Prospecting & Qualifying Archives | Page 4 of 9

The Proper Way to Handle a Call in Lead

December 21, 2015 by mike

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 training I offered. Before I gave him my menu of services, I did what I teach and asked him how he found me, what motivated him to reach out to me, what he was looking for, etc.

I listened carefully as he revealed, in a candid way, what was happening with his inside sales team and what he as hoping to accomplish.

After he was done, I went over how I could help him and carefully matched up my customized solutions to each of the points he brought up. After a pause, he told me he would think about it and reach back out to me.

Now, this is usually the time that I would qualify and close, but I was on vacation when this call took place and was more interested in getting back to the museum tour I was on than I was on closing the deal (I know, shame on me). But…

When I was back in the office the following Monday, I reached out to this prospect and picked right up where I left off.

Here are two ways of handling a call in lead (the first being what I should have done on the first call, and the second what I did on the next call the following Monday):

The proper way to handle the first call:

After first hearing your prospect out and then matching up your product or services to them, you should then begin qualifying and even closing using the following questions and statements:

“What is your timeline for getting this process started?”

[If “As soon as possible”]

“O.K. – Let me check my schedule: (or your delivery/install schedule, etc.), I see that I could have you on the calendar this coming Wednesday – does that work for you?”

AND

“How does what I’ve described sound to you?”

[If “Sounds good”]

“Great – are you ready to put me to work for you today?”

AND

“Who else have you looked at for this so far?”

[If “You’re the first” or “A couple of people”]

“How does our solution sound to you?”

[If “Sounds good”]

“Great – then let’s look at our calendars and pick a date to get started…”

AND

“If this sounds good to you, are you in a position to get started today?”

[If “I’ll have to run this by (whomever)”]

“I understand. Does what we’ve just gone over sound good to you so far?”

[If “Yes”]

“O.K. Then let’s go ahead and schedule a time to speak with (whomever they mentioned) and that way I’ll be able to answer their questions as well…”

Do you see how I’m moving the call to either a close or setting up the next step? At each phase I’m taking their pulse and directing and keeping control of the call.

If you missed asking these questions on the first call, then here’s how you handle the call back:

“Hi this is ________ and I just wanted to get back with you regarding our last call. Now I know you were interested in (your service or product), and I don’t know if you’ve spoken to other companies or where you are in the process….”

[Now hit mute and listen…]

AND

“Hi this is ________ and I wanted to get back with you regarding our last call. Now I know you were interested in (your service or product), and I wanted to know what your timeline for getting started with this is…”

[Now hit mute and listen…]
And

“Hi this is ________ and I wanted to get back with you regarding our last call. Now I know you were interested in (your service or product), and I wanted to know what other questions you might have are…”

[Now hit mute and listen…]

Based on what their answers are to the above questions, you can pick up where you left off last time and resume asking the questions from the first set listed above (direct and control the call towards the close).

Either way, just remember that when you receive a call in lead, you need to still qualify and close. And if you forget or get rushed off the phone, the key is to call back within a day or two. And when you do, take the call as far as you can using the scripts above.

Too Many Options? Narrow It Down to Get the Sale Now

November 25, 2015 by mike

If you sell a product or service with many add-on’s and options or choices, then it’s easy for your prospect to get overwhelmed and want to “think about it.” Many sales reps actually make it for harder for buyers to decide because they keep pitching (instead of closing) and so complicate the sale even further.

If you find that you’ve “talked past the close” as I like to say, then it might be time to un-complicate the sale and make it easy for your prospect or customer to buy something now, rather than putting the decision off.

Here are some ways you can do that. As usual, take some time to customize these to fit your product or service:

Option 1:

“Now _________ I may have made this harder on you than I should have. Let’s look at the basic package again, the (restate the easiest offer), and let me ask you: will this do most of the things you’re looking at this to do for you?”

Option 2:

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the choices and combinations, so let me make this easy for you: most people in your position go for our X package because they find it does everything they need it to do. And, of course, you can always upgrade later should you have the need.

