Does your business card say who you are, what you do, and MOST IMPORTANTLY how you can be reached?
I got asked to present my upcoming book "Influential Sales: Achieve Selling Supremacy in the New Economy" to a business association yesterday. I really like the President who invited me, and even though I knew it would make for a long week, I agreed to present.
I had a great time, and the energy level in the room was outstanding! There was a lot of positive energy that allowed for a great networking atmosphere.
I gave my presentation, the people were really appreciative and departed with a bunch of new tools to use in their businesses.
This morning, I am writing "Thank You" emails to the group to show my appreciation, and that's when it hit me. Most people's business cards suck! One of the aspects that I love about a card is that it should show not only who you are, where you work and what you do... but the MOST IMPORTANT part is how people can get a hold of you! In this Web 2.0 world, why would you put a card together that isn't complete? And by "how people can get a hold of you" I am talking not only about phone numbers (Work/Cell), but the all important email address. Also, if I've got to search your card to find this information your prospect won't take the time! I am very curious... Your prospect won't be! Spell it out clearly/concisely for them, and for gosh sakes make it EASY!!!
So here's a tip, look at your card right now... Can you see who you are, where you work, what you do and how people can get a hold of you (Phone/Email/Skype/Twitter...)? If so, great job. If not, throw out your business cards and design new ones!
Sam Palazzolo, MBA, CPLP, RODP
Pathos Leadership Group
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Business Coaching: Which of These Business Mistakes Did You Make in the First Half of 2009?
If you’re like most of the business owners I worked with in my business coaching practice, the “New Economy” has allow you to make some mistakes during the first half of 2009. As we make the “turn” into the second half it’s important to reflect on those mistakes. This way, we won’t make them again in the second half of 2009! Here then, are the Top 12 Mistakes I’ve seen business owners make so far this year:
1. You said “Yes” When You Should Have Said “No”
There you were plugging along in your business in the first quarter, making the most of the action items you had on your agenda for the year. You’re cutting through them like a warm knife goes through butter! Then the phone rings… It’s one of your favorite clients calling to ask you a favor. It’s in the following moments where you will determine whether or not to stay the course for the year, or whether you will you will entertain reaching outside of your primary business to help. Granted, the new economy has caused us to rethink our revenue streams, and unfortunately entertain new business ventures that previously wouldn’t have been considered. In our new book “Influential Sales” we discuss how it is that you should stay within the primary boundaries of your service offerings. While it may seem to be a great idea to go outside of those boundaries in order to secure additional revenue, more times than not that strategy will backfire. So what should you do when you are offered such an opportunity? Should you really say “No”? E-mail us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and we’ll send you the way to say “Yes” through and “No”!
There you were plugging along in your business in the first quarter, making the most of the action items you had on your agenda for the year. You’re cutting through them like a warm knife goes through butter! Then the phone rings… It’s one of your favorite clients calling to ask you a favor. It’s in the following moments where you will determine whether or not to stay the course for the year, or whether you will you will entertain reaching outside of your primary business to help. Granted, the new economy has caused us to rethink our revenue streams, and unfortunately entertain new business ventures that previously wouldn’t have been considered. In our new book “Influential Sales” we discuss how it is that you should stay within the primary boundaries of your service offerings. While it may seem to be a great idea to go outside of those boundaries in order to secure additional revenue, more times than not that strategy will backfire. So what should you do when you are offered such an opportunity? Should you really say “No”? E-mail us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and we’ll send you the way to say “Yes” through and “No”!
2. You’re Not Marketing on the Internet
It’s official, the Internet is here to stay! I find it hard to believe the number of businesses that believe that they do not need to have a presence on the Internet superhighway. Do they need a special invitation from Al Gore himself? What’s worse is that I continue to see people who do not utilize a website for their marketing or advertising purposes. Your 24 X7 marketing billboard should be firmly in place for the world to see, no note from Al required!
