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Making more sales while retaining your integrity — is it possible to do both?

Based on e-mails I continue to receive daily, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Eliminating traditional sales thinking and tactics does take effort, because the messages of the sales “gurus” you’ve read over the years can continue to bubble up in your mind, especially when you’re in the sales process.

Despite your good-hearted intentions of helping others with your service or product, do these traditional “sales tips” still pop up in your mind?

• Focus on “closing” the sale and it will happen

We rarely think about our prospect’s problems when we cold call. It’s just easier to focus on our product or service. Naturally, it’s really tempting to make cold calling all about us and what we have to offer, rather than about the other person.

In this new cold calling approach, we think about the potential client. We especially look at problems they’re having, and we build our conversations around that. This is the most effective way to do cold calling, and here’s why:

1. Potential Clients Listen Better

Most of us grew up with the concept of “Don’t talk behind someone else’s back”. A similar philosophy is “If you’ve got something to say, say it to their face”.

But this is not how the world works.

Especially when it comes to your clients and prospects.

In most cases you will be the last point of contact. Before they speak with you, your prospect will have asked their friends, colleagues, neighbours and advisors. And they will have reviewed your web site – all before they pluck up the courage to speak with you directly.

What do you find hard to do in sales? Let me guess.

Prospecting
Getting to appointments on time
Closing
Handling objections
Writing up activity reports
Getting samples and literature from your company

Prospecting
I’ve driven to the designated area and sat in my car with absolutely no enthusiasm for getting out and starting door-to-door canvassing. And it’s exactly the same with telephone prospecting. You dream up all sorts of reasons why today is not going to be a good day, or the time is too early or late or it’s lunchtime. Myself, I then procrastinate another 10 minutes tidying up all the junk on my desk.

Have you noticed that the old “tried and true” cold calling techniques which were once successful have completely lost their effectiveness over the years? They just don’t work anymore.

But many salespeople are still use them because that’s all they know. They’re working from that old, ineffective cold calling mindset. And they’re making the same mistakes over and over again.

I’d like to talk about 4 classic cold calling mistakes from the old traditional approach that will put you on the wrong path if you’re not careful.

Are you a telemarketer who gets frustrated because you are not achieving your goals? Telemarketing is very challenging and involves constant rejection. A word of caution: Do not take rejection personally. Having good telemarketing skills is essential to being a good telemarketer.

When calling prospects you need to have a positive attitude. If you are enthusiastic and confident on the telephone then it will come across in your voice… On the flip side, if you are boring and negative then you have already failed in attracting new prospects. Excitement sells and enthusiasms contagious. Turn negative statements given by the prospect into negative ones.

Expos can offer fertile hunting grounds for franchisors. But there’s a considerable investment required in terms of time, money, and effort. Make sure your investment pays off by checking out this list of tips:

I have seen every possible lead proposition and they all are almost the same, might as well cold call. I really love the sales organizations that offer you free leads and then their famous training system is always included. You know the one I am talking about, the YOYO system

YOYO, You’re on Your own!

I have been there and I know what it is to suffer through not having enough leads. I have found that many of the leads generated are done so under “semi fraudulent” marketing schemes. The lead provider will ride on the coat tails of a nationally known group who is offering an important piece of information. The return envelope usually is to a Washington DC drop box who then forwards it on to the user.

For a solo professional having an up-to-date contact management database is one of the KEY administrative systems you have to have for your business. And, even more important, is having a
system in place to create effective follow-up. Your business is built on following up leads and building relationships.

If you don’t have a contact management system in place, you will not be able to follow-up effectively with prospects, you could lose clients, and you will not be able to build your business.

We’ve all had the somewhat startling experience of thinking things are going really well during a cold call, and suddenly someone pulls back on us. They give us an “objection,” or just say something to end the conversation.

Most of us have been trained to overcome objections during our cold calls, and keep moving forward. The thinking is that if you’re persistent enough, then you’ll make the sale.

In other words, we’re supposed to bypass people’s objections and concerns because we’ve already decided for them that they should buy what we have to offer.