Cold Calling Techniques
eBook - ePub

Cold Calling Techniques

That Really Work

  1. 160 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Cold Calling Techniques

That Really Work

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Table of contents
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About This Book

Follow the advice of Stephan Schiffman—America's #1 Corproate Sales Trainer—and take your career to the next level. This special anniversary edition of his perennial bestseller, Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!), provides you with all of the right tools for turning prospects into meetings, and meetings into big sales.This easy-to-follow guide helps you beat today's cold calling obstacles, such as voice mail, cell phones, and e-mail. Schiffman's professional experience and corporate wisdom guarantee your future success. The anniversary edition of Cold Calling Techniques packs in plenty of potential leads to help you hunt down more business.Give yourself the edge. Cold Calling Techniques is the one book you need to make your sales opportunities better, pitches stronger, and commissions greater.

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Information

Publisher
Adams Media
Year
2007
ISBN
9781605508269
Subtopic
Marketing

CHAPTER 1
Cold Calling Is Essential

A famous professor at Harvard Business School once asked his students to name the number one reason that businesses do not succeed. He got all kinds of answers, ranging from bad management and bad programs to bad products, poor concepts, and lack of capital. After reading all their answers he stood before his class and told them that the number one reason businesses fail is … “lack of sales.”
That's it. It's lack of real sales — the work you and I do on the front lines. And if I can't get in the door to see people, I'm not going to sell.
In most selling environments, nothing can happen unless you're able to get that first appointment. No matter how well you sell, if you can't get in the door, if you cannot get an appointment to see somebody, you're not going to sell.
To become a successful salesperson, you have to develop a solid base of prospects. This base will only remain solid if you continue to prospect successfully — and the cold call plays a large part in successful prospecting. Cold calling is the best and most economical way for you to develop prospects on an ongoing basis. This book is devoted to helping you get in front of your prospects in the most efficient, profitable way — and to overcome your number one competitor.

Your Biggest Competitor

Who is your number one competitor? Interestingly enough, you can name every company in your business — and you'll be wrong. No matter what company you mention, I'll tell you're wrong. You could tell me that you are your own competitor. You'd be wrong again. You could say to me that your energy level is your competition. Wrong.
Your number one competitor today is the status quo. The status quo is what people are doing right now. If you understand that, you're going to be successful. It's rare that we're up against a competitor — we're usually up against the incumbent, the status quo. Remember, most of your potential customers are happy with what they've got — otherwise, they would be calling you!
Once when I was doing a training session I stated that your number one competitor is the status quo. A sales rep raised his hand and said, “Steve, I've never heard of that company. Who's Status Quo?” Don't get sidetracked. Remember: you're up against the way your prospects are doing business now!

Where Sales Come From

First, I want to discuss something that upsets many salespeople. The fact of the matter is you're going to get one-third of all your sales no matter what you do. Let me repeat that: You'll get one-third of all your sales no matter what you do.
In the United States nearly 1,000 copiers are sold every single hour of every single day. It's estimated that nearly 2,000 cellular numbers are installed in the United States every hour.
What do numbers like that tell you about sales? They should tell you that there are people who need your product … just like you need to go to the supermarket to buy milk. That's a consumer-driven sale.
In fact, you and I have seen people who shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets without a leash who still make sales. The reason people like that are able to make a living is that their sales are based on needs for those consumer-driven products. Eventually something breaks; eventually you're going to need a new car; eventually you're going to need more lettuce; eventually you're going to buy a television. Successful salespeople understand that they'll get one-third of their sales no matter what, because they knock on enough doors. But is that enough?

The Sales You'll Never Get

Then there's one-third of your sales that you're not going to get. For whatever reason, no matter what you do, you're just not going to get the last one-third of your sales. Sometimes it's because the other guy, the other salesperson, gets it. Sometimes there are internal changes at the target company that you can't control. Either way, you're not getting the business.