It’s official, the Internet is here to stay! I find it hard to believe the number of businesses that believe that they do not need to have a presence on the Internet superhighway. Do they need a special invitation from Al Gore himself? What’s worse is that I continue to see people who do not utilize a website for their marketing or advertising purposes. Your 24 X7 marketing billboard should be firmly in place for the world to see, no note from Al required!
3. Social Media is Not in your Arsenal
There are so many options to connect right now online for free, from Facebook to LinkedIn to Twitter to MySpace to YouNameIt the opportunities to connect have never been greater or easier than they are right now. Each of these spaces should be utilized not only to tally your message, but to leverage your business. If you’re pre-teenage son, daughter or neighbor can do it, why aren’t you?
There are so many options to connect right now online for free, from Facebook to LinkedIn to Twitter to MySpace to YouNameIt the opportunities to connect have never been greater or easier than they are right now. Each of these spaces should be utilized not only to tally your message, but to leverage your business. If you’re pre-teenage son, daughter or neighbor can do it, why aren’t you?
4. You Relied on “Old Techniques” in the “New Economy”
The new economy has caused each of us to stretch in different directions. This stretching has been most evident in old techniques versus new techniques. The new economy requires totally rethinking your techniques and how they can be applied in this new economy. We discuss this in-length in our book “Influential Sales”… If you’d like a FREE chapter, send us an email to info@pathosleadershipgroup.com.
The new economy has caused each of us to stretch in different directions. This stretching has been most evident in old techniques versus new techniques. The new economy requires totally rethinking your techniques and how they can be applied in this new economy. We discuss this in-length in our book “Influential Sales”… If you’d like a FREE chapter, send us an email to info@pathosleadershipgroup.com.
5. You “Talked” when You should have “Listened”
Customers today behave unlike the customers of yesterday. They require better questions, ones that hit them right between the eyes and make them think about what it is that they can enjoy as a result of participating with your product or service. The customers of the new economy like to talk, and in order to do so you must ask questions that are powerful. When you do have such powerful questions and ask them, you must be in position to stay engaged in the conversation and continue to ask powerful questions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard of successful salespeople talking themselves out of the sale, either because they lack powerful questions or they just can’t stay engaged in the conversation (They’re usually thinking ahead of the customer, trying to figure out what needs to be said next! Big mistake…) Just when the sales seem to be in reach, they blew it by asking questions and talking more than they should have. In this instance, the customer has sold them on “No”!
Customers today behave unlike the customers of yesterday. They require better questions, ones that hit them right between the eyes and make them think about what it is that they can enjoy as a result of participating with your product or service. The customers of the new economy like to talk, and in order to do so you must ask questions that are powerful. When you do have such powerful questions and ask them, you must be in position to stay engaged in the conversation and continue to ask powerful questions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard of successful salespeople talking themselves out of the sale, either because they lack powerful questions or they just can’t stay engaged in the conversation (They’re usually thinking ahead of the customer, trying to figure out what needs to be said next! Big mistake…) Just when the sales seem to be in reach, they blew it by asking questions and talking more than they should have. In this instance, the customer has sold them on “No”!
6. You got Nervous and Went into New Markets
When sales are down, you may have been tempted to enter into new markets and perhaps work with new customers. Granted, if the market you served disappeared, or got wiped out overnight thanks to the second half of 2008, you needed to head somewhere! However I saw far too many business leaders starting to panic way too early and head into markets that they had no expertise, nor any business being in. We had a saying in New Orleans that went something like “If you’re scared, say you’re scared!” I think the shoe fits perfectly here as well.
When sales are down, you may have been tempted to enter into new markets and perhaps work with new customers. Granted, if the market you served disappeared, or got wiped out overnight thanks to the second half of 2008, you needed to head somewhere! However I saw far too many business leaders starting to panic way too early and head into markets that they had no expertise, nor any business being in. We had a saying in New Orleans that went something like “If you’re scared, say you’re scared!” I think the shoe fits perfectly here as well.
