http://www.salescoachinglive.com/blog/category/prospecting/ Blog categories... http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/why-i-can-8217t-seem-to-make-that-first-cold-call-each-day/ The challenge of who shall I call today.

When reviewing the results of one of our recent Prospector’s Academies the other day, we experienced a vivid...]]> The challenge of who shall I call today.

When reviewing the results of one of our recent Prospector’s Academies the other day, we experienced a vivid reminder of one of the key lessons we provide to our customers.

Our latest Prospector’s Academy had spectacular results (pardon the self-congratulations…). At the end of 12 weeks, 24 sales professionals had increased the number of Initial Appointments they had set by the cold call by 600 percent! When you have that kind of success with a customer, you really have the luxury of looking at the details. When we did, we took a look at those that did not share in the success, at least early on when most of the others started to have success. After weeding out the few that just didn’t want to participate, we hit on what we thought was a common theme; lists.

Now we’ve addressed this issue before in this blog, and we address it all the time with the management teams of those we train. However, this time the way it surfaced actually made us see so obviously why so many people fail at the selling process of getting enough Initial Appointments.

There was this particular sales professional who was unfortunately forgotten when the lists were loaded and had no one to call in his first Call Block. When we talked to this person (after addressing his problem) we asked him why he didn’t just start calling those that he had been calling before the Academy began, after all, he wasn’t a brand new rep. He admitted he faced this situation every day. He had names on business cards, paper tablets, spreadsheets, scraps of paper and in his head. He said he was at a loss at where to begin because he had no way to keep track of where is was in the pursuit of any given target, let alone having a pre-determined set of ‘rules’ to follow in the pursuit. Now that he had learned a process to follow in the Academy, he didn’t know how to apply it to all of those that he had been approaching previously. In other words, he was suffering from paralysis of analysis. And, therein lies the lesson.

Many times, we are unable to get started because we’ve not made the time to create our list of who we wish to call today, because we no process to follow and no tool to keep us organized. Even if we know who we want to call today, we have to study each name on the list and think of where we are in the pursuit of that target, what have we’ve said to them before, and what should we say this time. We become overwhelmed and wind up doing nothing.

I can actually remember that feeling myself. I’d put the Call Block on my calendar, but when I got there, I’d open up my ACT!, or folders and floundered around looking for the first target to call instead of just picking up the phone and dialing the first number. I would wind up making follow-up calls and doing everything but what I had set out to do, all because I wasn’t prepared to start. Ever known anyone who is always, “Fixing to get started?” They never do quite get started, do they?

My good friend Sean Piket, founder of Sales Integrity, a company that provides sales consulting, outsourcing and training to small to mid-sized firms, likes to say that sales professionals fail for three reasons: 1) They are not prepared, 2) They are not organized, and 3) They are overwhelmed.

So, here’s the lesson. Ask yourself this question. What would be the impact on your business in 2012 if your sales team simply doubled the number of Initial Appointments they set in 2011? If the answer to that question is, “Significant”, then prepare them for battle in 2012 by addressing the three items Sean’s list. Don’t continue to operate under the mistaken assumption that it takes the same skills, tools and processes to get targets into the pipeline that it takes to get prospects through the pipeline. They are different. Provide them with the skills, tools and processes that will make them successful in 2012.

Otherwise, the best intentions of making the dials will never happen.
]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/why-i-can-8217t-seem-to-make-that-first-cold-call-each-day/ Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:16:58 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/six-times-more-initial-appointments-thru-cold-calling/ A case study of a 600% increase in appointments set in less than three months!

We just completed a Prospector’s Academy™ for one of our customers in ...]]> A case study of a 600% increase in appointments set in less than three months!

We just completed a Prospector’s Academy™ for one of our customers in which a team of 22 outside sales people increased their Initial Appointments set from 25 in the first two weeks of the Academy to 149 in weeks eleven and twelve.

I do submit to you that what they were doing before we ran the Academy was not very good, but it is not unusual. Many of our customers tell us that their sales team is spending all of their new business prospecting time responding to the few leads that come in door. The rest of their selling time is spent calling on existing customers trying to upsell and cross sell instead of finding new customers. It is not that they don’t want them to do that, but in all instances, these sales professionals also had responsibility for finding new customers as well as growing the installed base—and they weren’t doing a very good job of that at all.