So let’s do this….”

Option 3:

“I’m getting the feeling we’ve gone over too many options, and it would probably be easier for you if we just took half of these away. Which features don’t you feel you need?”

Option 4:

“I know it’s easy to go back and forth on some of these combinations, so let me ask you: is this a toss-up decision, or are you leaning towards one more than the other – and if so, which one is it?”

Option 5:

“__________, let’s step back here for a moment. You don’t have to get the package that has all the bells and whistles – unless you really want to, of course…. – so tell me, which one of these are you leaning towards?”

Option 6:

“You know, going through all the possible options and combinations could take you hours and hours. You don’t have to do that now. Instead, let’s break this down to your absolute essentials: which features can’t you live without?”

Options 7:

“If you had to pick one package/combination over another, which would it be?”

Option 8:

“With all of these options you’re going to get our (warranty, performance, delivery, etc.), so any package you pick is going to be fine for you. Tell me, what are you leaning towards right now?”

Option 9:

“__________, let’s make this simple and get you started with the basic package for now. That way you can see how this works for you, we can get into a relationship, and later, down the road, if you want to expand your coverage, you can. At least in the meantime you’re not missing out on these results….”

Option 10:

“Let do this: let’s take the premium package so you won’t have to worry later that you’re missing out on something you wish you had gotten in the beginning. With this package, you’ll get everything you need….”

Having these closes handy when you feel your prospect slipping away or having a hard time making a decision could very well save the sale for you.

“I Want to Think About It” – Ten New Ways to Handle it!

November 23, 2015 by mike

I know, we’ve already been through this objection, but sales reps always want more input on it so here it is:

The bottom line is that when someone says they want to think about it, it means they aren’t sold yet. And it could very easily mean that they aren’t sold on your solution, and they never will be because they have something else in mind.

Your job is to either get to that hidden objection and learn what you need to do to overcome it, or get your prospect to reveal why they aren’t going to go with your product or service.

And that’s why you must get your prospect talking. Now here is why this is so hard for sales people: They don’t want to ask because they don’t want to know! Most sales reps would just prefer to let the prospect “think about it” hoping they will somehow convince themselves and buy at some time in the future.

How often does that happen?

What usually happens is that the prospect then disappears at this point, never to be heard from again. And that’s why sales reps dread this objection.

But top producers know that getting their prospect talking at this point is crucial to find out one of two things (and both of these things is a successful outcome):

1) What the hidden objection really is, and so find a way of dealing and overcoming it, or:
2) What the reason is they aren’t going to move on it, and so be able to hang this up as a learning experience and use the lessons to qualify the next lead better.

Let me repeat – BOTH of these outcomes should be considered a success. The first because you’ll learn what you need to do to get a deal, and the second because you won’t start chasing an unqualified lead that will never buy, and you’ll learn how to not create another one in the future.

So the following ten rebuttals to “I want to think about it” are designed to get your prospect talking – and then you’ll be able to decide which category they go into…

[Note: I would be remiss if I didn’t emphasize again that you should have avoided this objection from coming up in the first place by asking this type of qualifying question during your initial call: “And if you like what we have to offer, what would be your timeframe for getting started?”]

Objection: “I want to think it over”

Option 1:

“I understand. Just out of curiosity:

• “Do you understand how the (explain the benefits of savings or making money here) work right?”
• “And do you understand what we mean when we say, (stress any warranties guarantees or customer service options) here, don’t you?”
• “Then while we’re on the phone together, what other questions do you have?”

[If None]

“Then just to clarify my thinking, what part of this do you need to think over?

Option 2:

“Are you going to be thinking over the (name two or three benefits) we spoke about today or about whether or not this solution is the right fit for you?”

Option 3:

“I know I’ve given you a lot to think about today, do you mind me asking what part of this you’d like to think over?”

Option 4:

“I understand, and I’m sure you’ve got other options to consider…do you mind if I ask how we’re stacking up to what you’re also looking at?”