7. You Quit Too Soon
Again when sales are down, some leaders started to panic and they started looking for new opportunities (New market, your product, new salespeople...) However, by doing so they just quit too soon on their traditional business and service lines! How many times during the first half of 2009 did you find yourself questioning your current direction, or actually changing direction and sailing into new areas when if you had stayed the course you would have been better off?
Again when sales are down, some leaders started to panic and they started looking for new opportunities (New market, your product, new salespeople...) However, by doing so they just quit too soon on their traditional business and service lines! How many times during the first half of 2009 did you find yourself questioning your current direction, or actually changing direction and sailing into new areas when if you had stayed the course you would have been better off?
8. You Stopped ABC’ing
The ABC’s of sales say that you should Always Be Closing. Many salespeople have moved away from this ABC philosophy. Why? I believe that they were under the impression that their “New Customers” in the “New Economy” were more intelligent and knew more about their products/services than they did. While in some instances, this was correct (What we call a “Transparent Transaction” at Pathos). However in far too many cases, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, what happened was that salespeople stopped selling! Here’s a case in point… What used to take at least seven touches for a sale to be made, the new economy required no less than 10 to 12 touches. If your sales staff didn’t believe in the product, didn’t enjoy the accounts they were servicing, felt as though the grass was greener on the other side, or let’s just say they were weak then these were the true causes for the ABC’s of sales to cease.
The ABC’s of sales say that you should Always Be Closing. Many salespeople have moved away from this ABC philosophy. Why? I believe that they were under the impression that their “New Customers” in the “New Economy” were more intelligent and knew more about their products/services than they did. While in some instances, this was correct (What we call a “Transparent Transaction” at Pathos). However in far too many cases, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, what happened was that salespeople stopped selling! Here’s a case in point… What used to take at least seven touches for a sale to be made, the new economy required no less than 10 to 12 touches. If your sales staff didn’t believe in the product, didn’t enjoy the accounts they were servicing, felt as though the grass was greener on the other side, or let’s just say they were weak then these were the true causes for the ABC’s of sales to cease.
9. You Stopped cold calling
Nobody likes to cold call, however what do you do when you run out of customers and their referrals? You’ve got to attempt to grow your business? Unfortunately whether you want to believe it or not, cold calling is an effective way of growing sales. The new economy has caused me and my clients to look at new strategies for how it is that we can effectively cold calling. Gone are the days of going through the phone book and dialing for dollars. Today’s cold calling strategy requires your best game plan!
Nobody likes to cold call, however what do you do when you run out of customers and their referrals? You’ve got to attempt to grow your business? Unfortunately whether you want to believe it or not, cold calling is an effective way of growing sales. The new economy has caused me and my clients to look at new strategies for how it is that we can effectively cold calling. Gone are the days of going through the phone book and dialing for dollars. Today’s cold calling strategy requires your best game plan!
10. Your Service Fell Short and You Didn’t Realize It!
So sales are down, and were co-piloting the Tidy Bowl boat which is about to go right down the pipe to Omaha! We’re trying new products, we’re looking at new services, we’re entering into new markets that we hadn’t thought of before and here is the worst part, customers are still defecting! Worse yet, we don’t even realize it! We’re so focused on new conquest sales that we have forgotten about the customers who have gotten us to where we are! In other words, our insatiable appetite for more sales, any sales at that matter, has led us to not fully engage with the clients we currently should be dealing with. Pay attention to your current customer base.
So sales are down, and were co-piloting the Tidy Bowl boat which is about to go right down the pipe to Omaha! We’re trying new products, we’re looking at new services, we’re entering into new markets that we hadn’t thought of before and here is the worst part, customers are still defecting! Worse yet, we don’t even realize it! We’re so focused on new conquest sales that we have forgotten about the customers who have gotten us to where we are! In other words, our insatiable appetite for more sales, any sales at that matter, has led us to not fully engage with the clients we currently should be dealing with. Pay attention to your current customer base.
