One of the objections I always get from sales people who don’t want to use scripts is that they sound so, well, like scripts. I tell them that if they sound like they are reading them, sure, but if they internalize them and then deliver them naturally, then they don’t sound like scripts at all. […]
Call in leads can be tricky. Because reps often equate the implied interest of a call in to being “qualified,” they often skip some important steps. This can happen to all sales reps and even happened to me recently… A CEO called me the other day and wanted to know more about the kind of […]
Anyone who has to cold call as part of their sales career knows how hard it can be. Many sales reps cringe as they dial a number and wait for the receptionist to answer: “Who’s calling?” “Will he know what this call is regarding?” These and other questions create such call reluctance that it’s no […]
How do you handle it when a prospect asks you for a reference? Do you dutifully provide them with a list of clients they can call? And, if you do, how many of your prospects actually call those references? More importantly, do those prospects that call references ever close? In my experience when a prospect […]
Years ago when I first learned how to close sales over the phone, my manager got all the sales reps in the conference room and drew a big circle on the board and put a bull in the middle of it. Then he used his eraser to break the circle, in effect creating openings for […]
The stall, “I need to speak with someone” is as old as “The price is too high” objection. Despite it being around before all sales reps working today were born, most still have trouble overcoming it. You’d think that with all the good rebuttals and techniques that have been written for it they might have […]
If you’re selling one of the more popular products or services on the market (and who isn’t?), then you probably run into this blow off all the time. Like most brush offs, prospects like to use this because it works – unprepared reps usually respond with a feeble: “Oh, O.K, well, could I call you […]
Getting screened out by the receptionist or gatekeeper is still one of the biggest causes of phone aversion. Questions like, “Will he know who’s calling?” or “Will he know what this call is about?” or “Has she spoken to you before?” are enough to keep any inside sales rep up at night, and the sad […]
While the method of this stall has changed throughout the years: it went from, “Just put a brochure in the mail, and I’ll look at it,” to “Why don’t you fax something to me, and I’ll look it over,” to now it’s, “Just email me your information, and I’ll look it over,” unfortunately, it all […]
Sales is set of skills that anyone can learn. If you learn and then practice the right skills, then things will be easier for you, and you’ll have more success. But if you don’t learn and use the right skills, then you’ll tend to wing it and make it up as you go along. This […]