Option 5:

“__________, it sounds like you’re probably considering other options as well – do you mind if I ask who else you’re looking into?”

Layer:

“And how do we stack up compared to them?”

Option 6:

“__________, besides yourself, who else would be weighing in on this?”

Option 7:

“I totally understand, many people I speak with want to consider all their options before making a decision. Tell me, who else is in the running for this?”

Option 8:

“That’s no problem. Level with me, if you would, what would be holding you back from saying yes right now?”

Layer:

“And is this even a realistic option for you?”

Option 9:

“And as you think about it right now, what would be the major reason for not moving forward with it?”

Option 10:

“I understand – not everyone I speak with is ready to move forward with it right away. Quick question:

“What would you need to see here for you to say yes to this?”

As you can see, all of these responses are geared to get your prospect to reveal what it’s going to take for you to get the sale – and some are also geared to get your prospect to reveal why they will never be a deal.

Again, either way you win.

How to Use Tie Downs to Build Momentum

November 16, 2015 by mike

I don’t know why tie downs aren’t used more by sales reps selling over the phone. They serve several crucial functions, including:

Getting confirmation that the point you just made was understood and accepted by your prospect. This is especially important when selling over the phone as you don’t have the physical clues that tell you how it’s going.

Using tie downs is also instrumental in building that all important yes momentum. If the prospect keeps agreeing with you, then you can feel confident at the end in asking for the sale.

Tie downs also give your prospect a chance to engage with you – when you use one, you actually have to wait for them to respond.

Using tie downs also gives you control over the flow of the call. Remember, whoever asks a question is in control.

There are many other value reasons for using tie downs, but let’s look at some of the most effective, and go over in what situations they work best:

#1: Whenever your prospect asks you a buying question (and any question a prospect asks you is a buying question), after you answer it you must use a tie-down. Examples:

If a prospect asks you how much something is, after you give them the price, you can use any of these tie downs:

“How does that price sound?”

“Is that what you were looking to spend today?”

“How does that compare with what you are paying now?”

“Is that within your budget?”

“That’s a great value today, and I’d take as many as I could at that price – how many should I ship you today?” (O.K., that’s a close, but I couldn’t help myself! Do you see how tie-downs can lead to a close :–)

If a prospect asks a question about a feature or a benefit, use any of the following:

“Do you see how that works?”

“Does that make sense?”

OR, better:

“How would you use that?”

“Do you understand how that works?”

“I think that’s a great benefit – how about you?”

If a prospect makes a statement that seems negative, use:

“How did you come to that?”

“Compared to what?”

“What do you mean exactly?”

“How does your current vendor handle that?”

#2 Use tie downs throughout your presentation. Most sales reps power through their presentations and use far too few tie downs or check-ins. And when they do, they are usually closed ended which lead their prospect to reveal little. Use these more open-ended tie downs to engage AND learn crucial buying motives:

“That’s how we drive the leads….now tell me about how you would get the most out of them?”

“That’s one of our biggest selling points….tell me: how would this impact how you’re currently doing things?”

“Do you see how this works?” – And then: “How might this work for you?”

“Are you with me there?” – And then: “What questions do you have?”

“That’s a nice feature, don’t you think?” – And then: “How would that work for you?”

“Is this sounding like it might work for you?” (O.K., there I go again! Do you see how after a few tie downs, it’s just natural for you to start closing?)
#3: General tie downs are useful at any point of your presentation. Customize from any of these to fit your product/service:

“What do you think of this so far?”

“Would this location work for you?”

“How many locations would this work for?”

“How many departments would want one of these as well?”

“That’s pretty special, isn’t it?”

“Do you see why this is so popular?”

“Tell me, would that fit into your budget?”

“Most people like this – how does it sound to you?”

“Will that work?”

“What else do you need to know?”

“What other area are you interested in?”

“Would that be a deal killer for you?”

“Would that be enough for you to move forward with this?”

“Tell me: how close are you to wanting to move forward with this?” (There I go once again!)

