Tag: Sales Tips

Ghosted? Here’s what to do…

by mike

Ghosted—just the sound of this is chilling.

But when you’ve done a presentation and then don’t hear back from a prospect, it can often mean the kiss of death.

What to do?

Here are three things I do to avoid being ghosted:

#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”:

“{first name}, 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 for us to discuss this further.”

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. In my book, Power Phone Scripts, I’ve detailed 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 automatically without any other effort on your part!

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 avoiding being ghosted. 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?

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

5 Closing Questions You Need

by mike

Note to my readers: Because of my heavy client load, I am reducing my blog articles to bi-weekly starting today. Your next blog will arrive on Tuesday, August 17th.

Ever feel stalled during a close?

Wouldn’t it be convenient to have a list of 5 questions you could use to get your prospect talking, to get them to open up about how they’re feeling and what you might need to concentrate on?

Use the following questions to help open your prospect up and to get them to reveal where they really stand, and what you need to do to move closer to the sale:

#1 “I can tell that’s important to you; why does it mean so much?”

#2 “You know, I’ve given you a lot of information, do you mind if I ask you what you think so far?”

#3 “I understand that you need to (talk to someone, check on something, or any other stall), but let me ask you: Based on what we’ve gone over so far, what do YOU think?”

#4 “Let me see if I have this right.  You (restate what they said), right?  What would have to change for this to work for you then?”

#5 “If you had to make a decision right now, what would it be?”

And a bonus layering question:

#6 “And what would change that for you?”

If you found these questions helpful, then it’s time to write some of your own. Make them specific to your product or service and write them so you’d be comfortable asking them. 

If you’re a manager, this is a great exercise for a sales meeting.  You could do two: one for prospecting and one for the close.

If you found this article helpful, then you’ll love Mike’s eBook, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts” with over 130 pages of powerful and effective scripts to help you easily get past the gatekeeper, set appointments, overcome objections and close more money!

Happy Selling!

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

One Question to Determine Buyers

by mike

How would you like to have just one question that will almost always positively identify a buyer?

Believe it or not, there is such a question, and it’s an easy question, but very few sales reps have ever thought to ask it.

Or, if they do know what that question is, they are afraid to ask it.

Why? Because it also identifies who is not a buyer—and they don’t want to hear no….

Okay: here’s the question:

“When are you looking to make this decision?”

OR

“When are you looking to get (your product or service)?”

Yep! That’s it.

Buyers know when they are going to move, while shoppers don’t. Shoppers don’t have a timeline, and without a timeline, there is zero urgency.

Which means: you aren’t closing that deal anytime soon.

Regardless of your industry, you can ask this question and identify a buyer.

In fact, spend some time right now to work this, “And when are you looking to make this decision?” OR “And when are you looking to move on this?” into your list of qualifying questions.

And, by the way, this is also a great question to open a close with!

Try it this week and watch your number of sales go up—while the time you spend with unqualified, non-qualified buyers, go down!

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 Pitch Multiple Products

by mike

Rookie mistake: You’ve got several products or services you can offer a prospect, and you start by offering the first, or main one, then hear an opening for another one so pivot to that one, and describe another—and then another.

Result? Stalled sale. “Let me think about these and get back with you.”

Sound familiar?

Luckily, there is a best practice around this and it is:

Stick with your main product or service, close that deal first, then circle back around and pitch the ancillary product/service. You can use the intel you got from your initial pitch to open up the upsell.

Something like, “You know, {first name}, the last time we spoke, you mentioned you had trouble with your XYZ. We have other clients in your situation, and they found our…very helpful. Can I ask you how you’re handling….”

And off you go!

The dangers with offering too many choices are you’ll often talk past the close. Not only will the prospect be confused, but you will be, too. Once you get to the end of your presentation, your offer will be muddled, and that will make it difficult for your prospect to make a decision.

In addition, often times other products or services bump up the dollar amount, and this often slows down decision making as well.

Note: There are two exceptions to this:

  1. While this rule applies in a general way (80% of the time), there are times when you should pivot and offer something that is more in alignment with what your prospect needs/wants. I’m sure you know when this happens.
  2. When a prospect is totally in and buying anything you’re offering. At that time, load them up! They are in “the ether” as we used to call it and the old adage, “strike while the iron is hot” applies here.

Your best practice, however, is to secure the deal on the product or service you’re pitching, then circle around for the upsell.

Another note: The best time to do that is right after they buy—don’t wait too long, as they’ll cool off and want to “see how it goes.”

So, simplify your offer, make it easy for your prospect to say yes, then circle back around with any upsells using the intel you gathered during your pitch.

Happy selling!

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

This is the Secret of Sales

by mike

Imagine if there was a secret to successful selling.