If you’d like to read a case study on how they were able to accomplish that (and pay for the entire program within one buying cycle), send me an email at bcaponi@caponipg.com. Although a 600% increase may not be typical, 200% or more certainly is, and paying for our program within one buying cycle absolutely is.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/six-times-more-initial-appointments-thru-cold-calling/ Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:41:39 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/when-prospecting-here-8217s-how-to-rid-yourself-of-dry-spells/ Two metrics to manage your pipeline by to avoid experiencing another dry spell.

Almost all of us from time to time have a great month or quarter with...]]> Two metrics to manage your pipeline by to avoid experiencing another dry spell.

Almost all of us from time to time have a great month or quarter with great closing numbers followed by a miserable month or quarter with nothing to show for our efforts.

There is a way to reduce the risk of that occurrence.

First, answer the following questions and complete the tasks (estimate if you have to—but you should know these numbers):

1. How many Initial Appointments do you need to hit your required sales for the year?
2. How many discussions with decision makers do you need in order to generate those Initial Appointments?
3. How many times do you need to dial the phone in order to get the required number of discussions with the targets you’d like to meet with?
4. Divide that number by 220 (the typical number of selling days in the year) and you’ll have the number of dials you need to make each day.
5. How much time does it take to accomplish a step in the appointment making process? That includes figuring out who to call, what the status of the pursuit of that target is, determining what you’re going to say, dialing the phone number, saying what you want to (when successful getting through), sending email follow ups, leaving messages and recording the results.

If you don’t know, use six minutes as an average per dial. With Klpz (a tool I recommend), you can cut that in half.
6. Do the math—multiply the number of calls needed per day times the average time per call and you’ve got the number of minutes you’ll need each day to hit your number.

You will now have two key metrics to apply to keep a dry spell from occurring again. Here’s what they are and how to use them:

1. The first is the number of Initial Appointments you’ll need to hit your number this year. Divide that by 44 (the number of full selling weeks in a year) and you’ll know how many Initial Appointments that precede a buying cycle you should have on your calendar each week. If you don’t have that number at any point—you’ll know to make the time to get back on the phone and set some more appointments or you WILL have a dry spell again
2. The second metric is the time you’ll need to set aside each week/day to set those appointments. The best way to use this metric to avoid dry spells is to set appointments with yourself first each week to make the dials that are necessary to set the Initial Appointments needed.


(BTW, I’ve got a free tool to help you with this process of figuring out how to determine both of these metrics. If you’d a copy, click here to be taken to a page to send me a note to request one. I’ll send it to you.)]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/when-prospecting-here-8217s-how-to-rid-yourself-of-dry-spells/ Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:56:17 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/the-biggest-mistake-cold-callers-can-make/ Decision makers do communicate with their gatekeepers, you know.

I was at an event with other CEOs and business owners this past week. Most of the at...]]> Decision makers do communicate with their gatekeepers, you know.

I was at an event with other CEOs and business owners this past week. Most of the attendees know what my company does so they love to regale me with stories of sales professionals who attempt to get an appointment with them. It is a great way for me to hear the target’s side of what works and what doesn’t.

This past week the subject came up of a ‘technique’ a sales professional (and in this case, I use the term lightly) had used to try to set an appointment with him. He said his regular administrative assistant was on vacation so it worked—for a moment anyway.

This particular seller told the ‘gatekeeper’ that he had recently met the CEO at a conference and that her boss had asked him to call to set up an appointment. Now there was potentially a grain of truth in this story as the CEO told me that he was at the same event. However, he said he had never even met the person, let alone told him to call for an appointment.

The good news for our intrepid seller—he got through. He proceeded to attempt to set an appointment never mentioning the ruse he had employed to get through. The even better news was that the CEO had some interest in what he was selling. The best news of all was that he got the appointment.

Now for the bad news: About an hour later, the CEO calls his temporary administrative assistant and asked her to set up a conference room for him for this appointment as well as to ask one of his direct reports to attend as well. It is at this time that the administrative assistant innocently asked if this was for the guy who called saying they had met at the conference.

Want to know how the seller found out his appointment was cancelled? From his sales manager, who got the cancellation call directly from the CEO.

Wouldn’t you have loved to be a fly on the wall when this seller got the news from his sales manager?

If you’d like to read more about the impact of lying to gatekeepers to get through to the boss, read my blog entitled, “The impact of lying to get through on a cold call.”

http://coldcalling101.com/the-impact-of-lying-to-get-through-on-a-cold-call/]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/the-biggest-mistake-cold-callers-can-make/ Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:09:57 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/overcoming-the-sales-rut/ You thought things were moving along nicely, your pipeline of opportunities was filling up, you just closed a nice piece of business that you’ve been working on for 4 months and bam - what’s next? It happens to many of us. As you manage opportunities and build your prospective pipeline, in reality you are at the prospects beck and call. The mantra is, don’t call us, we’ll call you when we are ready. Their own priorities always come first and not yours.

