If you want to really max out your sales then you need to approach your selling as though you’re a trusted advisor.

This goes far beyond the call of duty of a “typical sales person”.

Instead, you want to position yourself as an expert in your field, the “GO TO” person for whatever you sell.

And it goes far beyond what you sell too. I’m flattered to be called a leader in my field by the press and other sources and I receive requests from my clients ranging from “Do you know anyone who could help us with IT?” through to “Could you help us to set up some joint ventures?”

I can tell you that the list is endless!

But in order to achieve this “status” in the marketplace, you’ve got to put the hard, long hours in.

You should be centred on your clients and prospects at all times. I send them any articles I see in the papers, any free resources I am privvy too, any latest news I pick up from my travels and anything I feel will be of benefit to them.

Of course, when I meet with them I know my stuff and the ongoing support I provide for them takes me/MTD into partnership status instead of third party supplier.

And that’s exactly the position you need to get to. And like always if you want any advice on this please just click here with your scenario and I’ll be happy to give you some pointers.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat - The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling

MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Okay, so you’ve lost the sale you’ve been working so hard on.

Now, it’s a natual reaction to get angry, to sulk and to go into denial and all of those things but keep calm and try and focus.

I recommend that you have a system in place on how to deal with lost business. Here’s what you should do:

1. Find Out Why You "Lost"

So you might be fuming at the propsect who took up so much of your time and at this moment you’d like to throw them through a window but be professional about this. Call them up and find out the specific reasons why you didn’t get this business.

"Did we do anything wrong Mr Prospect?"

"Did you see value in our product/service?" If so what?

"What did the "winner" do that we didn’t Mr Prospect?"

Ask questions that will enable you to become a better sales person. Just a few tweaks here or there might be all it takes to make the difference. But you need to know what they are!

2. Follow Up

After you have received the feedback send the Prospect a thank you card or a personal letter. This will position you and your products and services in a positive light and might actually seed some doubts in their mind that they have made the right decision! There’s always another time, and you want them to come to you next time.

3. Keep A Level Head

Your mindset is crucial when going through this process. I can honestly say that I think a company is nuts if they use anyone else other than MTD Sales Training to improve their sales staff but it does happen from time to time. You’ve got to keep a level head and analyse the reasons why. And don’t assume it’s always on price either.

4. Keep Proving Your Worth

Put the prospect into an ongoing educational marketing and sales process. So you’ve lost this battle but it’s the war you’re interested in. Keep proving your worth over time by sending the prospect tips, newsletters, freebies and articles and keep educating them and helping them.

Over time, they will come back to you.

You win some, you lose some. That’s the nature of sales.

But take it on the chin and learn from any "lost business" and you will become a much stronger sales person for it.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat - The UK’s #1 Authority On Sales Success

MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 8498 6732

How to Close the Sale: Asking for the Order

Ok, so you’ve done a great sales presentation, hooked up the perfect proposal and now you’ve got to ask for the order. 

Now depending on what you sell and your sales model, your methodology for asking for the order will be very different.

And in many cases, using an “assumptive” close, such as an “alternate of choice,” is the ticket.  Most sales models use some sort of an  assumptive close, especially in telephone sales and some retail sales interactions. 

However, in other scenarios, an assumptive close is the worst thing you can do.  In certain sales models, assuming the prospect is “with you” and has agreed to the offer, will not only lose the sale but probably insult the prospect and get you thrown out!

So, in those situations, just what do you say to ask, “Do we have a deal?” 

And of course you don’t what to ask, “Do we have a deal?”  Here are a couple of closing questions, not to be used verbatim, but to help you see the thinking process behind them. 

First, it is usually best to quickly summarize the offer just before the closing question.   State the overall costs to the customer and then the value and return to the customer; first in immediate benefits and then the long term.

“So, Mrs. Prospect, the whole proposal comes to £87,000, and that’s it.  Once again we will pick up the shipping on this.  And that is for the full enterprise-wide version of the temperature control software along with all 62 new thermostats to cover your entire warehouse. This will give you even and consistent heating and cooling right now and a huge savings over the long term”

This does not and should not be a long drawn out ordeal as you would have already gone over all of the details before this point.  Just summarize the  transaction. 

Then use something like one of these:

“Does that make sense?”  I like this closing question, as it does not make too much of an assumption.  However, as long as you have done anything close to a good sales interaction and proposal, it should be almost impossible for the prospect to answer anything but, ‘yes’ to this question. 

