Sales Coach Debi

Russ Boreham of Chartered IT asked on Linked In:    Short and Precise Voicemails, Do They Work?:

The tried and tested method of leaving voicemails:

*Make sure they are under 30 seconds in length
*Be precise, state your name and why you are calling
*Give clear details of how to return your call
*Don’t give away too much information, entice the person to call you back.

But does this work? Why do the majority of messages fall by the wayside and go unreturned?

Does anyone have a better way of getting their calls returned on a regular basis?

There were many good answers – my answer is:

If you leave a voice mail: be brief, to the point and specific. And be certain the benefit to the person you are calling is stated in the first sentence. It must be a compelling WIIFM (what’s in it for me). In the end-repeat your phone number slowly and clearly twice.

” Russ, we met at XXX and as I am working with (recognizable name/same industry) on addressing the same concerns you are faced with in your industry, I wanted to to invite you to a joint meeting to see if we can help. Call me at ……………” again the number is…. Try it and track you stats. Then let me know how it works for you.

Happy Selling!

I found books with tag lines that read “Cold calling is dead” or “Master the art of cold calling” And naturally if you want them to tell you how to gain new business “without cold calling” or if you want them to tell you what the techniques are that will help you “master cold calling”, you’ll just have to buy the book.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about having reference material. But you might want to read it here for free – first.

During my direct selling days, I conducted seminars and invited C-levels from existing and potential target clients to attend. This was not a sales presentation.  Instead it was an opportunity for my target and existing clients to obtain new information that was pertinent and important in their industry.

It was also presented as an opportunity for them to meet and collaborate with other C-levels in their industry.  I always scheduled these free informational seminars on a Friday’s at 1:00 or 2:00 PM which gave my workaholic contacts an early – out of the office – on a Friday afternoon.

There is a little preparation involved and depending on what you are selling, there is also a way to have your partners/vendors pay for the facility and refreshments at your event. (Free details provided upon request)

To set this up you simple need to target your audience– selectively and carefully. Industry specific is the easiest route. Then you learn about the challenges in that industry and obtain the resources that can speak to those challenges. Remember – this isn’t about your products or services. It’s about an information exchange, helping your clients and target audience so that they will gain important insights. At the very same time these clients will also see you as someone that is resourceful, helpful and cares about their industry.

The first two or three industry challenges must be answered without bias to your products.  In general – these are the things your speakers/experts can provide credible advice on.  Two out of three challenges might very well be addressed by a solution you can provide, but your experts remain neutral. (There are a number of companies that provide these services/products, etc).  Your speakers may be instructed to engage the audience via open ended questions.  (further qualifying any immediate business needs.)

If you targeted well, the people in the room are qualified targets and / or great references or referrals that will keep your funnel full which of course can equate to ” No More Cold Calling”.

If you’d like more detail on how to pull this together:   make a comment, share a success, send me an email or just ask right here.

Last week I had a sales person, let’s call him Vinnie Bag-a-Donuts. Vinnie told me he looked on LinkedIn but too late.Vinnie waited until AFTER the appointment went in the wrong direction. Then when back in the office, disappointed that the customer was going to RFP and Vinnie wasn’t going to help write it, that he then looked on LinkedIn only to discover that Vinnie and the potential customer both belonged to the very same small community church.

Sincere common interests help you look more the like person instead of a sales person. This lowers resistance and enables effective communication. It’s not like you have dig through newspapers, magazines and phone books. It’s just a few clicks.

So take a few minutes and go to Google Advanced Search or LinkedIn for starters.

If this step was not already completed before you made the first phone call – you work too hard and probably made calls that didn’t but could have gone better. Don’t neglect to do this homework before the appointment.

More on Linkedin Profiles … The Value

• Look for common connections, schools attended, previous places of employment, clubs associations and groups your contact belongs to in order to find commonality.
• Clubs & associations also help you understand this business and its’ suppliers. (You know what to do with suppliers-See my earlier blog).  If you are assigned this vertical market, join those associations. This also increases the amount of warm calls verses cold calls you’ll need to make.
• Where they worked previously and where they went to school provides common interests but also helps you determine if your company has relationships or services sold to any of these businesses, their school or their suppliers. (instant credibility)

Small steps in research can save you BIG on time, effort and commissions.

Great Information from a Sales Training Camp and it actually reinforces the right Prospecting Formula of using real details to break self-involvement and build credibility.
Shortcut to: http://www.salestrainingcamp.com/salestipoftheweek_printer.html

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