11. You Forgot Why You Do What You Do
Let’s reflect for a moment… Why did you get into the business you are in? Was it because you want to make some money? Was it because you love the long hours? Was it because you’ve got nothing better to do? The moments when the water level lowers, that’s when we get to see where the rocks are out in the lake. During the good times, when water and business are a plenty, you can scoot our boat right across the top of those rocks without any damage to the boat. However with this new economy, and the new water level associated with it, running our engine wide open could be devastating without proper navigation. Now we can buy some fancy equipment, and dodge those rocks and not cause any harm to our boat. But why are we really there? What do we enjoy the most during good times? What will we enjoy the most during future good times? Why do we do what it is that we do for a living?
Let’s reflect for a moment… Why did you get into the business you are in? Was it because you want to make some money? Was it because you love the long hours? Was it because you’ve got nothing better to do? The moments when the water level lowers, that’s when we get to see where the rocks are out in the lake. During the good times, when water and business are a plenty, you can scoot our boat right across the top of those rocks without any damage to the boat. However with this new economy, and the new water level associated with it, running our engine wide open could be devastating without proper navigation. Now we can buy some fancy equipment, and dodge those rocks and not cause any harm to our boat. But why are we really there? What do we enjoy the most during good times? What will we enjoy the most during future good times? Why do we do what it is that we do for a living?
12. You Thought You Could Go It Alone!
The old saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is wrong! I see far too many CEO’s and Key Leaders in organizations today who believe that they can work their way out of this new economy by putting in longer/harder work days. That’s insane! The outcomes from their efforts include less productivity, less revenue, more weight gain, receding hairlines and marriages that end up on the rocks! It doesn’t have to be this way. If the first half of 2009 has not brought you to where you need to be, the year is still salvageable. We are working with leaders and their organizations on solid, scientific business principles that are allowing them to not only sustain, but grow their businesses in this new economy! Send us an e-mail today at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and we’ll schedule a Complementary Coaching Strategy session. Unless that is, you’re satisfied with where you’re at?
The old saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is wrong! I see far too many CEO’s and Key Leaders in organizations today who believe that they can work their way out of this new economy by putting in longer/harder work days. That’s insane! The outcomes from their efforts include less productivity, less revenue, more weight gain, receding hairlines and marriages that end up on the rocks! It doesn’t have to be this way. If the first half of 2009 has not brought you to where you need to be, the year is still salvageable. We are working with leaders and their organizations on solid, scientific business principles that are allowing them to not only sustain, but grow their businesses in this new economy! Send us an e-mail today at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and we’ll schedule a Complementary Coaching Strategy session. Unless that is, you’re satisfied with where you’re at?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
How Good is Your Sales Follow-up?
I got a postcard in the mail today... Not that big of a deal, right? If you're like me, you get (and probably send) hundreds of postcards each month. But this one was different... It was for my daughter and it said "Happy Birthday from your orthodontist". Now I know what you're thinking, she's a kid that has braces, right? Wrong! This is from an orthodontist that we visited for an initial visit last year, but never "got around" to getting them on (Moment of Truth - My daughter realized there would be pain involved in wearing them, so no braces for her for the time being!).
So she gets a postcard for her birthday from someone that we don't even do business with. It made me wonder... Do you send out "Happy Birthday" postcards to your clients on their birthday? Do you stay in touch with the clients that currently do business with you, as well as those that have in the past? More importantly, do you send anything to prospective clients that decided for some reason or another (pain versus pleasure/devil I know versus the one I don't...) NOT to do business with you?
I am guessing that you don't. Make that, I am pretty confident that you don't! If you'd like information on how you can follow-up/follow-through like an "Influential Salesperson" then send me an email to info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and I'll be in touch!
Sam Palazzolo
Pathos Leadership Group
PS - The orthodontist was Terry Moore, DDS in Colleyville, TX. For less than $1 he might earn our business after all!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Are You Losing Sales Because Of Your First Impressions?