Imagine if there was one concept, one rule you could learn and follow, and if you learned and applied this rule, then you would successfully be able to sell any product or service you chose to.

And not only would you be able to sell these products or services, but—if you learned and applied this secret—you would sell more than anyone in your company or in your industry.

In addition, you would also be able to sell more with less stress, less rejection, and sales would actually become, dare I say it?—easy.

As you know, selling and easy rather occur in the same sentence, but by learning and applying this secret, they will.

And here is the secret:

Sales is nothing more than a set of recurring selling situations that you encounter over and over again.

You get the same brush offs when prospecting, the same objections when closing, the same ghosting when following up.

Let me prove it to you: regardless of your product, service, or industry, do any of these selling situations sound familiar?

When prospecting, has a decision maker or influencer or office manager ever told you:

  • “Just email me some information.”
  • “We’re happy with who we’re using.”
  • “We aren’t interested.”
  • “I’ll have to check with my boss.”

And when closing a sale or presenting your product or service, how many times do you run into:

  • “That’s a bit more than we want to spend.”
  • “It’s just not the right time for us.”
  • “Let me think about it and get back to you.”
  • “I’m going to need to talk to the committee/boss/my partner, etc.”
  • “Can you email me more information?”

Now, I’ve never met many of you reading this right now, and I don’t know what you’re selling, but I’ll bet these cover 80% of the objections you get, right?

And that’s because selling is a set of recurring situations that contain the same objections, stalls, and you get them over and over again.

And therein lies the secret to successful selling:

Learn exactly what to say—in advance—of getting these recurring objections.

Now this may sound like a “duh!” moment but let me share another secret with you: 90% of sales reps don’t do this. Instead, they ad-lib, make things up, and use poor responses over and over again.

Poor responses that don’t work!

The answer?

Script out—in advance—two or three “best practice” responses to the recurring selling situations you get into all the time.

Practice, drill, rehearse these responses until they become your automatic way of responding.

Doing this will change your sales results, your day-to-day experience in selling, and ultimately your career and your life.

Your choice really comes down to: Struggle and underperform, or sell easily, confidently, and make more money than 90% of your competition.

If you choose the latter, then you can start with over 500 proven scripts you can adapt to fit all the selling situations you run into.

Get it here.

And start learning and practicing the secret to successful selling.

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

One Mistake to Avoid When Pitching

by mike

Here’s a mistake I hear over and over again when listening to sales reps pitching or presenting their services over the phone: when they hear a possible objection or something negative from their prospect, they go into pitch mode.

It’s as if they think they just need to tell the prospect more, or list endless benefits and that at some point the prospect will say, “Ah, yes! That’s what I needed to hear!”

Sadly, pitching more when you hear a possible negative is exactly the wrong thing to so.

The right thing?

Stop and begin asking questions. Get curious. Dive into the possible problem area and find out why it’s a problem. How much of a problem it is. And, most importantly, learn how to deal with it—that is, if it’s even something that can be overcome.

Here’s the thing: the average closing rate is two or three deals out of ten prospects pitched. That means seven people aren’t buying!

So, if you’re talking over or past objections, then you aren’t learning how to deal with them. You’re certainly not learning how to overcome them. Instead, you’re practicing poor sales skills over and over again.

And that’s not how to get better.

You’ve heard that saying: “Practice makes perfect?”

That’s totally wrong.

Practice only makes permanent.

If you’re practicing poor selling skills day in day out, you’ll get really good at being…well…being a poor sales person!

Quickest way to get better: next time you get an objection or negative response, stop. Ask questions. And ask yourself is this is one of the seven prospects who aren’t buying. Or is it one of the three who will buy?

And then ask yourself what you need to say to sell them. And you’ll only learn that by being curious and asking questions.

Not pitching…

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

Less is More in Sales

by mike

Sales people like to talk; if you don’t believe me, just listen to a recording of one of your reps (or of yourself!).

This is a problem.

And that’s because when your mouth is open, your ears are closed.

And when your ears are closed, you learn nothing about your prospect’s buying motives, their possible objections, or whether or not they are buying into your pitch.

The solution is simple:

  • Cut your pitch in half (or a quarter)
  • Learn to use current, non-salesy tie downs
  • Ask questions frequently of your prospect
  • Find and use the MUTE button to fully listen to their responses

Also, learn to use layering questions when you get answers you either don’t fully understand, or when you get an answer that makes you want to know more about their process, decision making, budget, etc.

Why do sales reps talk so much? Many reasons: nervousness, not wanting to hear no, lack of training, etc.,

What’s the solution? A good, tight, non-salesy script.

And not only a script—but one that you and your team adheres to.

A good script—and script playbook—changes companies and careers.

On the other hand, if you continue to ad-lib and make your pitch up, then you will continue to struggle, talk past the close, introduce objections, and, worse, keep talking…and talking…and talking.

