Coffee with the Dog: Is Cold Calling Really Dead?

Let's Talk About Cold Calling

In this week's Coffee With the Dog newsletter, SalesDog founder and CEO, Michael Dalton Johnson, is giving you the lowdown on cold calling.

If the idea of making the first move and calling your prospective clients sends shivers down your spine, you're not alone. But Johnson is offering up some encouragement: 

"Despite what you are being told, Cold Calling is alive and kicking – and still an important part of many sucessful sales and marketing efforts.

In a lot of instances the need for a human voice is absolutely required. In a world of overhyped and outright devious Internet marketing, impersonal broadcast emailing and a transparently self-serving social media presence with thousands of 'friends,' a person's voice is reassuring and says 'I am a human,.. a real flesh and blood being... just like you. Let's talk.'"

To read the rest of Johnson's cold calling article, click here.

If you want more free (you can't beat that!) sales and marketing advice delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to subscribe to the Coffee With the Dog newsletter here! 

Give us your thoughts on cold calling in the comments below! 

We're Back! And We Missed All You Sales Dogs!

Our SalesDog Blog is Back!

Hello all you Sales Dogs! Our apologies for the blogging silence. Did you miss us? We most certainly missed you!

We're back now and have some great new content lined up for you! Plus, a brand new editor (that's me, Taylor Eaton). So keep your eyes glued to this blog for inspirational quotes, insights into the business world, and free tips and tricks (who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?) for your sales and marketing practices.

Can't wait for the new content to start showing up? Browse our archives or subscribe to our Coffee with the Dog newsletter for free weekly advice (AND 300 free business leads).

Got any questions for us? Feel free to leave us a comment below! We'd love to hear from you!

Email Checklist

Usually I reserve Monday blog posts for quotes that apply to selling, to give you something to think about for the week.

I still have something for you to think about this week, but instead of a quote it's something from a post on Seth Godin's blog. He put together a long checklist of things you should think about before hitting "send" on an email.

There are some good reminders, like asking yourself:


--Do I have my contact info at the bottom? (If not, consider adding it)

--Could this email be shorter?

--Am I angry? (If so, save as a draft and come back to the note in one hour)

But here's the kicker you should keep in mind this week:

If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email would I?

With the overload of email we're subjected to each day, this is an excellent reminder to keep your communication to that which is necessary, pertinent, and important. Your customers will thank you.

Cold Call Using Your Right Brain

If you're having trouble cold calling, the problem might be which side of your brain you're using.

Research shows that left-brain thinkers are analytical, logical, and look at things in parts, while right-brain thinkers are creative, believe that everything is possible, and look at a situation as a whole, rather than as steps. This means that right-brain thinkers are more likely to look at cold calling as a way to start a conversation, and consequently face fewer setbacks when the conversation doesn't lead to a sale.

If you're not enjoying cold calling, try looking at it with a right brain mentality. Here are some suggestions from sales trainer and speaker Ari Galper.

• Before you make a cold call, think to yourself, "My goal is not to make the sale but to create a conversation based on how I can help the other person."

• Avoid changing who you are when you make your call. There's no need to be on "stage" or to sound enthusiastic. Just be your everyday relaxed self, as if you're calling a friend. People know when you're being genuine, and when you're not.

• Throw out your linear sales script and generate a spontaneous conversation based on the problems you can help the other person solve.

• Let go of thinking "buyer-seller," and view the person you're calling as another person, not as a "prospect."

• Let go of worrying about driving the conversation "forward." Instead, open your call with a problem statement that generates the response "What do you mean?" or "Tell me more."

Ari Galper is the creator of Unlock The Game, a new sales mindset that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today. Contact him at www.unlockthegame.com.

Most Sales Professionals Happy with Management, Despite Stress and a Lack of Leads and Training

Our recent Sales Career Satisfaction Survey reveals the people who sell products and services for a living have conflicting feelings about their chosen career.

The survey, which asked questions on various job satisfaction issues, was sent to our subscribers. Over 2,000 salespeople responded. The survey found that, while most sales professionals are reasonably satisfied with their jobs, they consider high stress to be a significant occupational hazard. In fact, nearly six out of 10 respondents said they consider their jobs stressful.

Despite the job pressure, 70 percent of respondents reported being happy with their management, while 64 percent of those taking the survey said they felt adequately recognized for their achievements. A surprising 75 percent of respondents believe their management's sales expectations or quotas are realistic.

The survey revealed a number of significant job dissatisfaction issues as well.

Only half of the respondents expressed satisfaction with their compensation, while 52 percent felt their companies could provide better training. Fifty-five percent alse believed their companies could do a better job of providing sales leads.