Well, it happened again… I got a voicemail this morning from a prospective customer that wanted to discuss executive coaching with me. The gentleman spoke clearly, and was even so kind as to do the three actions I request in my voicemail (What… you don’t make a similar request for three items in your voicemail? Let me guess, you’re still saying “You’ve reached (Your Name), sorry I’m not in to speak with you, but please leave me your name, number and a brief message and I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Have a nice day!” You’re missing sales is you do…Send me an email and I’ll send you an article titled “Sales Saving Voicemail Scripts”).
I took good notes from the message he left and reached for the phone to return his call. That’s when it happened… Let’s just say that her name was Lola (Sing along with me, “Oh my Lola, la la la la Lola!”) Lola was not having a good day, it was apparent over the phone in the first three seconds of our conversation. That’s all it took for me to get the wrong mental picture of her, this prospect and his business! So I wonder, are you losing sales because of your first impression? In other words, are the people that are on your front line representative of you and your operation, or are they totally misleading in the wrong way? The following then is a list of 5 techniques you can “review” with your “first impression” staff so that the right impression is left every time!
Technique #1 – Smile – You can hear how someone feels through the phone! So if you are answering the phone with a frown on your face… smile. You might not be on candid camera (i.e., Punked!), but your customers will certainly feel the warmth.
Technique #2 – Serve – Why are you there? You are there to serve others, otherwise you should be in a backroom office with no phone in sight and far from the customers. If you are in the front of the customer experience line, you’ve got to have a serve mentality.
Technique #3 – Refresh – We all get in a bad mood… we’re human! However, when the phone rings or a customer walks in the front door, it is “Showtime” for those frontline employees. So adopt a “Showtime” mentality, but see if you can’t carry that mentality over when no customers are present!
Technique #4 – Clear – Clear the thoughts of workers that you can identify as struggling. It’s natural to want to help, so lend a hand and help them out. I think this is called teamwork or something…
Technique #5 – Get Real! – If you have associates that are not interested in putting your best foot forward, you’ve got to part company with them. There is only so much training and development that you can offer someone. If you notice that nothing is sticking from these sessions, part company with dignity!
I hope that these five techniques will allow you to stop losing sales because of those bad first impressions! If you’ve got other ideas, send me an email at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com .
Sam Palazzolo
Pathos Leadership Group – Home of the Influential Edge!
www.pathosleadershipgroup.com
I took good notes from the message he left and reached for the phone to return his call. That’s when it happened… Let’s just say that her name was Lola (Sing along with me, “Oh my Lola, la la la la Lola!”) Lola was not having a good day, it was apparent over the phone in the first three seconds of our conversation. That’s all it took for me to get the wrong mental picture of her, this prospect and his business! So I wonder, are you losing sales because of your first impression? In other words, are the people that are on your front line representative of you and your operation, or are they totally misleading in the wrong way? The following then is a list of 5 techniques you can “review” with your “first impression” staff so that the right impression is left every time!
Technique #1 – Smile – You can hear how someone feels through the phone! So if you are answering the phone with a frown on your face… smile. You might not be on candid camera (i.e., Punked!), but your customers will certainly feel the warmth.
Technique #2 – Serve – Why are you there? You are there to serve others, otherwise you should be in a backroom office with no phone in sight and far from the customers. If you are in the front of the customer experience line, you’ve got to have a serve mentality.
Technique #3 – Refresh – We all get in a bad mood… we’re human! However, when the phone rings or a customer walks in the front door, it is “Showtime” for those frontline employees. So adopt a “Showtime” mentality, but see if you can’t carry that mentality over when no customers are present!
Technique #4 – Clear – Clear the thoughts of workers that you can identify as struggling. It’s natural to want to help, so lend a hand and help them out. I think this is called teamwork or something…
Technique #5 – Get Real! – If you have associates that are not interested in putting your best foot forward, you’ve got to part company with them. There is only so much training and development that you can offer someone. If you notice that nothing is sticking from these sessions, part company with dignity!