"This will give you even and consistent heating and cooling right now and a huge savings over the long term.  Does that make sense, Susan?” 

Of course, at this point the prospect will not tell you if they are ready to do business or not, but it is a good start to the close. 

“Does this fit?”  “Does this look like a good fit for your organisation, Steve?”  This question also does not assume too much, but gets the ball rolling in the right direction. 

“So what do you say?”  Depending on what you sell and your relationship with the prospective customer, it is often best to just come right out and ask something like, “What do you say?”   or “How do you feel?”   However, try to avoid, “What do you THINK?”  Remember, buying decisions are made more on emotion than logic.  

"How do you feel?" is more appropriate than what do you think.  

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

PS CLICK HERE for 20 FREE SALES AUDIOS

"Hi Sean, thanks for coming in to see me. Now, I’ve been recommended to use you from our 2 biggest suppliers who pay us £2 million a year each so if nothing else I thought I’d call you in to keep them happy and to see whether you can actually improve our sales at the same time. Now, in my opinion one off sales training doesn’t work unless you can tell me otherwise and I’m very anti-risk and don’t like spending money. I’m the down to earth Director of the company whereas the MD and FD don’t mind taking risks - so we’re a good team. So, what do you do and how can you help us?"

Phew!

No rapport, no small talk - straight into it.

So what are the lessons from this?

Now, I’m not going to tell you what I said but let me go through what my thinking was so you can start to develop this mode of approach:

"Hi Sean, thanks for coming in to see me. Now, I’ve been recommended to use you from our 2 biggest suppliers who pay us £2 million a year each so if nothing else I thought I’d call you in to keep them happy and to see whether you can actually improve our sales at the same time"

WHAT DID I TAKE FROM THAT STATEMENT?

1. These suppliers must pull some weight with them - find out who they and the person who contacted them

2. Possibilities of showing what we did for those companies and the results we achieved - social proof of our claims

3. This guy is a straight talker. So no fluff. Be straight to the point, business like and results orientated

"Now, in my opinion one off sales training doesn’t work unless you can tell me otherwise and I’m very anti-risk and don’t like spending money"

WHAT DID I TAKE FROM THAT STATEMENT?

1. Have they had their fingers burnt in the past with training that did not work?

2. He mentioned "one off" training does not work. Find out what he means. Does he have experience of "on-going" programmes and whether these work or not

3. He doesn’t like taking risks. Whatever we do needs to be justified to results, The risk needs to be on MTD Sales Training and not on his company to do business with us. He will msot likely want to see tangible evidence that the money was worth the spend. He doesn’t like spending money so let’s prove out worth with a low risk, low cost pilot and them measure the programme and then roll out

"I’m the down to earth Director of the company whereas the MD and FD don’t mind taking risks - so we’re a good team. So, what do you do and how can you help us?"

WHAT DID I TAKE FROM THAT STATEMENT?

1. He’s most likely the "It does exactly what it says on the tin" kind of person! Be straight with him and focus on the practical, real world elements of our training

2. Who has the decision making authority - him or the other Directors. Is he a key influencer or the DM

LESSONS

Now, I’m sure I had other thoughts at the time but I’ve just gone over my notes from the meeting and the areas above are the ones I could remember!

So the guy spoke for about 1-3 minutes yet I was able to process all of the above points of consideration. Our meeting took just 34 minutes in total!

So read between the lines with what your prospects say to you and then be flexible in your approach in coming back with questions.

Happy Selling!

Sean

PS
We are starting a sales improvement programme for the company in January 2009. 2 days per month for 12 months!

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Natural Born Sellers

Click here for my comments on Natural Born Sellers Episode III

Stop Press - for my comments on Episode II click here: Natural Born Sellers II

ITV launch a new reality TV circus this week in NATURAL BORN SELLERS.

With this a group of sales people replace an existing workforce each week for winner takes all stakes. Who will make the most money?

I sure hope that this programme will not show sales people in the wrong light?

Whilst this will no doubt be avid viewing it’s not going to make your job any easier as once again the sales profession is taken the piss out of. You will no doubt see the behind closed doors of “sales motivation”, “tricks and techniques” that will make me just puke.

Buyers will become even more suspicious of sales people just like you even if you have a whiter than white approach.

Natural Born Sellers starts this Thursday and I’ll be posting a weekly blog about the show.

Stay tuned for more!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Confessions of a Gatekeeper:

Understanding the Guardians of the Gold

The Gatekeeper: A secretary, receptionist or any frontline person whose job it is to screen your call and prevent you from getting to the decision maker. Sales people have more problems with the gatekeeper screens sadly they don’t even know it.

