The Power of Thinking BIG

Cold Calling, Frontline Reps, Motivation, Phone Sales, Sales Tips, Sales Training, Best Practices, Call to Action, Confidence, Vision, Dream Big, Think Big

“Ask yourself this question: ‘How big can I dream?’”

Conrad Hilton

“Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.’ Emerson was a keenly gifted philosopher, but he spoke like a seasoned sales manager: He understood the power of big thoughts.

“All of us are surrounded by a swirl of great opportunities, but we’re usually too busy to notice. So we continue to do what we’ve always done, wondering why we get what we’ve always gotten.

“If you’re tired of the same old results, try a new approach: Make big plans; dream big dreams; and reach for the opportunities that surround you. In selling, big dreams do come true, but not until you dream them.”

From: The Saleman’s Book of Wisdom, by Dr. Criswell Freeman

In my sales career, everything changed when I started asking for bigger orders. At first I was scared that I would frighten away buyers, but, to my amazement, prospects began saying “Yes”!

Suddenly, I was doubling and even tripling my monthly sales all because I had the courage to ask for more. Life really is a ‘self-fulfilling’ prophesy: you get what you ask for…

Here are some of my favorite quotes to help you get into the mindset of thinking BIG:

“Imagine better than the best you know.” Venice Bloodworth (One of my all-time favorites)

“Think big. Act big. Dream big.” Conrad Hilton

“Do it big or stay in bed.” Larry Kelly

“If you want a quality, act as if you already have it.” William James

“The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.” Rick Devos

“Impossibility is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools.” Napoleon I

“I have learned to use the word impossible with the greatest caution.” Wernher von Braun

“Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” David Lloyd George

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” Goethe

So this week, step outside of your comfort zone and ask for the bigger deal, the top option, or the highest priced package you offer. Your results may just surprise you…


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

The Power of Optimism in Sales

Coaching, Frontline Reps, Motivation, Attitude, Optimism in sales, Sales tips, Sales training, Best Practices, Confidence, Performance,

“It is never too late to be What you might have been.”

George Eliot

“Leo Tolstoy observed, ‘Faith is the force of life.’ Faith is also the force behind successful selling. The optimistic salesperson conveys an attitude of confidence to the buyer. The result? Lots of closings. But the pessimist talks himself—and the customer—out of the sale. The result? Lots of frustrations.

“If you’re looking for a proven prescription to improve your closing ratios, try a healthy dose of optimism. Because if you think the sale will close—or think it won’t—you’re right.”

From: The Saleman’s Book of Wisdom, by Dr. Criswell Freeman

Here are some quotes to help you get into an “optimistic mindset”:

“We see things as we are, not as they are.” Leo Rosten

“The sun shines not on us, but in us.” John Muir

“Sometimes success is due less to ability than to zeal.” Charles Buxton

“Whenever a negative thought concerning your personal power comes to mind, deliberately voice a positive thought to cancel it out.” Norman Vincent Peale

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.” C. Malesherbes

“They are able because they think they are able.” Virgil

“The greatest discovery is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” William James

“There is one thing which gives radiance to everything. It is the idea of something around the corner.” C. K. Chesterton

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” William Arthur Ward

“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities. An optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” Harry S. Truman

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” Sir Winston Churchill

“Make optimism a way of life.” Lucille Ball

“It is often hard to distinguish between the hard knocks in life and those of opportunity.” Frederick Phillips

“When a man is willing and eager, the gods join in.” Aeschylus


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

Rejection in Sales: What to Do About It

Coaching, Frontline Reps, Motivation, Phone Sales, Sales Tips, Goals, Effective, Examples, Performance, perseverance

“Rejection is an inevitable consequence of selling. Ironically, this fact is good news for the disciplined salesperson. If personal rejection were not an integral component of the sales process, anyone could sell; superior sale people would be commonplace. But the reality is this: Superior sale people are quite uncommon and thus demand a high premium in the marketplace.

“If you are looking for a dependable way to build an uncommon sales career, understand this fact: Rejection is an unavoidable part of the sales process. It is never to be taken personal.