I hope that these five techniques will allow you to stop losing sales because of those bad first impressions! If you’ve got other ideas, send me an email at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com .
Sam Palazzolo
Pathos Leadership Group – Home of the Influential Edge!
www.pathosleadershipgroup.com
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Is Cold Calling the Success Key to Sales?
Pathos Leadership Group – Home of the Influential Edge!
Is Cold Calling the Key to Sales Success?
6 Strategies to Make Cold Calling an Effective Part of Sales
By Sam Palazzolo, MBA, CPLP
Another day, another dollar! If you’re like most sales professionals today, you’ve hit the wall regarding locating, identifying, prospecting, selling and delivering to new prospective customers. So what can you do? All of the “Sales Gurus” would tell you that cold calling is a total waste of your time! Why one even goes so far as to say that there is nothing that adds less value to a sales professional’s day than attempting to perform cold calls. I disagree! If your current customers are not referring you to new business (Problem in and of itself addressed in a later article) and you need new sales, you’d better be cold calling and reaching out to new prospective customers!
In this document I will share with you six tips, techniques, and tricks that you can implement into your sales process when you have run out of prospective candidates and need to cold call. After all, we only know so many people and so many people know us, right? We need to break outside of that “circle of friends” or contacts to increase our sales volumes… Here then are six tips to cold calling:
TIP #1 : Proper ID
Properly identifying your target industry and prospective candidates within the organization structure for customer-hood is crucial to your success. If you are targeting potential customers that cannot or won’t write a check for your product or service, then I would have to agree with the so-called Sales Gurus and say that you are wasting your time! Here is an example… I got an e-mail from Joe who is a Sales Pro in Cleveland, Ohio. Joe writes that his customer base has dried up and that he is cold calling prospective candidates within the same industry with little to no success. I picked up the phone and I called Joe. The first question out of my mouth was “Joe, before you even tell me what your cold calling script is, would you mind sharing with me the industry you are targeting, and tell me a little bit about the prospective customers there in?” Joe replied that he was targeting the manufacturing industry and furthermore that they were in a certain dollar annual sales revenue/number of employees range. Sounds like a solid plan, from Joe’s perspective. Unfortunately from my perspective, no one in this industry segment was purchasing now or were they purchasing within the previous 12 months! This revelation to Joe allowed him to see that he was fishing in the wrong pond. There simply were no fish present in the lake that he was fishing in!
Make certain you properly identify your prospects and whether or not they can buy.
Tip #2: Proper Script Please
In order for cold calling to be effective you need to develop the most high impact cold calling script that you can. “What does it look like?” you might ask. The high impact cold calling scripts that we utilize here at Pathos Leadership Group in our Business Development Operation for clients across the country consists of the following eight key characteristics:
- Introductory Statement
- Nice Tone
- Who Are You
- Why Are You Calling
- Get To The Point
- What Are The Benefits?
- “Who Have You Helped” Testimonials
- What Do You Want?
This simple formula for creating a cold calling script has left many a person on the other end doing exactly what we hoped to achieve, set an appointment! Unfortunately, most cold callers are hoping for dramatically different results than what can realistically be expected (i.e., Sell a product/service). So let’s get real before we even pick up the phone!
Make certain you’ve got the proper script which drives towards realistic results please.
Tip #3: Working with The Gatekeeper
There are several techniques that one can use to successfully work with the dreaded Gatekeeper. There job is to keep you out, and remember that your job is to get in! You have four choices, you can either navigate around the side (Left or right) or go up and over or below them (Joe would argue there are actually five, that they could stop you! Poor Joe…) However, nothing, let me repeat that, nothing is as important as forming an ally relationship with the Gatekeeper! One of the key characteristics identified in step number two (Proper Script Please) was that of being a nice.