While at one time, these gatekeepers (GK’s) were considered nothing more than pesky, low-level people with nothing to do but waste your time, the truth is that the GK today is a well-trained, educated, sophisticated and sales savvy professional who understands more about cold calling than most sales people.

Think about it; take an average GK who works for a small firm. That company could have three, four, five or even ten people who are decision maker (DM’s) for some area or department of the company. This one GK however, may answer the incoming calls for all of them. Over the course of a few years, this person will have been involved in ten, twenty or maybe even a hundred times more cold-calls than the average sales person. Who do you think has more experience?

In addition, understand that the GK of today may also have had specific training in sales or communication skills, has important responsibilities in the firm other than answering the telephone and usually serves as firstline public relations person for the company as well.

In the past, GK’s would often come right out and tell the sales person that they were not allowing the call through; they were not welcome and the DM would not want to take their call. Today however, since every company sells something, and the GK knows this, the GK will not alienate any caller, understanding that even the aggressive, obnoxious sales person may someday be a prospective customer for their firm.

Many GK screens today are so sophisticated that sales people don’t even know they are being screened; continuing to attempt to make contact with the DM, thinking the GK is actually trying to help them.

Underestimating and not understanding today’s GK has killed the careers of thousands, perhaps millions of sales people and cost sales companies billions in lost revenue every year.

At MTD Sales Training, I have devoted a lot of material to successfully learning how to identify and negotiate the sophisticated GK screen. However, I wanted to take a moment and take a different approach. Normally we look at the GK from only one point of view; the sales professional. Well, today I want to share with you the view from a professional GK!

Over the years, I’ve got to know hundreds of GKs. What follows is an excerpt of an interview I did recently with a high-level GK, who is an Executive Secretary I’ll call her Lisa (Not her real name.) Lisa currently works for a large project management company and talks to me about her career.

Sean: So Lisa, first let me ask you, how did you get into this profession in the first place? I mean was this your goal?

Lisa: Well, I started out studying business administration. I was in college and began working part time for a small medical office. I actually started working in file management. Everything was on paper and in folders back then and I’d had some training in administration and was a good typist.

Sean: How did you end up on the telephone?

Lisa: Ironically, I started out making calls to companies that supplied our parts. My Boss at the time asked if I would help out by contacting potential suppliers and see if I could negotiate a better price on some of the parts we were buying. So, I would call and see what kind of prices they were offering if they were competitive I would arrange for a Sales Person to meet with my boss.

Sean: So, you started out actually making outgoing calls—cold calling?

Lisa: Yes. Well, someone had to do the ground work and they chose me.

Sean: Did you get many incoming sales calls from some of those suppliers?

Lisa: Yes, but we would concentrate on one area at a time, so I didn’t have time to talk to all of them. But for the ones that fitted the criteria we were working on at the time, I would set up an appointments.

Sean: So would you sit through the sales Persons 1st presentation then?

Lisa: Yes, I would be the one to decide whether their prices and parts were worth taking to the next level.

Sean: How often did you do that? I mean, were you involved in a sales presentation?

Lisa: Oh, I don’t know. It was a lot, though. I would say, maybe two or three a week. I was in the department for a couple of years and even invited companies to come back a second time, too.

Sean: So, what happened next?

Lisa: I left that company after I got my degree…

Sean: In business administration?

Lisa: Yes, I have a BA in Business. Anyway, I went to work for a law firm and I still wanted to do research and begin my masters, but there was a job opening for a personal assistant for one of the executives. It paid so well, it was hard to pass up and I was qualified because of the telemarketing experience I’d gained with my previous company.

Sean: So as a Personal Assistant what did you do exactly and did you like it?

Lisa: I loved it. I ended up handling the calendars and schedules of several of the top executives and coordinated the workings of several departments. I helped in the design of the first email and scheduling software and systems the company invested in and I was basically in charge of all such things. Someone once called me the “glue” that held the whole company together. Which, I guess made sense, since many things revolved around me.

Sean: So did you get lots of telemarketing calls from sales people?

Lisa: Oh yes. They never stopped, sometimes 5 or 10 an hour.

Sean: And how did you handle them?

Lisa: Well, remember, I was in charge of schedules for most of the executives they were trying to reach and because of by position I had the authority and knowledge of all events and appointments which were important and off course what wasn’t. I knew exactly what they had time for and what they didn’t.