If your pipeline isn’t full, you may be wondering how you can avoid and get out of that “sales rut”? In the age of social media there are more ways and opportunities to make yourself visible to your prospects and convey the value that you can offer. Let’s visit 3 ways we can circumvent the sales rut.

No sense of urgency

First, put yourself in the mind of your prospect: why would they delay moving forward to the fall? Ultimately, it’s because there’s no sense of urgency. They don’t see any reason why your product or service is a top priority for them, therefore, it can wait! Companies are very busy juggling 20 balls at once. If you’re lucky, you are one of those balls. The question becomes, how do you get your prospect to stop and see your ball as a bigger ball in the scheme of things. Remember, people buy based on perceived value. The greater the value, the greater their need to take action, and they will equate your value to the benefits of your solution. More benefits = greater value. Relate your benefits to their needs. Don’t ever lead with features because features don’t meet customer needs. The only way to heighten their sense of urgency is to show them the impact on their business of not implementing your solution.

Keep in touch strategy

The second point to consider when combating the summer time blues is to develop a keep in touch strategy. How do you keep in touch with your prospects and what value do you communicate to them? When you stay in touch, give them pertinent information that can be of benefit to their business. Do you have a newsletter; do you send industry articles on trends and information to be aware of? Do you post information on LinkedIn and Facebook? Do you belong to networking groups that give you the opportunity to share information about trends in your industry? The greater your activity level in communicating pertinent information, the better your chances of keeping an active dialog with prospects. After all, they want value from you.

Monitor the pulse

The third point is to monitor your pipeline pulse. When you look at your pipeline, what do you see? Can you see a snapshot of what opportunities will be closing in the next 30 to 60 days? If you segment your pipeline into A, B and C opportunities where A’s will close the soonest, you can then see the big picture as to when you might be hitting the blues. If you are going into June with 5 deals that are supposed to close in the next 2 months you have a great chance of avoiding the summer time blues. Having a combination of A, B and C opportunities moving forward is vital to a constant closing of new sales opportunities.

The best way to bust the Summertime blues is to:

• Demonstrate the benefits of your offering to create a sense of urgency
• Stay in touch in ways that matter to them = add value
• Pay attention to your pipeline – where are the holes and the opportunities
Anytime is a good time for selling, especially when you follow these three easy points.

Good selling!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/overcoming-the-sales-rut/ Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:58:06 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/new-books-are-now-available/
Here's the detail. The books, Contrary to Popular Belief, Cold Calling DOES Work! come in two volumes.

Volume I - Effectiveness, the ART of Appoinemtn Making
Volume II - Efficiency, the SCIENCE of Appointment Making

Both are now available for order through the following link. This link will also give you a good view into what is in each and if either one, or both, might benefit you and your challenges.

http://caponipg.com/books.php]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/new-books-are-now-available/ Sun, 03 Jul 2011 17:03:57 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/when-do-we-cross-the-line-when-asking-for-an-appointment/ Where do we draw the line between persistency and pest?

This past week, I answered a question on the LinkedIn Group, Best Practices for Telephone Pro...]]> Where do we draw the line between persistency and pest?

This past week, I answered a question on the LinkedIn Group, Best Practices for Telephone Prospecting/Cold Calling. (By the way, this is a very good group. Lots of good discussions.) The question I answered was, “When do you give up on a call?” What the questioner meant was, when is asking for the appointment one more time, too many? Here’s how I answered that.

I make up my mind of how aggressive to be with an individual target based on a few criteria:

1. How aggressive am I as a sales professional? How comfortable am I asking three, four or more times? (Two is the minimum because the first one is almost always a conditioned knee jerk reaction designed to get us off the phone with little thought given to whether the value proposition is of potential interest or not.)

2. How many targets do I have in my universe? The more I have, the less aggressive I have to be. Consequently, the fewer potential targets I have, the more aggressive I must be. As a matter of fact, if I have a relatively few targets to choose from, I will also research them more before calling to make sure I understand how to approach a particular company, or even, person. I can’t afford to miss these opportunities, so I’ll be more aggressive in my belief that I can be of service.