Let me reiterate that using tie down’s gives you the intel you don’t have because you can’t see your prospect’s reaction (because you’re selling over the phone). Therefore, it’s critical for you to begin using more of the above tie downs during every conversation. Remember, the more you can get your prospect talking, the more you’ll learn what it will take to close them…

How to Get Your Prospect Talking

October 26, 2015 by mike

Have you ever had a prospect who plays his feelings on your product or service “close to the vest”? Someone who simply won’t share much of their opinion one way or the other? Or should I say how many prospects do you have like that?

These days many prospects hide behind nebulous stalls like, “Let me think about it,” or “I’ll run this by the committee,” etc., and it’s often hard to know where they stand. And then it gets worse when you try to set an appointment to get back with them only to hear, “I’ll get back to you.”

If you’re struggling with prospects like this, then it’s time to learn some advanced closing skills that only the Top 5% are comfortable using: And that’s asking open ended questions and actually giving your prospect a chance to fully answer – negatively or positively. While this may sound easy to do, only the top, top pros know how to fully listen long enough for their prospect to tell them how they really feel. (HINT: they use their MUTE button!)

But to get your prospect to open up, you need some well-crafted scripts that you adapt and make your own so you can deliver them sincerely and not sound salesy. Take some time to review the choices below and do just that – make them your own:

Question One:

“You know ________, we all buy emotionally and go with our gut feelings. Share with me: What is your gut telling you is good about our solution, and what is it telling you isn’t so good?”

[Now hit MUTE and listen – same advice after each rebuttal]

Question Two:

“__________, I’m sure you’re weighing this purchase against some of our competition, so tell me, in what ways are we better than your next option, and in what ways are we weaker?”

Question Three:

“_________, you’ve probably heard of the old Ben Franklin way of making a decision haven’t you? (Wait for a response)

Ben would make a list of all the reasons to make a decision to move forward with something, and all the reasons not to. If the reasons were stronger to move forward, he would.

So tell me, what are the reasons, as you see them, for moving forward with this, and what are the reasons not to?”

Question Four:

“_________, I know there are other people who need to weigh in on the final decision on this, so tell me, if you had to put a wager on it, would you bet that there were more votes on moving forward on this or more votes against it?”

Layer:

“And why is that?”

Question Five:

“Now _________, I know you like what we have, and there are probably some things you don’t like. Tell me, if we could deliver more of what you DO like, what would that be?”

Layer:

“And if we could give you less of what you don’t like, what would that be?”

And then, “And why is that?”

Question Six:

“__________, some people love our solution and some people – believe it or no – hate it. Tell me, what do you LOVE about us, and what do you hate about this that is preventing you from moving forward right now?”

As you can see, these scripts are designed to get someone who is noncommittal to begin opening up and to tell you where they stand – both positively and negatively. Once you know where someone is emotionally and logically with your product or service, you’ll have the leverage to adjust your close and get closer to a sale.

Stop Pitching the Gatekeeper – and What to Do Instead

October 19, 2015 by mike

One of the biggest mistakes many inside sales reps make is pitching the gatekeeper. For some reason they feel compelled to pour their pitch on the first pair of ears they get, and, unfortunately, this usually gets them into trouble.

To start with, the gatekeeper is just that – someone whose job it is to screen salespeople from getting through to the decision maker. The worst thing you can do is immediately identify yourself as a salesperson by pitching them in hopes that they’ll be so moved by your pitch that they’ll want to put you through. Doesn’t happen. Instead, all you do is trigger their automatic response of, “Just email something, and I’ll forward it to my boss.” Or worse…

By identifying yourself as a salesperson, you’ll actually be making it easier for the gatekeeper to just blow you off with, “We’re not interested.” Think about it: They take sales calls like yours all day long, and after a while (like two days on the job), they’re as sick of getting phone calls as you are of making them. So leading with your pitch is the last thing you want to do.

Also, the reason you don’t want to pitch the gatekeeper is because they don’t care what you’re selling and they usually have zero say in whether to buy from you or not. Again, they are gatekeepers – not decision makers. Pitching them will mean nothing, and all it will do is annoy them and waste your time.