Sean: So, you could actually make an appointment for a decision maker with a sales person, without even speaking to the decision maker?

Lisa: Yes, but I didn’t do that very often. Only if I knew the executive was already looking for more information or to speak to someone in that field. Usually, if I really thought that the product or service was something the contact may want to see or hear about, I would put the call through.

Sean: What would you say was your biggest complaint about sales people? I mean, what is the one thing they do that aggravates you the most?

Lisa: I would say that most of them think I’m stupid. They treat me like a child or an automated switchboard or someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing or hasn’t any authority. That really irked me. I mean, I’ve been in this business for 19 years, and I get some kid on the phone who talks down to me like I’m an idiot. I really hate it when they think they can just start a casual conversation with me or butter me up and I’ll put them through.

Sean: How do you respond to that type of treatment? Do you hang up on them?

Lisa: Oh no, I’d never do that.

Sean: Why, because you want to maintain a certain image for the company?

Lisa: Yes. Well, that’s part of it. I hate to admit this, but one of the main reasons I don’t slam the phone down on those that really tee me off, is because if I did that, I know they wouldn’t call back any more.

Sean: Isn’t that what you wanted?

Lisa: No, not the ones who irritate me, I want them to call back and to keep calling back, over and over. I just play along with them and let them think that they are getting to me and let them think that there might be a big sale in it if they just keep trying. Some of them are pathetic and so desperate, I know they will keep calling and calling. Most of the time I put them on hold and do other things. Sometimes I’ll put them on hold just to see how long they will remain holding. (chuckle)

Sean: That’s a little harsh, maybe even cruel, don’t you think?

Lisa: Ha! I know it’s not very nice, but they have no business to treat me like they do either.

Sean: Do you ever worry doing something like that to an important person or a potential customer? I mean, what if you put a VIP on hold and left him or her there? Don’t you risk costing your boss and the company money and reputation?

Lisa: Oh, no. That doesn’t happen. I can tell the difference between those low type sales people and telemarketers; you know immediately the ones that don’t have any real say-so or position and the ones who might be important.

Sean: But how? How can you tell the difference from what you call a low-level telemarketer and a VIP?

Lisa: Um… I don’t know, really. I just can. I mean, they just sound like they are telemarketers who are at the low level, you know! I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I can tell almost as soon as they say Hi, there! Plus, I can tell when they’re reading from a script, even when they try really hard to make it sound like they’re just talking. I can tell.

Sean: So, as soon as you believe you hear someone who is the run-of-the-mill telemarketer, that’s it—they have no chance?

Lisa: No! I don’t do that to everyone…I mean, not without reason. When I get a call from someone for the first time, I always give them a chance. I know that they are trying to earn a living. I give them a chance. But then, when they start with the same old stuff, the same lines and little stupid jokes; that’s when I put them through the ‘you know what’ screen out.

Sean: So, you hear the same thing from lots of them?

Lisa: Yes! It’s exactly the same. Even some of the stupid little jokes…are the same. Calls will go like this, “Hi There! Lisa, is it? How are you today? So is there anybody else working over there today besides yourself, Lisa? Ha! ha!” Oh it’s sickening. Oh, you know what else I really can’t stand? When they try to act like they KNOW the contact, like they’re good friends with my boss. I can’t stand that. They don’t understand that I know these people and I’ve worked with them for years and I know the calls they get on a regular basis.

Sean: So, are there any actual sales people you actually put through to your boss?

Lisa: Like I said, yes. If I think it might be something relevant, someone or something important, not someone who will waste by boss’s time, I’ll let the call through.

Sean: Lisa, it sounds like you have a lot of time to talk to these sales people.

Lisa: It’s part of my job. I mean, I am charged with helping find new suppliers and companies that we may want to do business with. So, yeah, I’ll talk to them and ask some questions even if I think it’s a sales person or someone of interest to our company.

Sean: But how can you always know what may or may not be of interest to your company and what your company may need? Don’t you think you might screen out some sales people that are selling something that could be useful to your company? Or, something that maybe your boss might have wanted to know more about?

Lisa: I guess that could happen once in a while. But no matter what the company sells, if it is a product that we can use, they will usually start with me. And if the sales person is an _____hole, then we don’t want to do business with them even if they do have something we may need. Whatever it is, somebody else sells it, too. And like I said, I can tell the difference between one of those lower-level ones and a high-level professional person. I mean, I know the kind of business people my bosses like to work with.

Sean: Speaking about your bosses, do any of them tell you or give you instruction on how to handle calls or who to put through or something like that?