“An old adage reminds us that the sale doesn’t really begin until the customers says ‘no.’ It’s worth adding that your sales career doesn’t really begin until you learn to accept ‘no’—and keep on selling.”

From: The Salesman’s Book of Wisdom, Dr. Criswell Freeman

Another great quote from this book which I’ve been featuring the last couple of weeks. I especially like the part about rejection not being personal. This was important for me to learn all those years ago.

When I realized that, I came to understand the saying: “Some will, some won’t, who’s next?”

Here are some other sayings, related to rejection, you might enjoy:

“Eighty-five percent of our customers say ‘no’ at least once before buying.” Ross Perot

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.” Robert Ingersoll

“What is defeat? Nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better.” Wendell Phillips

“Don’t believe in defeat.” Norman Vincent Peale

“To be successful, you’ve got to be willing to fail.” Frank Tyger

“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” Babe Ruth

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” Elbert Hubbard

“To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” Bertrand Russell

“Despair is the conclusion of fools.” Benjamin Disraeli

“Man is troubled not by things but by the view he takes of them.” Epictetus

“The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” C. C. Scott

So get out there and just keep selling…


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

The Harder You Work, The Luckier You’ll Get

Phone sales, sales motivation, sales tips, working hard, top salesperson, persistence,

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Vidal Sassoon

“The world remembers Thomas Edison as an inventor, but he was also a spectacular salesman. Edison understood that simply inventing a product, no matter how useful, was not enough. He knew that he also had to sell his product to the public. And he did.

“Like any good salesman, Edison was an energetic worker. In fact, he attributed his success not to intellect but to diligence. He once said, ‘Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.’ The same ratio applies in sales…”

From: The Salesman’s Book of Wisdom, by Dr. Criswell Freeman

In my 35 years of selling, managing, and coaching inside sales, there is one thing that has remained constant: The top producers in any company or industry are also the hardest workers. And if you’re in sales, then I know that you see this relation as well.

Here are some quotes to keep you focused on working hard:

“Selling is the easiest job in the world if you work it hard, but it’s the hardest job in the world if you work it easy.” – Frank Bettger

“If there is no wind, row.” – Latin Proverb (And great advice during summer!)

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson

“If you believe in the Lord, He will do half the work: the last half.” – Cyrus Curtis

“Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.” – Thomas Carlyle

“It’s the job that’s never started that takes the longest to finish.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

“Action is worry’s worst enemy.” – Old-Time Saying

“The shortest answer is doing.” – George Herbert

So, bottom line? Get busy…


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

If You Love Sales—Then Pass This On

B2B Sales, B2C sales, Cold Calling, Frontline Reps, Motivation, Phone Sales, Sales Tips, Best Practices, Call to Action, Performance,

“We are all salesmen every day of our lives.”

Charles M. Schwab

Whenever I’m at a used bookstore, I always browse the business section. There is gold in those isles. I found a short book called, The Salesman’s Book of Wisdom, by Dr. Chriswell Freeman, and the introduction on “The Joy of Selling” was so awesome, that I wanted to share the three paragraphs with you. Share this with others if you resonate with it as well:

“Selling has been called the greatest profession in the world and with good cause. Few experiences in business can match the excitement of a big sale. But the thrill of the close is always preceded by mundane activities such as training, prospecting and preparation. For the successful salesman, there is no dozing before the closing.

“What keeps top sales professionals motivated? In part, it is the love of selling. Effective salespeople love to make calls. Ineffective salespeople love the idea of selling, but they dislike the act of making the call. The results are predictable.

“Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi warned, ‘If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.’ His words apply not only to professional football players but also to professionals in all fields. So, if you wish to become an exceptional salesman, remember that sales calls should be savored, not endured. Once you learn to love your work, your work will love you back.”

I especially like the, “…no dozing before the closing.” Classic.

If you’re a sales manager or business owner, send this to your team members. If you’re an individual producer, then share it with your teammates.

Share the love of sales….


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

Summer Sales Slow? Five Things to do NOW!