3. I also have a long term view of my prospecting, so I will always end (if I don’t get the appointment) by asking for permission to call back in the future. This will impact when I quit asking for the appointment this time, because I don’t want to burn the bridge to future attempts on this call.

4. As I’ve discussed in other blogs, we use a technique we call Bridge Questions™, to help us get into an open minded conversation after hearing a no. By doing so, we come across as very professional, non-confrontational, and knowledgeable. This actually allows us to ask for the appointment, at least, another couple of times without sounding pushy or too aggressive. It comes across as conversational.

Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/when-do-we-cross-the-line-when-asking-for-an-appointment/ Sat, 14 May 2011 17:30:48 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-to-cure-the-fear-of-cold-calling/ Why are we afraid to pick up the phone and cold call someone—and what can we do about it?

Remember the old TV show, Family Feud? And the audience sai...]]> Why are we afraid to pick up the phone and cold call someone—and what can we do about it?

Remember the old TV show, Family Feud? And the audience said, fear of public speaking! It’s probably one of the most commonly known facts in America: the number one fear of Americans is the fear of public speaking. The number two fear is death. But, here’s one that you might not know. The number three fear is death from public speaking. Just kidding, but thanks to my good friend, Sean Sturrock, for that bit of humor!

As a member of the National Speakers Association, I’ve heard many people talk about how one gets over the fear of public speaking. It all boils down to three simple things: preparation, process and practice.

Let’s take those one at a time and dissect them as they apply to cold calling. These same factors are at play here when we consider picking up the phone and ‘public speaking’ to just one stranger at a time.

1. Preparation. Toastmasters has an exercise that requires its members to get up in front of the group and speak extemporaneously for just one minute. That’s harder than one might imagine, as anyone who has been a member can attest. However, we all do it many times each day. Someone asks us a question, or we talk about the news of the day with our friends, family, and colleagues.

So, what’s the difference? In my opinion, it’s the stakes and the setting: the audience, the goal and topic. When we pick up the phone to call someone for an appointment, there is a very specific objective on the table—an appointment is at stake—not to mention our livelihood. We also know that this will most likely not be a friendly setting—at least at the beginning. So not only do we need to know what we’re going to say to start the conversation, but we’ll also need to be prepared to handle the common types of responses we receive. If we don’t, most of us feel foolish and embarrassed, even though the person can’t see us.


2. Process. When we deliver a speech, we know we have to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You might be familiar with the old adage of tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. An appointment making call also has a process.

There are actually twelve steps in the process of making an appointment setting call, and only one of them is actually placing the call. Many of us get lost in the process because we don’t even understand the entire process, let alone have the right tools to keep us efficiently organized and on pace. For instance, as we get ready to call a target that we’ve called before, and we can’t remember what we said to them last time, how many times we’ve called before, or just as importantly, what they said back to us, we will get a bit apprehensive. Why? Because we don’t want to sound foolish and unprofessional if the person we’re calling happens to remember those things.

Therefore, having a process to follow, and tools to keep track of the process will make us fear making calls.

3. Practice. How we deliver our message is far more important than what we actually say according to a UCLA study on effective communications. See blog called What are the key elements in effective communication - link is below. That’s not to say that what we say is not important at all. The key here, though, is for what we say to become so second nature that we can concentrate on how we deliver it, and on what our target says back to us.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but there is only one way to accomplish this: practice, practice, and then practice some more. Practice until it sounds more natural and conversational than the ‘wing it’ manner you’re using now. And here’s one more hint for you. Even the best public speakers will rehearse their opening lines to their speech right before walking on stage, so practice your opening out loud (or with a calling buddy—see blog called Five tips to help make that first call of the day) - see link below.

To be successful cold calling, one must be prepared, have a process and practice, practice, practice.

Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.

Link to first blog: http://coldcalling101.com/what-are-the-key-elements-in-effective-communication-as-they-apply-to-cold-calling/

Link to second blog: http://coldcalling101.com/five-tips-to-help-make-that-first-cold-call-of-the-day/]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-to-cure-the-fear-of-cold-calling/ Wed, 11 May 2011 14:03:06 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/why-don-t-ales-professionals-set-enough-initial-appointments/ Who should be making the appointment setting calls in your organization?

Is the sales force one that cannot, will not, or should not be setting appoi...]]> Who should be making the appointment setting calls in your organization?

Is the sales force one that cannot, will not, or should not be setting appointments their own appointments?