Lisa: Hey, I don’t tell them how to do their jobs, they better not even think about telling me how to do mine.

Sean: Do you ever put the sales person on hold and ask your boss if he or she wants to take a certain call?

Lisa: Yes, sometimes. If I know that it is something that may be useful or that won’t be a waste of time, then I will buzz through and ask my boss if he has a few minutes would he like to take the call. But, that only happens when I already feel that the sales person is at the level of professionalism that matches people we work with. Most of them, to tell you the truth, never get that far. For most people, not all, I’d say about 75% of people that call trying to get to one of my contacts; I know what I am going to do with that caller within the first few seconds after I hear their voice.

And here ends a GATEKEEPER’S story!

So, my Final Thoughts and Advice to SALES PEOPLE & TELEMARKETERS is THIS!

1. Qualify your leads – Know what products and services the company your calling use and need.

2. Don’t Script your spiel – be natural, polite and never patronise, an experienced gatekeeper will sniff out a patronising sales person within seconds.

3. And, if at first you don’t succeed – try and try again - don’t ruin your chances of ever doing business with a company in the future by being rude or slamming down the phone just because you can’t get past the gatekeeper – always leave the door open, the gatekeeper will!

Happy Gatekeeping (and Sales People keep trying… you’ll get past them if you learn how to play the game)

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Setting Appointments

Executive Summary
It’s simple: Make efficient use of the telephone and set good qualified appointments and you will succeed. Fail in this one area and YOU fail. No matter how great your product, or professional your sales presentation or even that enticing offer you’ve just put together, if you don’t have a consistent stream of qualified prospects to listen to your story, you are doomed to mediocre sales at best.

It is essential for a professional sales person today to be able to get through to qualified prospects and set solid appointments. However, today’s consumer has changed. It has become increasingly difficult to pick up the telephone and set appointments.

To set an appointment, is to make a sale. You must “sell” the appointment as if it were a completely separate product or service. And, as with selling any product, you must have an effective and comprehensive sales process. Therefore, you must have a distinct and detailed selling process exclusively designed for setting appointments. This template will systematically lead you to design your own telephone sales process to set appointments in abundance. It does not matter if you need to set up meetings with Mr. and Mrs. Consumer in the dining room or Mr. CEO in the boardroom. Once you have the tools and, the confidence to pick up the telephone and create sales opportunities, you will begin to top the sales charts with consistency!

The Prime Objective
The most important issue in setting appointments on the telephone is to remember your primary objective: to set an appointment. While this focus may sound obvious, most sales people routinely lose this focus while making sales calls. You have to refrain from selling your product or service or from selling yourself or your company. What you are selling is the appointment. You must keep your focus on the one objective of setting up the meeting. It is during that meeting that you will sell your product, self and company—not before.

Sell the Appointment
As with selling anything, the basics of a sales presentation apply when selling appointments. To effectively sell anything, you need to:

1. Uncover a problem, thereby exposing a need
2. Present the solution to the problem to solve the need
3. Ask the prospect to take action now for a mutual benefit

However, before you can sell the appointment or anything else for that matter, you must get through to the prospect that has an open mind and will listen to your story. Before you get into your sales presentation to sell the appointment, you must develop an approach that will allow you to spend your time with prospects that are receptive enough to warrant your time as a professional sales person. To do this, you will “qualify” the prospect. You are going to screen all of the people you call so that you spend time on calls that you are reasonably sure will be worth your valuable time as a professional.

Get Rid of the Smile & Dial Mentality
One of the main problems sales people have on the telephone setting appointments or selling is the way they “sound.” When a “telemarketer” calls you, you can tell within the first three seconds that the caller is a sales person. There is a distinct sound affiliated with a telephone solicitation call that acts like a warning beacon to your potential customers. It is an abnormal tone of voice and pace of speech that is primarily due to a big phony smile and an unnaturally overenthusiastic attitude. You must get rid of the fake, forced, façade and sound like a normal person; like a businessperson. So first, lose the big smile and tone down your enthusiasm.

PULL, Don’t PUSH
Next, you must reverse the old cold-calling philosophy of the “push” or “pitch” mentality. Stereotypical cold calling methods and “scripts” teach you to force your telemarketing script on anyone who will sit still long enough to listen. The idea is that if you can keep the prospect on the telephone long enough, perhaps you can get to the “good part” before they hang up. The typical script is designed to suppress or smother responses from the prospect until much later in the call.

