My Mission: To Make Prospecting Easier For Salespeople
More than 80% of salespeople I work with are frustrated by having to cold call or dread the idea of prospecting to senior executives My mission with this Blog is simple (but not easy): I want to make it easier for you to prospect and create new customers.
The training world is full of gurus who claim to have the "secret to sales" or the next gimic in cold calling--the fact is, most of it is complete garbage. I even wonder if most of these "gurus" have actually ever had to prospect for new business.
In this Blog, you'll find the best resources for breaking in to key accounts and getting the attention of executives who seem impossible to reach. In short, you'll hear what I learned in the first 100,000 prospecting calls I made, along with the Voice Mail strategies that took me 25,000 messages to refine.
To sign up for a free email subscription to my Blog and have useful ideas delivered to your email, visit www.ovationsales.com
New Prospecting Ideas
Subscribe to our free Blog and receive something useful in your e-mail inbox for once! Learn how to use email as a prospecting tool and receive a 25% response rate from your voice mails. Discover easier ways to prospect for new business. Eliminate price objections and differentiate yourself. Capture people's attention during your presentations. Even reduce the length of your sales cycle by 50% or more.
Good Sites & Sales Resources
OvationSales.com
My web site. I have a lot of Blogs and Podcasts t more...0 points
E-Coach: FREE Prospecting Ideas
A weekly e-mail series with great ideas on prospec more...0 points
Telemasters
Tools for the Financial Services Industry. They a more...0 points
Sales Recruiting Tools From OMG
I often refer clients to them when they are having more...0 points
Best Resources For Finding Leads & Key People
A short list of free websites for researching comp more...0 points
Test Your Sales Process
11 key areas of consideration to make sure you hav more...0 points
The 7 Sins Of Prospecting
Oh, The Things We Say...
We've all had those moments during our prospecting calls when our brain stops working and we say things we never thought would come out of our mouth. This is just human nature. However, there are bigger mistakes most of us make without knowing it. Here are the top 7 mistakes that salespeople make during their prospecting calls.
- We Sound Like A Typical Salesperson
Salespeople like to focus on their own agenda, their company, and their products. The prospect doesn't care if "Our company specializes in ________ and offers products such as ________. The same is true when we say things like "I was just calling to introduce myself." Unless you're famous, the prospect probably won't be eagerly awaiting your introduction.
Ideas for improvement:
--Focus on them, their company, and their situation. Whenever possible, a great way to start the conversation is by saying, "I understand that you are focused on%u2026"
--Talk less about your products and more about how you can impact their problems and initiatives. - We Love To Wing It
Most salespeople put little thought into what they will say once the prospect answers the phone. A lot of them believe that they actually sound better if they wing it (they don't). Like George Harrison once said, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
Ideas for improvement:
--Use a script for the call. Anticipate what could happen in the call, and prepare a strategy for potential situations.
--Highlight or underline certain words or phrases in the script where you want to remember to change the inflection of your voice. This will help prevent you from sounding scripted. Then, memorize the script. - The Human Pez Dispenser
We all know we should listen more and talk less, but most salespeople tend to ramble on, usually about themselves and their products. They are eager to dole out a series of features and benefits like candy from a Pez dispenser, hoping that the prospect will bite on one.
Ideas for improvement:
--Focus on asking questions about them and their challenges, vs. talking about you and your products
--Remember that most prospects like brief, concise answers to their questions. For example, if you asked someone for the time, you wouldn't want them to also tell you how their watch was made. - We Set Off The Snooze Alarm
When you make a call to a new prospect, do you sound confident and passionate about what you do? Or are you boring to listen to? If you don't show belief in your product or service, the prospect will immediately think that something is wrong with it.
Ideas for improvement:
--Record your calls. It's painful to listen to your own voice, but you'll be surprised by what you hear. If you don't have a recorder, use your voice mail system to practice your script.
--Stand up when you make calls. Or at least sit up in your chair. Believe it or not, posture makes a difference. - The Purpose of the Call Is To Keep the Purpose of the Call the Purpose of the Call
Huh? Very simply, keep the call on track. The purpose of the call is the overall outcome you desire. If you are calling to set an appointment, don't talk in-depth about the product as if you are trying to sell it over the phone. If you are calling to close the sale and you receive a strong buying signal from a prospect, stop everything and ask for the order.
Ideas for improvement:
--Make sure you know the purpose of your call before picking up the phone. If you don't know, neither will the prospect.