The Sales That Are Up for Grabs

The last one-third is up for grabs. That's what we're going to discuss here. We'll show you how to develop your competitive edge, get more appointments, and get more of that last one-third, which is where the good salespeople separate themselves from the mediocre salespeople.
The interesting thing is that plenty of salespeople make their living by simply accepting the first one-third. That's really more of an order-taking situation.
In fact, there's a guy in Times Square who sells a little wallet like card case. He simply stands there and says, “Wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy?” You get the idea. That's all he does!
That tells you something about the entire sales process. If you see enough people, you will eventually make a sale. In fact, as we mentioned earlier, you're going to make a certain number of sales no matter what you do. If you knock on enough doors, it doesn't make any difference what you do, eventually you're going to get a sale.
Suppose I went to the busiest street corner nearest my office (it happens to be Times Square), and I simply put out my hand. Do you think anybody would put money in my hand? Of course, eventually someone's going to do that. That's my first third. Now if I held out a cup, do you think I might make more money? Of course. If I add a cup and a bell, bing-bing-bing-bing, would more people give me money? Of course. Add a cup, a bell, bing-bing-bing-bing, and a sign, “Please help me.”Would more people give me money then? Absolutely.
The point, again, is that you'll eventually make a sale if you see enough people. But this story illustrates that it's equally important to make the most of the opportunity. It's not enough to just see people or talk to people on the phone. You have to use the right tools.
The other day I was walking in Manhattan near our office and I noticed a bank with a table right outside displaying a sign that read, SIGN UP FOR PC BANKING. Three bank employees simply approached every person who walked past them. I went up to one of them and asked, “How did you do?” They said, “It was incredible today.” In the last two hours they had signed up 200 people for their PC banking program — people who had simply walked past the building.
One of the telecommunications giants in the country started years ago by setting up tables outside of major office buildings with a sign that said, SAVE MONEY ON LONG DISTANCE. And people would sign up. You and I could make sales that way. Simply going after the first third, and doing nothing else, however, is not the way to build a successful sales career. I doubt even that telecom giant could survive today if all they had were a couple of tables and a few homemade signs!

Timing Is Everything

When we begin to look closely at the prospecting process, we can see why the concept of time is so important. I know that it takes me about eight weeks from the time I first sit down and talk to a prospective client to the time I make a sale. So let's play this out and see how it works. If I sat down with you on January 1st, I'd know that, if we decide to do business together, I'm going to see a sale not in February, but in March — say, on March 1st. January 1st to March 1st. If my sales cycle is 18 weeks, it's going to take me that much longer. The sale will be closer to May.
If, on January 1st, I'm busy because it's a holiday and I don't call anybody, and on January 2nd I don't call anybody because I'm doing something else, I've pushed out the date when I can expect to see a sale. Say I don't prospect on January 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th. Now instead of March 1st, it's going to be March 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. I think you get the point.
Think about it like this: When you get paid for a sale, when did you really earn that money? Depending on your sales cycle, it could have been as long as three months or even a year ago. If you didn't do some kind of prospecting a year ago, the odds are that you would not see any income now. If you look at it this way, what you suddenly realize is that the appointments that you generate today are what create the prospects you meet, which ultimately give you your sale at the end of your sales cycle.
Now that you've read about how important time is, you're probably jumping out of your chair saying to yourself “I've got to get started!” Please remember to finish the whole book before you try to implement the program.

Reducing the Sales Cycle

A couple of weeks ago I went on a sales call. It was a good sales call. How do I know it was good? Because while I was there, I set up an appointment to come back. By setting the next appointment on my first appointment, rather than waiting until later, I accelerated my sales cycle by three to five weeks.
Let me explain. Typically, on an appointment, a salesperson will tend to say to the prospect, “I'll call you in a week.”Now we've added at least a week to the sales cycle. Then what happens? We might not get the person on the phone that next week. Now we have to wait. Finally, we get the person on the phone, setting an appointment for perhaps two to three weeks later.
By setting the next appointment during the first one, we can save all this wasted time. We really can reduce the sales cycle by three to five weeks!

Gerbil Selling

Let me share another story. Recently a sales call of mine went very well. The presentation was great! Since the presentation had gone so well, I asked for the sale:
Steve: It makes sense to me. What do you think?
Prospect: We can't do it now.
Steve: Why not?
Prospect: I gotta talk to my bos...

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents
  4. Preface to the 20th Anniversary Edition
  5. Introduction
  6. Chapter 1: Cold Calling Is Essential
  7. Chapter 2: By the Numbers
  8. Chapter 3: Where to Look for Leads
  9. Chapter 4: Cold Call Mechanics
  10. Chapter 5: Using Cell Phones
  11. Chapter 6: Turning Around Common Responses
  12. Chapter 7: The Ledge
  13. Chapter 8: Mastering Third-Party and Referral Calls
  14. Chapter 9: Leaving Messages That Get Results
  15. Chapter 10: More on Voice Mail
  16. Chapter 11: E-Mail Tactics
  17. Chapter 12: Follow-Up Calls
  18. Chapter 13: The Four-Step Sales Process
  19. Chapter 14: The Principles of Sales Success
  20. Chapter 15: Sample Scripts
  21. About the Author
  22. Acknowledgements
  23. Praise for Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!)
  24. Practical and proven strategies from America's #1 Sales Trainer!
  25. Copyright