Being nice? It is a given that we will be nice to the person whom we are attempting to reach (in the event that we ultimately do reach them!) However, I am always amazed when I listen in to recorded cold calling attempts when I hear that the cold caller is “not so nice” to the Gatekeeper! This leaves little doubt in my mind regarding why it is that so many cold callers are unsuccessful in their efforts and attempts today! If you are going to be nice to the prospective customer, then you had best be nice to the Gatekeeper of that prospective customer. It just makes sense!
In order to work effectively with the Gatekeeper, play nice!
Tip #4: Voice Mail Strategies
There is a school of thought out there by the Sales Gurus that says not to leave voicemails when cold calling. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Guess what the Sales Gurus staff does when they reach out to prospective customers that they want to do business with? Lean in, here is the secret… They leave voicemails when cold calling! Now you may be thinking, “Well Sam, if I was a Sales Guru I would leave voicemails too because I would expect people to return my phone calls.” I’ll give you that! Being a Sales Guru has many advantages and this just may be one of them from many people’s perspective. However, from my perspective cold calling is a “level playing field” for all to operate on. While those Sales Gurus may have the name recognition that you desire, there is nothing that says that a prospective client will return their phone call any quicker over yours! What they may have that you don’t is a compelling reason in to return your phone call.
Give your prospective customers a reason to return your cold calls.
Tip #5: Consistency
The difference between below, or average sales and exceptional, or outstanding sales levels is caused primarily by your performance in the “consistency” arena. Most sales professionals attempt to perform one process or one procedure on day one. Those same sales professionals attempt to perform a different sales process, or procedure on day two and a third on day three. In other words they have no consistency when it comes to their “game plan.” They rely instead on their sales managers “Program of the Month” or “Good to Great Idea of the Day” to move them towards greater sales success. Don’t fall victim to the temptation of straying from the path in front of you. You must remain consistent and you must see the process through. What may turn out to be a decrease in productivity and profitability may in the end results in your success!
Be consistent for exceptional sales results.
Tip #6: Seek Help
I run into sales professionals all the time who ask me how it is that I know what it is that I know. I tell them it’s because I have failed far more often than they have. I always make a point of saying “Ask me how I know an idea won’t work or perhaps needs to be fine tuned, it’s because I’ve attempted it!” I say this not to brag, but instead to show that I am humble and that sometimes our best learning opportunities come from failure. Salespeople, always the skeptical bunch, often follow that up with a secondary question something like “Well if you fail so much, how come you are so successful?” The answer is simple, I was fortunate to have a great coach that took interest in my development and my income in that order. I learned the value of successful sales coaching and training early on and I would not be where I am today had I not had someone mentor me. If you think that I am above reproach when it comes to coaching and training, I continue to believe that I will never know it all and as I write this article today I have just completed an e-learning session with SalesForce.com on “Successful Sales Productivity, Efficiency, and Cooperation.”
Contact a Sales Coach to move your game to the next level!
Summary
I am convinced that there is no way that you will succeed in sales unless cold calling is a part of your process. While I do agree with the Sales Gurus when they say that referrals are a “better” way to get customers, what if you don’t have any? You’ve got to start somewhere! The six tips, techniques, and tricks identified above are the key to successful sales cold calling.
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Got Influence? You’re either an “InfluencerR” or you’re being “InfluenceD”! Take the “Influential Leader Inventory” at www.GotInfluence.com and see where you rank against other leaders who have the “Influential Edge!” Sam Palazzolo, MBA, CPLP is the author of “The Influential Leader: 10 Critical Skills You MUST Possess For Success” as well as “Influential Sales: How to Achieve Selling Supremacy in the New Economy!” As President and Chief Influence Officer at Pathos Leadership Group, Sam conducts Influential Keynotes, Workshops, Webinars and one-on-one Coaching. Discover more at www.PathosLeadershipGroup.com, e-mail sp@pathosleadershipgroup.com or call 817-605-1942.
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