

Seriously, This Is How You Leave a Voicemail?

by mike

Actual voicemails I’ve been receiving lately:

“Hi Mike, this is Megan. Can you call me back at (phone number)? Thanks!”

And what do I do with these voicemails?

Delete.

This is one of the oldest poor sales techniques in the world, and it just SCREAMS: I’m cold calling and trying to trick you into calling me back!

Doesn’t work.

Here’s what’s better:

First, you have to let the caller know what company you’re calling from and the reason for the call. We’re all too busy to call people back for no reason, and too many of us have called back just to be pitched (poorly, too) by an unprepared sales people.

Use this sample as a template and adjust to your product or service:

“Hi, this is _______ _________ with XYZ company. I’m calling about how you handle your (product/service/process) and have some options to save you (time/money/etc.). When you get a second, give me a quick call back, and I promise I’ll be brief. If we can help you, great, if not, I won’t waste your time. My call back number is (leave number SLOWLY AND REPEAT). Once again, this is (repeat your name), and I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks!”

Obviously, if you have their email address, you should also email as part of your prospecting cadence. A great subject line would be: “{first name}, just left you a VM.”

Change the above voicemail and adapt it anyway you want; just make sure and script it out and say it confidently & sincerely. You’ll get more call backs this way than by trying to trick people!

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 Establish Rapport In 15 Seconds

by mike

Establishing rapport with a prospect in the very beginning is perhaps the most important first step to earning the right to have a conversation that might eventually lead to a sale. Get it wrong, and that could mean the end of your call—and your chance to make a sale.

Given how important this step is, it’s sad to hear so many sales people get it wrong: They either rush into their pitch; talk over prospects; or use other ineffective techniques.

Here’s what not to do:

  1. DON’T open your conversation with, “How are you?”—if you haven’t even introduced yourself! This is a common (and annoying error).
  2. If your prospect asks you how you are (after you ask them), DON’T just say, “fine” or “good” and then launch into your pitch.
  3. In fact, DON’T launch into your pitch at all! Instead, see below what to do . . .

What you should do:

  1. Introduce yourself, “Hi, {prospect’s first name}, this is _____ ______ with  ________, how are you doing today?” THEN: Wait for them to respond! If they ask you how you’re doing, respond with, “I’m doing well today, thanks for asking.”
  2. If, after you ask how they’re doing, you hear annoyance in their voice, then always start what you’re going to say next with, “Briefly . . .” You MUST let them know that YOU know they are in a hurry or not happy to receive a sales call. Then…
  3. BE BRIEF! Let them know why you’re calling (in a sentence or two—MAX), and get to a question and let them interact: “Question for you: How do you (or your company) get involved in that?” (Customize this to what you’re selling, i.e., “Use that,” etc.)

If you follow this simple formula, you’ll earn the right to have a conversation, because you won’t sound like all the other salesy people calling and annoying your prospect.  

Try it and see for 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