You do not want to push or force your presentation on anyone. Nor do you want to spend your time with people who sincerely do not want to spend their time with you. What you want to do is simply find people who are receptive and in a state of mind to listen to you when you call. If a person were truly unreceptive or too preoccupied to listen to you, then why would you want to spend your time trying to force him or her? Instead of pushing your story on unreceptive people, you are going to put all prospects through a short series of tests that will let you screen out calls that may prove unproductive. You might call these trial closes that you will use within the first few seconds of the call. If the responses to these trail closers are positive, then you move on. However, if the prospect exhibits too many negative traits, then the possibilities of setting the appointment are weak. Therefore, you can choose to terminate such calls before you invest a lot of time.

The Screening Process
You are going to create a telephone presentation that will screen your prospects during the first few seconds of the telephone call so that you spend most of your time only speaking with prospects that provide the highest percentage for setting an appointment. The following is the “structure” and outline for you to design your presentation. It is not a script. It is a process. Your actual words can and should change depending on with whom you are speaking. You are going to pre-qualify prospects before you invest your time in a full presentation and closing for an appointment. For those prospects that fail to qualify, you will terminate the call and go on to the next call. You can decide which people you will re-call at another time and the ones you will not. For those who pass your screening, you will move to set an appointment. With this process, you will save enormous amounts of time and set more appointments.

Time
Your first trail closes or tests for the prospect are to determine if you are calling at an opportune time. If you call someone at a time when they are legitimately preoccupied with something else, they may not hang up or even tell you, but you will not have their attention. In such a case, it is better to get off the telephone and call this prospect at a better time. Within the first few seconds of the call, you want to determine if the call is convenient for the prospect.

Attitude
Then, you want to determine if the prospect has the right attitude toward you, your company and the product or service that you sell. You want to find out immediately if the prospect may have any pre-existing reasons that may prevent them from setting an appointment with you. If the prospect has some preconceived negative feelings about your product, you want to find out within the first eight seconds, not after eight minutes.

Technical
Finally, you want to technically qualify the prospect as to your target market and specifications. Does the prospect need to own a home, a business or a new car? Must your potential customers have a certain amount of employees or earn a particular amount of money? Before you go any further, you want to be sure this prospect has the capability to do business with you.

Presentation
The prospects who pass those first three brief qualifying stages are the people you want to talk to. Now you will make your presentation as you will uncover the problem, expose the need, present the solution and close for the appointment.

Questions, Pauses and Stutters
To elicit these responses from the prospect you will of course ask a few questions. But you will also use deliberate, strategically placed pauses or stutters to give the person a chance to respond.

The Introduction: Time and Attitude Testing
First, listen intently from the moment the telephone begins to ring. You want to pay special attention to how the prospect answers the telephone. If you are going through a receptionist, then still pay close attention to exactly how the prospect answers the line. You can easily tell if someone is preoccupied, by the way they answer the telephone, if you just listen. Usually, the sales person is so concerned with what they are going to say to the prospect that they pay little attention to the first sounds and words the prospect makes. Listen for clues that reveal the prospect’s mental state. In your introduction, you want to test the prospect as to the convenience of the call and their response to your company name.

Prospect: “Bill’s Automotive. Bill speaking”
Sales Person: “Ah, Bill Johnson, please.”

Our sales person realises that the person is more than likely the owner, Bill Johnson. But the key is to elicit responses from the prospect. So, the sales person asked to confirm, thereby getting an additional response.

Prospect: “Speaking.”
Sales Person: “Yes, Bill, John Harris with ABC Life Insurance… (Pause)…how are you?”

You want to pause and listen intently to the prospect’s reaction to hearing your name and the company you work with. You also want to listen to the response to the question, “How are you?” This is not a rhetorical question, as you really want to know if the prospect is in a good mood. If this prospect has not offered any negative responses thus far, it is likely the call is relatively convenient for the prospect and so far there are no ill feelings about you or your company. Remember, you are giving the person as much opportunity to object if they have an objection.

Go to the last page of this document and design YOUR PERSONAL INTRODUCTION. You want to be sure to pause, giving the prospect ample time to respond to your name and the name of your company. Note, that if the prospect wants to engage in a little bit of friendly banter at this point, that is ok, but do not force it.

Introduce Product or Service – More Attitude testing
Now you want to make it very clear exactly why you are calling. Let the prospect know your purpose. You just want a brief statement that explains what you do and sell. You also want to make it clear that you work with other people similar to the prospect; you work with their peers.