So, what to do? Your job, believe it or not, is to get past the gatekeeper with as little interrogation as possible (and with as little pitching as possible), and connect with the decision maker. That is the person you want to give your brief pitch to… So here are a copy of ways to avoid pitching the gatekeeper, and, instead, getting to the decision maker:

1) By now, you’ve already read about my “Please, please, please” technique. Some of you are already using it and isn’t it great? For those of you who missed it, it’s simple. To avoid 65% (or more) of any screening, simply open your call with:

“Hi, this is (your name) with (your company), could you please connect me with (DM’s name) please?”

That’s it. To read the whole technique, simply check out my blog here: https://mrinsidesales.com/insidesalestrainingblog/

2) If you don’t know the name of the person you’re looking for, simply say:

“Hi, this is (your name) with (your company) and I need a little bit of help please.”

After they ask how they can help you, you say, “I’m looking for the person who handles X – who would that be please?”

That’s it. No pitching, no pleading to be put through, instead you’re simply asking for their help and then directing them to put you through. If you ask this in a polite way, you’ll get through 65% of the time.

3) Now here comes the tricky part: In some cases, the gatekeeper has a little more authority, like an office manager, or executive assistant, etc. In this case it’s O.K. to deliver your opening value statement – just so they know what it’s about – but then it’s highly important to try to get through to the decision maker as soon as possible. Here are a few ways to do that:

The best way is to quickly qualify for decision maker status. As soon as you ask if they make the decision on what you’re selling, and are told that someone else makes the decision, that is your cue to ask to be put through to the actual DM. Try:

“Oh, I see, tell you what: If you’d put me through to (boss) briefly, I’ll explain what this is about and if he (or she) is interested in learning more, I can make an appointment that fits his/her schedule. I’ll be happy to hold on while you connect me…”

“It sounds like the best thing to do before I send something is to have just a few words with (DM), and that way I can save us both a lot of time depending on their level of interest. Could you please let (DM) know I’m holding please?”

“Before I bother you with emails and then follow up calls, why don’t you put me in touch with your (boss) briefly, and I’ll see if there’s an interest on his/her side. If so, I’ll take the appropriate action, if not, we’ll save us all a lot of time. Could you let (the boss) know I’m holding, please?”

4) Sometimes the gatekeeper or office manager will want a little more information on what it is you’re offering, and in this case it’s O.K. to give them more details, but just make sure that you qualify for their role in the decision process and that you ask for the best way to connect with the other decisions makers if possible. Sample questions include:

“And beside yourself, who makes the decision on this?”

Layer with:

“Great, can I connect briefly with them to make sure this is something they’d like to know more about?”

“If this is something you like, how much influence do you have in the decision process?”

If they tell you their boss would make the final decision, then layer with:

“I understand completely. Tell you what, so we don’t waste your time or his/hers, let me have a brief word with them, and I’ll see if this is something they even want to learn more about. I’ll be happy to hold on…”

If you’re then told they aren’t available, try to get their name or direct email address or extension, and when you call back if the assistant isn’t available, ask for the DM directly.

The major lesson here is that you must resist the temptation to pitch the gatekeeper, or to give too much of your pitch to the assistant if they aren’t the final DM. Give just enough to qualify for interest, and then try to get through to the actual DM. This will save you a lot of time and headache later on.

15 Ways to Handle the Competition Objection

October 1, 2015 by mike

We all face competition. There is always someone who can do it cheaper, or faster, or better (at least in the mind of your prospect). Because of this, prospects – and even customers – are constantly on the search for a better deal. Knowing how to handle the competition objection effectively can mean the difference between winning the sale or suffering that sinking feeling of having lost the business to someone else.

There are several times you can handle the competition objection, but surprisingly most sales reps wait until it comes up at the end of their closing presentation. This is the worse time to handle it because you have already given your pricing and options and sometimes even your best deal. While you may have to handle the objection of competition during the close – and I’ll give you some scripting to do just that later in this article – the best time to handle it is in the beginning, while qualifying. Here are some ways you can do that:

Qualifying for competition:

Option #1:
“_________, let’s talk a little bit about who else you’re looking at for this – who’s top of your list right now?”