In sales, less talking and more questioning and more listening is the key to success.

This week, look at the script your company gave you when you began working there.

Rewrite it.

Shorten it.

Intersperse it with tons of questions and tie-downs and opportunities to engage and learn more about your prospects.

Doing so will not only make your job easier, but it will make you more successful as well.

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

Qualifying: Before or After Your Presentation?

by mike

I was working with a new client this week, and I listened to a recording of their presentation and it went like this:

  1. Hello, how are you doing—brief rapport building
  2. Deep dive into their presentation—including features and benefits
  3. Qualifying to see what the client was most interested in.

How does this sound to you?

Is this the way your presentations go?

After we went through the call, I suggested it would be much more effective for the rep to know the client’s buying motives (his needs, wants, and wishes) before giving the presentation.

Here’s why:

  1. By knowing the buying motives before your pitch, you’ll be in a much better position to “speak to those buying motives” during your presentation.
  2. While tailoring your pitch to your prospect’s specific buying motives, you’ll also be able to stop after making a point, and, using tie-downs, check in to see how your presentation is going.
  3. Near the end of your presentation—right before discussing pricing—you’ll be able to use a trial close to see if your prospect is bought in. Something along the lines of: “So, based on what you’ve seen so far, does this sound like the solution you’ve been looking for?”

If you want to immediately improve your conversion rates, then make sure you understand—in advance—what your prospect’s buying motives (and potential objections) are.

Then, spend your presentation targeting those needs, and checking in often to see if you’re meeting them!

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 Be a Leader

by mike

A boss says, “Go!”

A leader says, “Let’s Go!”

This quote sums up my management philosophy: A leader isn’t afraid of jumping into the trenches and showing their team exactly how to succeed in their job.

In sales, this means leading by example.

When I became a sales manager, I was already the top producer in the office (and this is how many managers are promoted), and it was easy and natural for me to jump on the phone and take over a call.

I enjoyed it!

And over the years, I found that this was the best way to train my reps—by modeling the closing skills and behaviors I wanted them to learn and practice.

What’s interesting in my training these days is that there are a good number of sales managers who resist this idea. They tell me that now they’re in management, they don’t “get on the phones” anymore.

Or, they tell me that it’s the job of the sales rep to make the calls—not them.

That’s a serious error.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not suggesting you do their work for them (they’d become dependent on you if you did), but rather, it’s important to show them how it’s done.

If you take over a call they are struggling with or start a call they think will be difficult (and you record it), then you will be able to provide them with an example of the right way to handle that situation.

And they’ll learn how to do it right going forward.

In addition, by not shying away from picking up the phone, you will be viewed as a leader—rather than a boss.

And that means people will respect you and want to follow you.

And this is what a leader does.

There are many other reasons for getting on the phone as well:

  • You’ll keep your skills sharp.
  • You’ll get the wonderful feeling that comes from closing a sale.
  • You’ll earn the respect from your reps.
  • You’ll help the company, and your team, make their numbers.

And many more.

So, ask yourself: How often do you pick up the phone and show your team how to do it?

If the answer is, “I can’t remember,” or “That’s not my job,” I urge you to think again.

Get on the phones, make a sale, and start leading your team to greatness.

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

Would You Spend $10.99 to Double Your Income This Year?

by mike

Tricky title, I know, but there is a tool out there (many, in fact) that will enable you to do this.

And this particular one is called TapeACall Pro.

As the name suggests, this is a phone recording app for your iPhone. This one has the best features, including recording incoming calls—and calls you’re already on—and more. (And if you’re an Android user, there are comparable apps for you too.)

So how can a recording app help you double your income?

If you use it regularly, you’ll begin hearing where you need to improve, and you’ll be able to implement new skills and techniques that can dramatically affect your results.

I know, because this is how I tripled my income one year!

As a sales trainer, I use this almost exclusively to help sales team improve their skills and double their sales as well.

Now there is one down side to this: that you won’t do it. It’s a simple technique, yes, but it only works if you’re willing to work it.

It’s a sad truth, but the majority of sales reps simply won’t take the time to do it regularly. They think it’s a hassle, or they don’t want to disclose they are recording, or it takes too much time out of their busy days or lives, etc.

And that’s too bad. Because it is the easy, proven, and most inexpensive way for you to truly improve.

If you’re committed to getting better and making a lot more sales this year, then try it for a week or two. Invest $10.99 in yourself and see what you find.

The results might be career changing…

(Disclaimer: Many states require that you disclose you’re on a recorded line (check your state’s regulations and follow them!). It’s a simple thing to do. Just say, “This is _____ _______ with XYZ on a recorded line—can you hear me OK?” (or follow your company’s required wording).

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