B2B Sales, Cold Calling, Frontline Reps, Motivation, Phone Sales, Prospecting, Sales Tips, Sales Training, Goals, Relationship, Sales Skills,

I don’t know about you, but right after July the 4th business seems to slow down and then it limps along until September. There is business to be had, of course, but the excitement and urgency of the first half of the year seems to have evaporated in the heat of the days.

What happened?

Summer happened, that’s what! As I speak to clients and colleagues (who aren’t on their family vacations) they tell me the same thing—many of their bosses, co-workers, suppliers or business partners are either on vacation, just coming back from a vacation, or just about to take a vacation. 

In fact, many people I know are taking as much as three to four weeks off! (I just spoke with a potential coaching client, and when I asked him when he was thinking of starting our coaching relationship, he told me it would be after his month-long vacation in August. He and his wife will be back right before Labor Day. 

So there you have it. Business is seasonal. Kids get out of school. The weather changes. People have worked hard and are now ready to take some time off. Business changes and people seem to relax. 

Does this mean companies aren’t buying or planning for the fall? Of course not. It just means that they are going to begin doing things on their timetable, not yours.

So here’s what you can do to not only make sales now, but also set yourself up for the best finish of any year you’ve ever had:

  1. Don’t let up. Keep working hard—if not harder. Make more calls. Send more emails; stay later and come in earlier. The time you put in now may not seem to pay off right away, but in the fall you’ll see the fruits of your labor.

It reminds me of the “dog days of summer” in NFL training camps. I still remember what Bill Parcells told his players in late December when they were about to begin a drive that would determine whether they got into the playoffs or not. He looked at his exhausted linemen and said: “This is why you lift all those damn weights!” 

The effort you put in now will make the difference at the end of this year…

  • Connect with established clients. This is the perfect time to send a card, to make a call, and to talk with clients about things other than business. For example, where are they going for summer vacation? 

Face it, if things are slow for you, they are probably slow in their business as well. How about asking what they are doing to deal with this period and what they are doing to get ready for the fall. And how about asking how you can help them do that?  Can anyone out there say “up sales”?

  • Work on improving your skill set, new product development or other part of your business that will make a difference in the second half of the year. If any of you have thought about developing a greeting card campaign to stay in front of your customers and prospects, this is the perfect time to do it!

Some of you know that I use Send Out Cards to keep in front of my clients and prospects, and did you know that you can now use that same system without a sign up fee?  Click Here to find out how.

Why not design a card with a picture of yourself and family on YOUR vacation and send it to all your clients and prospects? That’ll give you something to talk about.

  • Make goals for September through December and develop a plan of action to accomplish them. Develop an affirmation card and goal sheet of exactly how much you’re going to earn, what it’s going to feel like over the holidays to have accomplished that and begin smiling each day as you feel the feelings of having done it. 

Remember, “Fear Pushes, but Vision Pulls.” Use this time to create a compelling vision of the rest of the year for yourself and let that vision pull you through the summer…

  • Feed your mind a positive diet. This is the time to feed your mind every single day (and many times during the day as well). My favorite book to re-read during each summer is: “Beyond Positive Thinking” by Dr. Robert Anthony. You can get it on Amazon.com

I’ll bet you have your own list of positive reading material you’d like to finally read. Pick one book tonight, put it on your desk and commit to reading it before the next holiday.

That alone will make a huge difference for you.

The most important thing to remember during the summer is that “This too shall pass.” If business has slowed down, that will change. And if you take advantage of any of the five suggestions above, you’ll be the most prepared to prosper when it does…


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

The 5 Secrets to Get Your Email Returned

Cold calling, Prospecting, sales tips, emails returned, best practice, sales technique, Frontline Reps, Phone Sales,

Tired of your emails not getting returned?

If you’re a sales rep who is sending emails and waiting….and waiting for responses that never come, then why not use some best practices that will give your emails the best chances of getting a response.

Here are 5 things you can begin doing right now:

Email Secret #1: Use the prospect’s first name in the subject line.

Putting your prospect’s name in the subject line (first name) will immediately distinguish your email from the hundreds of others your prospect gets. Because we’re all trained to respond to our own name, and this will draw your prospect’s eyes like a magnet.