If you’re uncomfortable bringing up potential competition, let me assure you of two things: One, if they are shopping you, they are most likely shopping others, so don’t be surprised, and Two, trust me, it’s better to know in advance who you’re up against so you can position yourself to win the business during the close. And always ask this in an assumptive way…

Option #2:
“How many companies are you getting quotes on for this?”

Once again, don’t worry about introducing the concept of getting quotes, if they are going to do this (and most are), it’s better to get an idea of it now. If they tell you they are getting three quotes (doesn’t matter how many), layer this with: “And who have you liked so far?” Again, be assumptive with this.

Option #3:
“_________, how does your current supplier fit into all this?”

This is a nice opened ended, assumptive way to get your prospect to reveal why they might be moving away from their current vendor – or why they might still be considering using them. A great way to layer this is to ask:

Option #4:
“And if you find that we can give you a better deal than you’re getting right now, what will you do next?”

Obviously you want them to reveal that they’ll take it back to their current vendor to get them to lower their price, and this is what you want to know in advance. Asking this question in an opened ended way like this often gets them to tell you this. You can also ask this in a more direct way:

Option #5:
“________, if we can show you how we can take care of what you’re doing now, and do so for less than you’re paying your current vendor, what will prevent you from taking it back to them and getting them to just drop their price to keep your business?”

Listen carefully to not only what your prospect says here, but how they say it. If they hesitate or if their voice goes up or wavers a bit, then you’re in trouble. You can also handle it this way:

Option #6:
“Now _________, after we do our analysis, I’m pretty convinced that we’ll be able to save you money just like we do our other clients. But ________, I have a concern and I need you to level with me: Sometimes we go through this work to find these savings, and after we do, some companies use them to get their current vendor to lower their prices. Do you see what I mean?”

[Wait for response]

“So I’m happy to do the work for you and show you some savings, but let me ask you: what is the chance that you’ll take these back to your current vendor and do the same?”

“Let me ask you: if we can also show you savings, what would prevent you from doing the same?”

Option #7:
“________, what is going to be the deciding factor on who wins your business on this?”

And if it’s price, then layer with:

“O.K., then after you get all the quotes, will you at least let me compete against the lowest quote to see if I can do better?”

Handling competition during the close: If after you’ve presented your product or service your prospect says they want or need to check on other offers/estimates/quotes, then use the questions below to get your prospect to open up and possibly reveal what it might take for you to win the business:

Option #1:
“I understand, which way are you leaning right now?”

Option #2:
“What would it take for someone else to win your business?”

Option #3:
“What would it honestly take for you to choose us for this?”

Option #4:
“What don’t you see with our proposal that you see in others?”

Option #5:
“Are we in the running with what else you’ve seen out there?”

[If yes]

“What about us would take us out of the running?”

“What would you need to see to choose using us?”

AND

“What can I do right now to insure that we win your business?”

Option #6:
“Obviously you’re going to show this quote to your current vendor – if they match the price, will you just stick with them?”

[If yes]

“What can I do to prevent that?”

Option #7:
“How many times have you taken other quotes to your current vendor?”

[If they tell you]:

“And what do they usually do?”

[If they say they lower their price to keep the business]:

“How can we break that cycle and get you the right pricing from the start?”

Option #8:
“_________, let’s take your lowest bid right now and compare it – services to services – to what we’re offing you. If I find you’re getting a better deal, I’ll tell you so. If I can beat it, then I’ll let you know that as well. Either way – You’ll Win! Do you have that other quote nearby?”

Remember, competition will always exist, but you can beat it and win business if you’re prepared with proven and effective scripts like those above. Pick your favorite ones and tailor them to your particular sale.