We are many times asked, “When should I outsource our appointment setting requirement for the outside sales team?” This question comes up when managers aren’t consistently seeing enough Initial Appointments being set by their sales team.

If we can answer the following question, we’ve got our answer. Is the reason enough appointments are not being set because the sales team cannot, will not, or should not be setting appointments? Now that I’ve settled that topic…just kidding. Let’s explore that a little more deeply.

Let’s look at the last qualifier first, because if the answer is no for that one, then the first two qualifiers are moot. “Should our outside sales team be setting their own appointments?” In a sales environment where the buying cycles are long and complex, the average sized sale is big, and the competitive landscape is tough, our sales professionals are usually very highly paid. In those situations, suggest we, at least, look at having someone else set appointments for them.

The reason for that is that setting our own appointments takes time, and a lower cost resource can set appointments. If I’ve got a team of highly qualified subject matter experts, for instance, who have heavy time commitments in the buying cycles to qualify, present, and close, it does beg the question. Perhaps we are better off letting those sales people concentrate on what only they can do, and hire someone else to set appointments for them.

The trade-offs here are how much subject matter training is required to make the appointment setters competent to set qualified appointments, can we deliver that training, and can we supply reasonably targeted lists. Those are questions you’ll have to answer yourself.

However, let’s assume for a moment that we’ve decided that our team should be setting their own appointments. The next question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are they failing because they cannot, or will not set their own appointments?” If they will not, perhaps it is because the task is arduous, too time consuming, and painful. If we have addressed those issues and they just won’t do it, we need to find those sales professionals something else to do.

If it is because they cannot (or we’re not sure if it still might be will not), we do have remedies for that. Four areas may be addressed to help them become more effective and efficient at this task. They are; better lists of targets to call, a better set of best practices (pre-set business rules for the process), a better set of tools to take the pain out of the process and make them more efficient, and better skills to handle the objections they encounter when attempting to set the appointment.

Do not fall into the trap of; if a sales professional knows how to close, they know how to set appointments. It is a totally different process, requiring a different set of skills, tools and processes. Too many, this is a surprise. So much so, that I dedicated an entire section to this topic in both of my books, Contrary to Popular Opinion, Cold Calling Does Work! Volume I: Effectiveness, the Art of Appointment Making, and Volume II: Efficiency, the Science of Appointment Making. You can also find some of that explanation in the blog entitled, The skills that are necessary in the pipeline phase of selling are not the same as those required in appointment setting Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

If you believe that your team needs to be setting some, if not all, of their own Initial Appointments, then make sure they’ve got the proper set of skills, tools and processes to make them both effective and efficient—or you’ll continue to struggle with an anemic pipeline.

Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/why-don-t-ales-professionals-set-enough-initial-appointments/ Wed, 04 May 2011 16:00:19 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/questions-that-customers-pay-attention-to/ Unfortunately this happens to many sales professionals yet only one will earn the customer’s business. While you may be asking good questions, you may not be asking the right questions. You want to ask the type of questions that make the customer take notice of who you are and what you have to offer. What makes them pay attention to you? What are the questions that get the customer to say “tell me more”?
Customers get bored when you ask the basic surface questions. These are the questions that you need to have answered to better understand the customer’s situation and so that your solution can be positioned to meet the customer’s needs. Customers already know their situation! Customers want to know what makes you different from the pack and how you can help them in a way that provides value that no one else can deliver. And remember, the last thing your prospects want on a first appointment is a presentation! This meeting is not about you and what you offer. It should be all about your customer and how you can help them meet/exceed their needs and achieve their goals and objectives. Customers want the conversation to be all about them. In other words let them talk – you should be listening!
So what are the questions you should ask? Think about it this way - customers engage best when they are asked specific & targeted questions that peak their interest and highlight the consequences of unsolved issues. There are 3 critical types of questions you need to ask to build momentum and insure that you get the next meeting.
1. What are the issues? To build the critical trusting relationship, you need to understand what’s really going on. Ask them, “What issues are you facing that most need to be resolved”? Do not start by asking what type of solution they are looking for or how much they will spend; instead aim to learn where they are experiencing pain? How bad is the pain and how long has it been going on? The best sales people dig deep when it comes to understanding customer issues.
2. What is the cause? Ask them, “How long have you been having this issue? Is it getting better or worse? Do you have any thoughts on why?” These probing questions will demonstrate that you are truly interested in understanding their situation to the fullest extent. In other words you are building credibility with the customer and showing them that you care. This approach takes the conversation to a better level of understanding and often they will even discover something they hadn’t seen before. Helping your customers understand the cause of their issue helps you understand which solutions to offer, when appropriate, and helps them to think through the situation.
3. What is the impact? Impact questions help to create a sense of urgency about the issue. Now that you more fully understand the problem and how it was caused, it’s time to talk about the possible impact on the business. Ask them, “How do you think this issue is having an impact on productivity, customer service, revenues or operating expenses? When you can help them understand the impact, they are one step closer to taking action in your direction.
Good selling is all about going below the surface by asking thoughtful, probing questions that help to uncover the key issues, the root causes, and finally the impact that their most painful issues can have on their business.
Prepare to ask questions that your customers will pay attention to and you will be much closer to building the kind of relationships that will lead to more closed sales.