Sales Person: “Yes, Bill, ABC Life, we work primarily with independent business owners like yourself on tax favorable insurance plans, and … (Pause)… or “do you have a quick minute?” And pause

Prospect: “Yeah, sure”

Pause again and allow the prospect the opportunity to raise an objection to the idea of insurance. You can also ask the prospect if they have a moment, though this is not always necessary. If the prospect still has not raised any negative feedback at this point, you can be reasonably certain that this person is at least open to the idea of talking to a life insurance sales person. This does not mean that they are guaranteed to set an appointment, but you did not run over the prospect. You allowed him time to offer a negative response or an objection and none came forth

Design your own INTRODUCTION OF PRODUCT OR SERVICE statement.

Sales Person:“Bill I am talking to all of the business owners in your area, are you the sole owner there, Bill?

Prospect: “Yeah. Well, just me and the bank”

The sales person uses a quick question for the final technical qualifying stage. Design your TECHNICAL QUALIFYING question now.

Now, that this prospect has passed the psychological and technical qualifying stages, you can go into your presentation. Remember the steps to a sale: Uncover a problem, present the solution and ask for action

Sales Person: “I’m sure you are aware, Bill, that often independent business owners usually end up paying too much money for their machinery and property insurance. The large corporations save money because they insure millions of dollars, but usually the independent business owner pays way too much, you know what I mean?”

Prospect: “Yeah, well it’s no walk-in-the-park anymore that’s for sure.”

The sales person presents the prospect with a problem. It is a problem the prospect will easily understand and recognise. It is also a problem that all of his peers share. The problem has to be one that all prospects in the peer demographic can relate to.

Design your PROBLEM STATEMENT now.

Sales Person: “Well, Bill we have a program that helps the independent owner like yourself save tens of thousands of pounds in premiums and offers tax savings as well. You don’t have to have a million pounds worth of assets to save 20, 30 or even 40%…(pause)”

Prospect: “Oh yeah?”

Sales person presents that he has the solution to the problem. Design your SOLUTION. Remember, your objective is to sell the appointment ONLY. Do not get into detail on your solution. You HAVE the solution to the problem, but a personal meeting is necessary for you to present it.

Sales Person: “Anyway, the reason I’m calling is that I am getting together with some business owners in your area next week, basically to introduce myself and to show you how I can help you save a little money….

Sales person: asks the prospect to take action now because he is seeing other “like” people who share the same problem, next week.

Sales Person: “Anyway, I’d like to get together with you Bill, say this Thursday, at 2:30, or would you have a couple of minutes around 4:00?”

Always use a simple “alternate of choice” to close for the time. Design your CLOSING QUESTION.

Prospect: “Well, I don’t really need any more insurance right now. I have plenty. Why don’t you send me some information in the post?”

If the prospect offers some objection here, don’t panic. Remember that you are NOT in an adversarial relationship. You already screened out those prospects that would have offered strong resistance in the beginning. You are speaking to someone who is open-minded. Do not hit him over the head. Most important, DO NOT TRY TO SELL THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE. Stay focused on the appointment only.

Sales Person: “That’s great, Bill. We only work with successful business owners who are ALL well covered. We’ll sit down for a few minutes and I’ll share a few innovate ideas with you. In itself, the information that I leave with you, will be of great value to you. Are the mornings good for you, we can chat over a cup of coffee Bill, or is it easier to get a short break in the afternoon?”

Also, remember to always end that objection response with alternative choice of close. Design your OBJECTION Answer. You may wonder how you can design an answer to an objection that you have not heard yet. Understand that any objection from the prospect at this point is going to be about buying the product or service. So, in almost every case, you can use nearly the same response to get back to focus on the appointment.

Prospect: “The mornings are out I mean it would have to be after 4:00.”

Sales Person: “No problem, Bill. Let’s say we get together this Thursday, at 4:30, will that work for you?

Now simply rap it up by confirming the date and time. Design and complete your presentation keeping in mind, that this is a process not a pitch. You want a presentation that is PLANNED NOT CANNED.

Your Personal Telephone Presentation Process for Setting Appointments

Your Introduction
Determine time, convenience of the call
Your Introduction of Product/Service:
Test Prospect’s Attitude
Technical Qualification Question(s)

Prospect is qualified—time to go for it!

The Problem: Peers all share this problem
The Solution: Not too much detail. You have the solution but need to meet
Your Closing Question: Alternate of choice
Possible Objection: You are on the same side—sell only the appointment

Confirm the appointment!