Seven Things to Say when Prospects Don’t Have the Time for Your Presentation

September 22, 2015 by mike

We’ve all been there – you call your prospect back at the appointed time for your presentation and they tell you any of the following:

This isn’t a good time, OR
They only have a few minutes, OR
They ask you in an exasperated tone, “How long will this take?” OR
They tell you they have a meeting in 10 minutes, can you give them the information anyway?
Or any other put off that will cut short the 30 minute comprehensive presentation you had planned.

Most sales reps respond to these objection-like receptions by asking if they would prefer to set another time. That response might be appropriate with the first put off – the “This isn’t a good time,” – but with any of the others, I have a better technique for you.

Let’s start at the beginning. First, when you get this kind of response from a prospect you qualified a week or so ago, don’t be surprised! Face it: it’s a law in all sales – Leads Never Get Better! If you sent out the hottest lead ever, a “10” on a scale of 1 – 10, then when you call them back, have you ever noticed that now they’re about a “7”?

And of course since most sales reps don’t qualify thoroughly enough, most of the leads they stuff into their pipeline are made up of sixes and sevens. And you can imagine how they are when reps reach them. So expect that your leads are going to drop in interest and receptiveness when you call them back, and then be prepared with a best practice approach to handling them. Here’s what to do:

Whenever a prospect responds to your call to do a presentation with one of the responses above – the “How long will this take?” – kind of response, don’t offer to call them back later, rather, get them to reveal their true level of interest to you and get them to tell you exactly how to pitch them to get the deal. Here are a number of statements you can use to do just that:

Responses:

“Sure, I can take as long or little as you need. Let’s do this: why don’t you tell me the top three things you were hoping to learn about this, and I’ll drill right down and cover those areas for you. What’s number one for you?”

“Absolutely, we can do this pretty quickly. Tell me, what would you like to know most about how this might work in your environment?”

“I understand, sounds like I caught you at a bad time. Let’s do this: If you needed to see or learn just one thing about this to determine if it might actually work for you, what would that be?”

“No problem. Our presentation is pretty in depth, but I can do this. Go ahead and tell me two things that are absolute deal breakers for you, and I’ll see if we pass the test. And then if we do, we’ll schedule some more time later to go into detail on how the rest works, fair enough?”

“In ten minutes, I can show you some things that will help you determine whether or not you’d like to spend more time with me later. In the meantime, let me ask you – what would you need to see the most to say yes to this?”

“I understand, we’re all busy. Let me just ask you: has anything changed from when we last spoke?” (Now REALLY listen…)

“Tell you what: let’s reschedule something for later when you have more time, but in the ten minutes we do have, let me ask you some questions to determine whether this would still be a good fit for you…” (Now thoroughly re-qualify your prospect)

As you can see, the responses above are all aimed at getting your prospect to reveal to you both their level of interest and what it is going to take to sell them – or whether or not they are still a good prospect for you. Have some fun with these; customize them to fit your personality or the personality of the person you’re speaking with. Find your favorites and then, as always, practice, drill and rehearse until they become your automatic response when your prospect tells you they don’t have time for your presentation.

If the Prospect Only takes Emails, What to Do?

September 14, 2015 by mike

I received an email from a reader who said that he sometimes gets the objection from the gatekeeper of, “I am sorry but he/she does not take outside calls, he/she only responds to emails.” He asked if there is a way to get around this, and my answer is: sometimes. Let’s start at the beginning:

First of all, my question to the sales rep who sent me this email would be, “How did the gatekeeper know you were an “outside” call,” rather than a client, prospect or friend?” The first thing a sales rep needs to do when prospecting is to use the please, please, please technique that I’ve written about earlier and to be as assumptive, yet polite, as possible. This generally eliminates 60 – 85% of the screening you’re likely to get.

If you still get the screening of, “What’s this call in regards to,” once again, you need to use the assumptive, directive approach I teach, combined with a please at the end. Something like, “Yes, please tell her it’s about her lead processing, and I’ll be happy to hold please.” This will work in most instances. Once again, you must use the openings as I recommend them to avoid the screening that occurs naturally.