--In Olympic terms, go for the gold. When thinking of your purpose, think big. The purpose of the call is NEVER to follow up on information, create interest, or even qualify the prospect-these are all means to an end. An overall purpose could be: gain the appointment, generate a quote, close the sale, get the signature on the contract, or deliver the demo. - I Was Just Kinda Wondering If It Might Be Possible...
We all use weak words more than we realize. This is due to lack of preparation and lack of confidence (the two usually go hand-in-hand). Remember-the quality of your product is only as good as the quality of your language.
Ideas for improvement:
--Listen for weak words you use in your calls and make a list of them. Then, replace each of these words with a better, more powerful word choice.
--It may be best to eliminate a weak word altogether and replace it with silence. Remember, silence is golden. - How Are You Doing? (or, How 'Ya Doin'?)
"Hello, Mr. Prospect, this is Joe Doe from XYZ Company. How are you today?" Most salespeople think that asking "how are you" will help build rapport. It doesn't. Instead, it makes us sound like a typical salesperson-or worse yet, the telemarketers who call us at home.
Ideas for improvement:
--Since you never know if you caught someone during a critical task, always ask them if they have a moment to talk. For example, "This is John Doe with XYZ Company. I know you weren't expecting my call. Do you have a minute to talk?" Most salespeople are afraid to ask this question, but you'll find that 95% of people will grant you time, and will also give you their undivided attention.
--If they respond by saying that they can't talk, ask for a better time to call them back. Then, make sure you follow up as promised, and you will create instant credibility.
Top 5 Ways To Reach Any Executive
The average salesperson spends more time trying to reach the right people than actually having conversations. Executives have created multiple barriers to protect their time. Here are 5 ways to gain access to people who seem impossible to reach
- It's All About Who You Know
The saying in Hollywood is: It's not what you know, but who you know. The same can be true in business. Instead of just focusing on 1 person in an account, identify 2, 3, or even 4 people who could be impacted by your product. For example, if you sell an IT solution that can cut costs, then don't just call the CIO or IT Director. The CFO and CEO could also have an interest. By targeting multiple people, you create leverage in the account and a sense of momentum--not to mention the fact that certain people won't want to feel left out. - Name Drop With Gatekeepers, Too
Try something new: the next time you talk to a gatekeeper, don't talk at all about your company or your products. The reality is: they've already heard your sales pitch a hundred times from your competitors. Instead, see if you can reference something you know about their company--perhaps a recent event or initiative. Best of all, mention other people in their company that you plan to call. Just like Hollywood producers, gatekeepers also care more about who you know that what you know. For example, the next time a gatekeeper asks why you are calling, say "I'm planning to call John Doe, your CxO, to talk about your company's recent initiative to __________ and I understand that Jane is also involved in this. Is she available?" - Make It Relevant and Timely
Do you want to know the biggest reason why executive don't accept sales calls, and gatekeepers won't put the calls though? It's not just because they are too busy (although they are quite busy). It's because your call isn't relevant to a critical issue or objective they are focused on right now. Before you call the executive, think about how you can relate to something they are focused on today. This may require you to do some research, or you could even ask his/her assistant. - Use Voice Mail The Correct Way
People constantly ask me if it's worth their time to leave voice mails. Here's my response to this question: yes... BUT only if you're prepared to leave a message that is relevant and timely. If you plan to wing it on the voice mail, don't waste your time. Most importantly, you should ALWAYS plan to name-drop in the voice mail (refer to point #1 in this article). For example: "Hi, this is Jake Atwood. I'm planning to call John Doe, your VP Sales, to discuss a few changes to how you recruit salespeople, and I understand that your HR group may also want to be involved in this process. Please call me at your earliest convenience." The purpose of this approach is to invite all the right people to be involved. It can also work well when you name drop other companies in their industry that you are working with. - Use E-Mail At The Right Time
First, forget about spamming a bunch of executives and expecting them to respond. However, e-mail is still an effective way to get their attention when you use it as a targeted message. For example, after leaving 2 voice mails I'll typically email the executive a message such as this: "John, I realize you're extremely busy and we haven't been able to connect. At this point, I'd like to ask for 1-2 minutes on the phone with you. If this sounds fair enough, please let me know the best time for us to talk." You'll notice that this email has nothing to do with my services--and that's why it works. I receive a 50% response rate from this e-mail.
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