"The survey findings suggest that most salespeople feel good about their chosen career despite the high stress levels," says Michael Dalton Johnson, founder and publisher of SalesDog.com. "Considering that lack of recognition is a common complaint of many employees in all types of jobs, we were surprised to learn the large number of salespeople who feel adequately recognized for their work."

Overall, the survey indicates enthusiasm for a sales career is strong, as witnessed by an overwhelming 83 percent of respondents saying they would recommend sales as a career for young people entering the workforce.

Survey results are available at http://www.salesdog.com/survey_1.asp

Want to Become a Sales Superstar?

Our friend, the bestselling author and sales expert, Paul McCord, has a new book out today called SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales Superstar. I encourage you to check it out especially if you're ready to take your career to the next level.

When you buy your copy today at Amazon -- today only -- you will also get over $2,500 worth of bonuses. You can check out your bonuses here.

Here's what people are saying about SuperStar Selling:

"Think top sellers are born, not made? If so, you'll learn otherwise in this straight-shooting book by Paul McCord. He takes the mystique out of their stellar results and shows you exactly what top producers do differently than the Average Joe. Best of all, he shows you how you can replicate their achievements, capitalize on your personal strengths and take charge of your success." - Jill Konrath, best-selling author, Selling to Big Companies
"Paul McCord has written the most complete sales bible for aspiring sales superstars I've ever read! His 12 Keys will become your "Ten Commandments" to both a far more profitable career and fulfilling life!" - Dave Anderson, best-selling author, How to Deal with Difficult Customers
"If you're tired of chasing, pursuing, and begging for sales, read this book immediately. Paul McCord knows what it takes to become a sales superstar and knows how to make you one too. I know because I've seen him do it for countless salespeople firsthand." - Frank Rumbauskas, NY Times Bestselling Author, Never Cold Call Again
SuperStar Selling is the REAL DEAL.

Get real guidance.

Change your career forever.

Buy your copy NOW.
Once you have bought your copy from Amazon, go to: http://www.thetwelvekeys.com/html/register.html to claim all of your bonuses.

Quote of the Week

"Let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish." - Ovid, Roman Poet

These may be fancy words from an old-world poet, but they ring true in business today. The only way you'll be successful in sales is to be constantly prospecting and finding new ways to reach your customers. Attend a community event, create a business card that expresses your personality, or just hold the door open for someone juggling a tray of Starbucks. You'll be surprised what turns up in your net.

Do you have any stories of unlikely meetings or a method that helped you reach prospects in a new way? We'd love to hear them!

SalesDog Quick Tip

You've finally secured a meeting with an account you've been pursuing for months, only to learn you'll be meeting with a purchasing agent rather than the COO, Manager, etc. Purchasing agents, specifically, are usually interested in one thing - price. So, how do you get them to look beyond the price to the value of your solution? Paul Cherry, a sales training consultant and author, suggests you create value for the purchasing agent by understanding their need to feel appreciated.

"When companies keep a narrow focus on increasing profitability, people can slip below the radar. When the company has a great year, the CEO rarely says, "We owe it all to our purchasing agents toiling down in the basement, saving us 5 cents apiece on widgets," notes Cherry.

He continues, "Many workers you deal with feel overworked and under-respected. All they ask its that you make them look good. Provide them with solutions that'll take paperwork off their desks and keep their bosses happy with them, and they'll be happy with you."

Paul Cherry is the president of Performance Based Results, a sales training and leadership development firm. He has trained and coached over 1,200 organizations in every major industry ranging from family-owned small businesses to leading Fortune 500 companies. He is also the author of the top-selling book, Questions That Sell and the soon-to-be-released Questions That Lead.

Good Prospecting is Boring

I came across this blog post written by Nigel Edelshain over at Sales 2.0 and thought it was a great reminder to all salespeople that success is in the details. It may not be glamorous, but the best way to earn more money (and reach that glamorous lifestyle!) is to spend time scheduling follow-up calls, taking notes, and making lists.

"We had been on quite a 'roll' securing new business and leads all over the place for our clients for a few months," says Edelshain. "Then we relaxed a bit, got a bit less detail-focused and 'voila' things slowed up in the pipeline. So we spent the last couple of weeks looking into what was causing this slow down - what we have found was details. It turned out small differences in how 'type A' we were being really impacted our results."

Some specific areas that we found:

• Scheduling Follow-Up Calls: Some of our sales team got into the habit of scheduling follow-up calls one or several weeks out. But deals have their own tempo and when leads are warm that tempo needs to increase. Follow-up should be sooner for warm leads. We started to shorten our follow-up time, especially on warm leads, and right away our sales pipeline improved. A pretty boring detail.