Email Secret #2: Customize the first few lines of your email as much as possible

Many people preview emails by reading the first paragraph in Outlook, and the beginning better be short and have immediate value to your prospect.  Something like:

“Hi Barbara, Mike Brooks here with HMS software. I’ve got some ideas about your networking issues for your new office that’s opening in Houston next month. 

Again, keep it short, to their point, and provide immediate value.

Email Secret #3: Keep your email short and easy to read! 

Nothing will turn your prospect off more than long, information packed paragraphs.  Their eyes will glaze over! 

Break up your paragraphs into sentences if possible to make them easy to read and accessible. 

Just like I’m doing right now…

Email Secret #4:  Ask for a return response – whether they are interested or not. 

This is a great way to end your email and a good way to get a response. Simply thank them in advance for their consideration and that you’re looking forward to their response—either way—on this.

Email Secret #5: Promise to follow up by phone if they don’t respond. 

Let them know that you understand they are busy, and that you’ll follow up with a call in a day or two if you don’t hear back.

This really increases your response rate, and if you get a “not interested,” that’s okay! This prospect just disqualified themselves and saved you a lot of time and energy!

On the other hand, there will be others who don’t respond and they become your follow up leads…

These are the 5 secrets to emails work.

Take a few minutes right now to script out some of the outline of your emails and then fill in the details as you need to per prospect. And then watch your contact, response and success rate skyrocket!

If you or your team would like even more proven inside sales techniques, then consider signing up for our upcoming, online training program. See it here.


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

Three Ways to Get a Prospect to Respond

B2B Sales, Cold Calling, Email, Frontline Reps, Phone Sales, Sales Tips, Appointment Setting, Best Practices, Communication, E-mail, Prospecting, Qualifying, Sales Skills,

I received this question from a reader of my blog last week:

“Mike, I have a question for you.

“Being that people are more accessible with iPhones, text, laptops, computers, email, messenger, FB, Instagram to name a few, why are business owners/decision makers so hard to reach? It’s almost like they are hiding. They don’t even acknowledge anymore.

“How do you get them to respond? Back in the day, you left $1 stapled to your card and they called back.

“I look forward to your response.”

B.M.

This is a good question and many sales reps are wondering the same thing: With so many ways of being contacted, why is it harder to reach them?

The answer is simple: Prospects now have more ways of identifying sales reps they don’t want to speak with, and now have more ways of evading them.

Think of your own life: You get a text. What do you do? The answer is: It depends. If it’s of interest to you AND if it’s urgently important, then you respond. If not, then you wait. Sometimes for days or weeks…

It’s the same for your prospects. And if they get a communication from a sales rep, guess how long they are going to wait before responding?

So here are three things I do to reach prospects who are in the habit of hiding and evading:

#1: Because prospects are pitched all the time, and because the majority of them are not going to be a buyer (at this time) for my services, a way I get them to reach back out to me is by offering them a way out.

That’s right. While it seems counter intuitive, I’d rather know up front if I’m wasting my time or if this is a real prospect.

So I always include in my communications (voicemail, email, text) the following “out”:

“And so I know how to follow up appropriately, please let me know if this is something that isn’t of interest to you right now, or when would be a good time to reach you this week.”

That’s it.

And guess what? By including this sentence my communications, I not only get more responses, but I remove the “beg” in my pitch/follow up. Nobody likes hearing from a salesperson who has “commission breath” as a manager once told me. And this method not only allows prospects to disqualify themselves, but it also gets those interested buyers to respond back to me with a time to reach them.

#2: Make more calls without leaving a message. Speaking about prospects hiding behind emails, etc., sales reps hide behind them too. They send email after email or leave a couple of voice mails and then give up.

I take the opposite approach: I call. Relentlessly. For weeks. And I don’t leave a message.

Oh sure, I send emails also, and I leave voicemails once in a while, but in between, I’ll call five to seven times a week—at different times, different days—and hang up if I don’t reach someone.

This kind of persistence has paid off (and still pays off) Big Time. So be relentless—remember: “The harder you work, the luckier you’ll get.”