Happy Appointment Making!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Here’s a question I received last week:

Hi Sean,

On the phone: When the possible client tells you that he is happy with his existing supplier how would you break that barrier to get the meeting with him anyway?

Thanks

Kristina

I’m Happy You’re Happy!!

WHAT barrier? How do you break that barrier?

Here is a question for everyone to think about, and I am not being sarcastic.

I want you seriously to think about this: When the prospect says, “I’m happy with my supplier…” What barrier, what objection, what problem are we talking about?

A few seconds into a cold call the prospect says he or she is happy with their current supplier.

Ok

So?

What’s the problem?

OF COURSE he or she is happy with their current supplier. What kind of a decent business person would NOT be happy with whom they are doing business with?

Think about it: A business manager is doing business with a company that he is unhappy or unsatisfied in doing business with. WHY on earth would he continue doing business with that company even for a minute?

Is he stupid?

If he was unhappy, then why did he or she not rectify the situation before? Was he waiting for you to call, while in the mean time his company was losing money or service by continuing to work with a substandard vendor?

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SIDE BAR

Check out our Essential Selling Skills Course that we run at Heathrow and Manchester

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As sales people, we too often fall into the trap of looking for the prospect that is sitting there waiting for us to call. This is a mistake. Frankly, I don’t want to do business with the manager or director who has been doing business with a supplier that they do not want to do business with. This person is could be incompetent or at best, a lousy manager.

Of course they are happy and I am happy that they are happy!

Now, again, what is the barrier that we talking about?

Are you asking this person, after only a few seconds on the telephone, to drop their current supplier and do business with you? Of course not.

All you are seeking is a meeting, right? Ok. Then what does the fact that they are happy have to do with the price of tea in China?

Too often we try to skip over the steps in the sales process. When calling for an appointment—just sell the appointment—just sell the meeting. They are happy, so what? You are not asking them to drop their supplier and give you the business. All you are looking for is a meeting.

That’s all—just a meeting.

Prospect:
“I’m sorry but I am very happy with my current supplier. I have been doing business with them for 14 years now, and I am not thinking about changing.”

Sales Person:
“Great! I’m glad to hear that Mr. Prospect and if you were NOT happy with your supplier, then I would have to wonder how you were running your business. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not asking you to change suppliers or to even THINK about doing something like that. In fact, I have not yet EARNED the right even to ask you. The purpose of my call is to introduce myself and ABC Company and simply to update you of the options, which I am certain that as a savvy business man, you always want to stay informed of.

“Mr. Prospect, over a cup of coffee, I’ll update you on the options available and provide you with some very valuable information that will be beneficial to you whether we ever do any business or not. If our relationship goes any further than this one meeting, it will only be because YOU want it to. I can see you on Tuesday at 4:15?”

Now you know me, and you know that the above example is in no way meant to be a script.

That example represents the way of THINKING; the mentality you have to have.

Don’t skip steps in the sales process. First get the appointment. Then make the presentation, then the proposal. Don’t look for the lay downs.

Sell ONLY the meeting.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Do you know who the Millennial Generation are?

You’d better, and quick at that too because you’ll have to sell to them in the not too distant future!

Well, the Millennial Generation are a group of people (a bit like the Baby Boomer generation) who were born between 1977 and 1998.

They are just beginning to enter the workforce and get their first jobs.

Now you may or may not be selling to them now but you will certainly be selling to them in some capacity in the future.

So what are the main considerations that you need to think about now and for the future when this group of influential people have got the spending power as a consumer or spending power as a decision maker?

Characteristics of the Millennial Generation:

- They are more confident than the generation before them. Pressure from achievement orientated and pushy parents has made sure of this!

- They are independent. Most of them have mobiles, laptops, ipods, access to the internet.

- They are internet savvy. This means that they can hunt down information and research quicker than anyone else.

- They are technically sound. Whereas my parents didn’t have a scooby doo about anything IT related, this group do and are up to date with the latest trends in IT, software and internet applications.

- They like lots of friends. Growing up in the early 70’s and 80’s it was the ME ME ME attitude of doing things alone or in small groups. Today the Millennials like to socialise in larger groups and have hundreds of friends whereas in the past quality over quantity won the day.

So what does this mean to you as a sales person?

Well, you need to start planning how you are going to sell to this generation. They love applications like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other social networks. does your company use these?

You need to “hang out” where they do online to understand what they want and what they are talking about.

They love forums and giving their opinions on things.

They HATE the hard sell so you will need to get rid of this.