If you have used both of these openings and still get the objection, “She only responds to email,” then you can try the following statements which may sometimes work:

“I have emailed in the past, and I think they may be getting stuck in her spam folder. Could you please tell her I need just a minute to confirm this please?”

“I’d love to email her my information, but I’m not sure which brochure to send. Would you mind if I had just a 2 minute conversation to see what would be appropriate, please?”

“And how do I reach her if I don’t hear back from my email?”

“I understand, but this is important, could I speak with her supervisor, please?”

“I understand she may be busy, who is her manager, please?” Then: “Could you please connect me with ________ please?”

“I know what that’s like, we have a similar policy here as well. But after three email attempts, the caller is to be put through. Could you tell her I’m holding, please?”

“Question for you: if I haven’t heard back from my previous emails, how would you recommend I reach her?”

“If I end up not being able to reach her, who can you connect me to?”

“My email is down right now, do you might putting me through for a quick question?”

“Could I speak to your supervisor, please?”

“What happened the last time you put someone through to her?”

“I’m not allowed to email anyone I don’t already have in my data base. Do you mind letting her know I’m holding, please?”

“Who can you put me through to?”

“Could I have customer service, please?” (And then just go through them to be put through to your prospect)

“What would you recommend is the best way to reach her by phone?”

“No problem, for next time, what is her extension, please?”

These are a variety of responses you can use to get past the gatekeeper and on to your decision maker. Pick the ones that work best for your sale and your personality. If you find that you absolutely cannot get through, then try reaching out to your prospect through LinkedIn or other social media.

If you exhaust all of the above and still find you can’t get through to a prospect, then consider them disqualified for your product or service and move on. There are plenty of other deals waiting your call…

The Importance of Confirming Your Answers

August 28, 2015 by mike

Let me give you a quick, easy to use, technique that will make your closes shorter and more effective. The technique is to confirm your answers to any buying question – or any objection – that you get. The importance of this came up for me while I was listening to a series of phone calls during which a sales rep was conducting a demo of a product. When the prospect asked the price, the rep gave it to him, but then he just kept talking to justify it!

It went something like this:

Prospect: “So how much does this cost?”

Closer: “The price for set up in your location is just $700, and then the monthly fee is just $125 per month. Of course we do a lot for you for that set up fee. It takes our tech staff blah, blah, blah… And also, that monthly fee covers blah, blah, blah. In addition, we also blah, blah, blah… And another feature with this is blah, blah, blah, blah…”

What happened on this call is that the closer, in his attempt to justify the price, actually introduced a question which turned into an objection and that led to this sale being stalled. And that’s the big danger whenever you begin talking past the close.

What the rep should have done is use a confirmation statement to see how the price fits for the prospect. Something like this:

Prospect: “So how much does this cost?”

Closer: “The price for set up in your location is just $700, and then the monthly fee is just $125 per month. Does that work within your budget?”

If building more value was required, then he could have gone into a brief explanation of that, but after that, he would still have to confirm his answer (which he and most other closers rarely do).

To take this further, if the prospect then said that it did fit within his budget, the next question would have been:

“And do you think this will work in your company?”

If the answer to that question was yes, then:

“Great! Then let me show you how to get started…”

This way, the close could have happened long before the rep talked past the sale.

This idea of confirming your answer is crucial not just when you answer a question, but also when you answer an objection as well. For example, after you answer a price objection, or objection about availability or any other objection, the thing to do is confirm your answer. Use any of the following:

“Did I answer that for you?”

“Is that more clear now?”

“Does that make sense to you?”

“Do you see why we charge for that now?”

Etc.

And after you do, if you get a yes or get buy in, then you ask for the order! Use, “Great, then let me show you how easy it is for you to get started with this…”

If the prospect then has another question or objection, you answer that as well, confirm your answer and ask for the order, over and over again.

The point here is that if you confirm your answer, you then get to ask for the order. If you don’t, and you’re talking or pitching after you answer a question, then chances are, you’ll talking past the close. And why would you want to do that?