#3: Send a card—or 12. I’ve written in my book, Power Phone Scripts, about the success I’ve had using a greeting card campaign to send a personalized card every month for year. I’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars doing this.

Visit this link to try this service for free, and then do what other sales reps are too lazy to do: Send a card, every month, and you’ll reach the buyers you’re looking for.

And don’t forget: The beautiful thing about this system is you create the cards and then forget about them! All you have to do is add a name and address and press a button. Then your cards go out like clockwork.

Remember: You want to be in front of your prospects when priorities change, and when they need your product or service. Sending a card and being in front of them each month will ensure they think of YOU first…

So there you have it. Three sure fire ways of getting your prospects to respond to you. Follow them and watch your contacts—and your sales—go through the roof!


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

One Technique to Avoid Ghosting

B2B Sales, Appointment Setting, Closing Techniques, Frontline Reps, Phone Sales, Prospecting, Sales Tips, Sales Tools, Best Practices, Calender, Cold Calling, Effective, Presentations,  Qualifying, Sales Skills, scheduling, Scripts

We’ve all been through it: You set an amazing demo or presentation call and, and…they don’t show up!

Or, you have an amazing and, what you think is an, engaging demo call and you set a call back and, and…they don’t show up!

“What’s wrong?” you think. “Why didn’t I see that coming?”

Wouldn’t it be great if you had a surefire way to predict who was most likely to keep their appointments and who wasn’t? There is!

I’ve been using a technique for years now and teaching it to my clients, and I’d like to share it with you now. By using this technique, you’ll immediately be able to tell who is most cooperative, who is engaged, and who is willing to go out of their way (a little) to meet you half-way and set an appointment they are actually interested in attending.

The technique is that while setting the next call with your prospect, you direct them to open their calendar and look for a time that fits you both.

Now this may sound like a subtle distinction—and it is—but it makes a huge difference.

The way most sales reps set appointments now is to just ask when a day and time might be good for a prospect. If they get fancy, they do the alternative close: “Would Wednesday at 3 pm work, or is Thursday at 9 am better?”

That’s an old school technique that is taught to help keep control of the sales process, but it’s pretty worn out these days.

A better way is to test for engagement by seeing how cooperative a prospect is. And you do this by seeing if they are willing to open their calendar, look at their openings, and actually put you in it.

If they are willing to do that, I’ve found they are 70% more likely to show up for the appointment—or more likely to let you know if they need to reschedule.

And the opposite is also true: If someone isn’t willing to open their calendar, then it’s a Red Flag that warns of a prospect’s inherent uncooperativeness (and unreliability).

Here’s the script for how to do it right. While scheduling the call back, simply say:

“Okay, let’s get our next call on the calendar at a time that works best for both of us. I’ve got my calendar open here, can you go ahead and pull yours up for me?”

And then wait for them to do so.

Once they have, go ahead and agree to a day and time and simply say:

“I’ve gone ahead and put you in my calendar for Tuesday at 10:30 am EDT—have you got me in yours as well?”

It’s that simple. That extra step of confirmation makes all the difference in whether or not a prospect shows up.

As always, don’t take my word for it, try it yourself. But if you want to reduce the amount of ghosting you get, trust me, start using it today!


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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

Gatekeeper Best Practices

gatekeeper best practices, sales tips, sales presentation,

Last week I was contacted by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals and asked if I would share my best practices for dealing with the gatekeeper. Sure! I said.

In under 10 minutes they recorded a slide presentation, and I want to share that with all of you. Do pass this on to others in your company who also may have problems navigating past the gatekeeper.

You can view it here.

By taking the time to script out what you’ll learn and making a commitment to practicing this for a couple of days, you’ll instantly avoid 70% of the gatekeeper screening you’re currently getting now.

And I know that will make a huge difference in both your attitude and your results. So check it out now!


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

Join Our Next Training:

If your team is struggling with call reluctance and is tired of the endless rejection they face, then this live, interactive online B2B & B2C inside sales training is exactly what they need to get excited & confident about selling again! 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.

Who Should Attend?

Any sales 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