Good selling!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/questions-that-customers-pay-attention-to/ Mon, 02 May 2011 16:20:16 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/popcorn-and-other-marketing-mistakes-in-a-changing-economy/
That was the title on the seminar brochure I received recently. As I survey some of the forces flowing through our e...]]>
That was the title on the seminar brochure I received recently. As I survey some of the forces flowing through our economy, and witness the way in which they effect my clients, I have to agree. The Information Age is certainly one of the most turbulent times business people have ever seen.

And the force causing the greatest turbulence is rapid, unrelenting change. Consider this. In 1900, the total amount of knowledge that mankind had was doubling about every 500 years. Today, it doubles about every two years. And the pace continues to increase. One futurist predicts that today's high school seniors will have to absorb more information in their final year alone than their grandparents did in their entire life.

At the same time that things are changing rapidly, competition is increasing in almost every industry. Foreign competitors have entered our markets, the wave of corporate downsizing has transformed thousands of displaced executives into reluctant entrepreneurs, and the knowledge explosion continues to evidence itself in new technologies that often provide radically different ways of accomplishing some task.

The result?

Burgeoning competition in almost every industry. I have yet to meet an executive who has said, "I have fewer competitors today than I did three years ago." Continually growing numbers of competitors seem to be a characteristic of our economy that we are going to have to live with for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, these forces of rapid change and growing competition have brought a cloud of confusion to CEOs and sales executives trying to grow their businesses.

One common response to this cloud of confusion is what I call "Popcorn." Imagine kernels of popcorn simmering in hot oil in the bottom of a popcorn popper. As the heat grows, one of the kernels explodes and rockets off against the side of the popper. A few moments later, another kernel explodes and shoots off in another direction. Before long, the canister is full of careening kernels bouncing in every direction.

That's my analogy to the way in which many businesses attempt to increase their sales when the temperature created by growing competition gets hot. As the heat of the situation grows, they know they have to do something. Then along comes a good idea and, pop, like a kernel of exploding popcorn, they lunge at the good idea.

The good idea can be anything. Maybe it's a media representative who suggests a new advertisement. That sounds like a good idea. So, "pop", off they go after that good idea. Or it could be a sales person suggesting that a computer program will solve their problems. That sounds like a good idea, so "pop," off they go after that good idea. Next is an advertising agency suggesting a new brochure. That also sounds good, and "pop," like kernels of corn exploding in every direction, they expend money and energy in short term "good ideas."

Like kernels of popcorn, they frantically chase lots of good ideas hoping that one will be the answer to the marketing problems. The problem is that these good ideas rarely have any relationship to one another. And, they generally present superficial solutions to problems which are often deeper. The company's time and energy is diverted toward these superficial "good ideas," and away from the deeper solutions.

For example, an advertisement in a trade journal may be a superficial solution for a company that does not have a system for identifying qualified prospects. And a new brochure may be a superficial response for an organization that doesn't have a feedback mechanism in place to adequately understand its customers.

The unfortunate consequences are often more pressure, more confusion, and more energy expended in the wrong places.

Is there a better way? Sure. A far more effective response is to create a powerful sales and marketing system. A sales and marketing system provides an interconnected, measurable set of processes and tools that ultimately result in increased sales. Where would McDonald's be today without a system to consistently produce hot hamburgers? Where would Toyota be if they had no system to design and build new automobiles? The keys to success for these businesses has been their ability to create and manage effective systems to accomplish their goals.

Sales and marketing can be treated in exactly the same way. The process of acquiring customers and then expanding the business with them can be systematized. If you're successful in creating a working system, you'll be investing your resources in the most effective way, and producing predictable, regular sales results.

Your sales and marketing system should start with a thorough understanding of the needs and interests of the prospects. Fold into that an honest awareness of the unique value your company brings to the market, and you have the beginning framework for your system. Your system should focus on the highest potential market segments, and develop segment-specific processes and tools to help you reach your market in the most cost-effective way.

When your system is designed, you'll also have a set of criteria in place to help you adequately assess the potential in such things as advertisements, brochures, computer programs, etc.

A well-designed system allows you to move out of the desperate reactive mode characterized by "Popcorn" and into a confident pro-active mode.

Here are seven questions to determine whether you're operating from the "Systems" perspective or the "Popcorn" mind set.

1. Do you have specific, realistic objectives for your sales and marketing efforts?

2. Have you precisely identified your highest potential market segments?

3. Have you identified the sequence of decisions that a typical prospect goes through to come to a decision to buy your product or service?

4. Have you identified the key activities and processes that must take place on a monthly basis in order for you to reach your sales objectives?

5. Do you have a monthly measurement of the quantity and quality of your key marketing activities?

6. Are you able to track exactly how much it costs to create a customer?

7. Do all of your marketing collateral (website, brochures, ads, etc.) directly support the purposes and processes of your system?

Obviously, a positive answer to those questions indicates that you have a well defined sales and marketing system in place. That means that you have gone from reactive to pro-active marketing, and that you're well on your way to regular, predictable sales. Negative answers mean that you have some work to do to bring your sales and marketing efforts into a proactive mode to allow you to successfully compete in the turbulent 21st Century.

Bring your business into the 21st Century by tapping into the wisdom at The Sales Resource Center. Visit http://www.davekahle.com for more information.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/popcorn-and-other-marketing-mistakes-in-a-changing-economy/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:39:40 +0000 Dave Kahle http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/pre-call-touch-a-creative-way-to-make-prospecting-appointments/
Here’s a situation. You have created a list of 20 highly qualified prospects. You’ve researched them, and you know that these 20 peo...]]>
Here’s a situation. You have created a list of 20 highly qualified prospects. You’ve researched them, and you know that these 20 people hold your prosperity in their hands. But they don’t know you, have never spoken to you, and aren’t inclined to drop everything and see you.

How do you get to see them?

You can do what everyone else does. Send them an email. Maybe leave a voice mail message. Then be really frustrated that no one calls back. Or, you can do something a bit different, and much more creative.

For those highly qualified prospects, think of using a “pre-call touch.” A pre-call touch is something you deliver to the prospect that says something about you, catches his attention, and makes it more likely that he/she will see you when you call.

Here are two examples of “pre-call touches” from my most recent book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

One of my clients was an advertising agency. They had identified 100 “right people” – the key people in their market and location who held the future of the advertising agency in their hands. They had accomplished the first step – identifying the right people – with excellence.

Now, the problem was to move those highly qualified prospects to interact with the agency. The experienced team knew that those key people with whom they needed to interact were busy and difficult people to see. They just wouldn’t respond to the normal channels. So, they came up with this very creative way of engaging with their prospects.

They sent each of the 100 prospects a box, about the size of a watch box. It was wrapped in brown paper and contained no return address. The name and address of the prospect was hand-written in a female hand. Inside the box was a sugar cube and a small piece of paper, like the size of a fortune cookie message, with the words, “Keep it sweet.”

That was it. Nothing else.

One week later, those same prospects were sent another box, wrapped and addressed in exactly the same fashion. This time, it contained a lemon with the message, “Don’t let it go sour.”

Again, nothing else in the box.

On the third week, yet another box, wrapped and packaged identically. This time, the box contained tinsel foil, like that which you use to decorate a Christmas tree. The message? “Make it sparkle.”

Once again, nothing else.

Week four and yet one more box arrived, identical to the others. This time there was only one thing inside - a business card from the advertising agency sales person, with a self-stick note stuck to it. On the note was the hand-written message, “I’ll call you tomorrow for an appointment.”

Of the 100 people who received that series of deliveries, every single one of them took the call and made the appointment. The advertising agency, when faced with the difficult task of engaging the prospect, had developed an effective and creative solution. They gained their prospect’s attention, they captured their interest, and they prompted them to take action – they took the phone call and made the appointment. In other words, they engaged the right people!

Here’s another example. This time, I was on the receiving end of a well done “pre-call touch.” I was busily typing away on my computer when the FedEx guy walked into my office, put a box down on my desk, and said, “sign here.” I did.

You know what you do when you get a personally addressed FedEx delivery -- stop everything and open the box. That’s what I did. Inside was a package of microwave popcorn. Underneath that was a plastic bottle of Diet Pepsi. Underneath that was a linen envelope with my name hand written in a female’s script. I opened the envelope. Inside was an invitation, personally written in the same script. It said, “Dave, We have researched your company, and concluded that yours is the kind of company who gains the most from our service. I’d like to invite you to take 30 minutes and watch a webinar as I introduce what we can do for you. Enjoy the popcorn and soda, and let me do all the work. I’ll call you this afternoon to confirm.”

I thought to myself, “Not bad. This probably cost them $30.00 to $40.00. They wouldn’t have invested that money and time in someone who was not a good prospect. I probably am right for them. I’ll take the call.”
This sales person could have sent me an email, and I would have deleted it unopened. She could have left me a voice mail message, and I would not have returned it. Instead, she chose to deliver something to me that got my attention and made it much more likely that I would accept her phone call.
Clearly, a “pre-call touch” isn’t for every situation, nor every prospect. For those high potential, qualified prospects, however, it can be the event that opens the door.

I don’t know what you can use as a “pre-call touch.” A little creative brainstorming on your part could develop just the right delivery. Don’t give in to the temptation to send a company brochure (yawn), or just a letter. Break out of the box and think about what you could deliver that would catch the prospect’s attention, say something about you, and make him more likely to take your call.

It can make all the difference.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/pre-call-touch-a-creative-way-to-make-prospecting-appointments/ Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:46:10 +0000 Dave Kahle http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-reasons-prospects-will-meet/ You call a prospect for the first time and ask to meet. Little do you realize that you are the 10th call they received that very day for the same reas...
Let’s explore 3 reasons that can make a difference when asking your prospect to say yes to an initial meeting.

1. Mutuality - it is so much easier to turn a cold call into a warm one when you have a mutual relationship. It’s naturally easier to start a conversation out with someone by saying “John my name is Stu Schlackman with Competitive Excellence and Jack Reynolds suggested I contact you in regards to….” The probability of John accepting the invitation to a meeting is much higher. After all, John might be letting down his friend if he didn’t agree to meet. It’s natural for people you know to help you - that’s what relationships are all about.

2. Commonality – though similar to mutuality, the difference here is that both you and your prospect might have something in common that reaches beyond that of a mutual contact. It can be an organization, a hobby, an interest in a business topic or friends whether business or social. One example our team experienced several years ago was getting with an executive at a large firm in North Dallas. We were trying to see if this person had anything in common with members of our team. Come to find out the person was in an article of a major magazine and it talked about his hobby of being a triathlete. Since I had completed several in the past, I called leading with the following statement and question “John my name is Stu Schlackman with ….. and I saw your article in …. magazine last month. Besides being interested in the issues you mentioned about IT technology priorities for this year, I was impressed to see that you too competed in the Capital of Texas Triathlon. I participated in the same one 2 years ago and wanted to see if you enjoyed the experience as much as I did”. What do you think happened then? You got it – we met and struck up a friendly and productive relationship. You can do this too – a little research will help you discover what you have in common.

3. Credibility - your reputation in the market is critical to your success and prospects value credibility. Having mutual contacts and being referred by them adds to your credibility. Having something in common like running a triathlon or receiving the same award from an organization also contributes to your reputation which increases the likelihood of getting the meeting. The goal is to connect with the prospect in a way that gets them to be open to who you are and the company you represent. Prospects also like to talk about their successes. Prospects are more likely to open up when you lead with their expertise in the market. The conversation can open in the following way. “John we understand that in the area of inventory control, you are one of the top experts in the industry. Our company has a practice in the very same area and we would enjoy the opportunity to visit with you to get your insight on the challenges the industry is facing. Would you have time next week to visit”? People enjoy sharing their knowledge. Notice that the objective of the meeting is to learn and build trust, NOT to sell.

Mutuality, commonality and credibility are excellent ways to make prospecting more warm than cold. Part of the reason that social media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are so successful is that they provide opportunities for warm introductions. They make it much easier to research and find out more about the people you want to meet.

As you create your sales plan for the new month, consider how you can utilize mutual relationships, your hobbies and interests to help you build credibility. You are certainly more likely to find a warm response!

Good prospecting!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-reasons-prospects-will-meet/ Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:20:52 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions-2/ http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions-2/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:10:28 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions/ http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:09:51 +0000 Barry D. Caponi