• Note-taking: CRM systems are pretty boring. But taking good notes on your interactions with prospects is very important if you "team sell." Team selling can be extremely powerful - it lets others come up with ideas you may have missed. But team members can only help you if you take enough notes for them to know what's going on with that contact/account. We started getting "type A" on our notes again and came up with new ideas that caused deals to flow.

• Documenting Best Practices: Another boring one. Who wants to put information into an Intranet when you could be selling? Understood. But we found that some of our sales people were missing details of the sales process for specific products we are selling. They had definitely known the details at some point but had simply forgotten one particular point on one particular project. Big deal? Well it can be because sales is a "real time game," if you don't say the right thing on a prospecting call, you lose your chance. Knowing the details of the sales process is key.

• Lists: Yet another boring one. I believe target lists for prospecting may be the #1 factor in determining sales success. If you call the wrong people, you won't sell anything. We started to lose one name here and one name there, whether from an outside list or a referral that was not well documented in our CRM system (not truly lost but not in the right place). A name here or there does not seem like a "biggie" right? But all this adds up. It's that one missing name that might be a prospect with a burning need.

"I've said before 'sales is just like accounting,'" continues Edelshain. "In prospecting this is so true. The details count a lot. The cliche of salespeople is loud backslappers buying drinks at the gold club. Great characters but lousy at administration...and details. The reality in a 'Sales 2.0 world' is that salespeople need to be 'boring' and not miss a detail - or they will miss a deal."

Paint a Picture to Make the Sale

If a picture really is worth a thousand words, sales trainer and consultant Craig James is right on target when he asks, "Why is it, then, in our conversations, in our written correspondence, and in our presentations, we act as if the opposite is true - that a thousand words will create the picture we want?"

If you're having trouble getting the point across, James suggests you try using a metaphor or analogy to paint a picture in your prospect's mind. By doing this you will "create a visual image of your concept; in doing so, you ensure that it sticks with your prospect better and far longer than would a litany of industry- or product-specific terms," says James. "You can also use these tools when facing objections: the images that metaphors and analogies create cause prospects to pause and think, and to see the situation from a perspective different from their own (yours)."

Wondering how to start using metaphors and analogies in your sales conversations? Try this action tip from James:

Write down the names of three prospects with whom you're currently engaged, or are trying to engage, and who are having difficulty "getting it." Next to each name write down the aspect of your offering that the prospect is having the most difficulty understanding, and hence, buying into.

Then make a list of all the things you know about this person that could serve as the basis for a metaphor or analogy. Your list could include the industry they're in, their personal interests and hobbies, family situation, achievements, challenges, news and facts on them that you might find in trade journals, on blogs, or on social networking sites such as LinkedIn. Pick one of these and relate it to the obstacle you're facing - the concept you're having a tough time getting across.

Craig James is president of Sales Solutions, a sales productivity improvement company. He helps sales organizations get increased production out of their sales people, and entrepreneurs and individual sales people to be more successful at selling. Learn more at http://www.sales-solutions.biz.

Winning Lessons from the Indy 500

Colleen Francis, one of our sales experts, recently had the opportunity to meet racing legend Al Usner Sr. He shared his perspective on winning at the track, and his words were very applicable to the world of sales. His thoughts are below, and the full article (and a picture!) can be found here.

1. Focus. Mr. Usner said that no matter how much noise there was, no matter how many people were at the track and no matter who was approaching him, when he walked onto the Indianapolis speedway all he heard, and all he listened to, was himself. He had tunnel vision focused on finishing the race first.

2. Times change and winners change with the times. His first win came in a car with 1000 horsepower at a top speed close to 125 miles per hour and 1-2 brake changes throughout the race because you needed to brake in the corners due to tire performance. His last race was won in a car with 750 horsepower doing close to 220 miles per hour using one set of brakes because you no longer need to brake because of new tire technology. Conditions change, winners use the new conditions to their advantage, they don't complain about them.

3. Winners want to win. They hate to lose. Winners understand that if they aren't getting the results they want it's up to them - and no one else - to take responsibility and make the changes required to win. Winners hold themselves accountable for their results. No one else.

"Learn from Al Usner Sr.," says Francis. "His family is a dynasty at the track; the best there is with nine Indianapolis 500 wins amassed to their names. That's 10% of all Indianapolis 500 wins ever! What great lessons to implement into our businesses."

Don't Allow "Busy Work" to Interfere with Selling

How many times do you have a full day of selling that gets put off due to "necessary" interruptions? If you're like most salespeople, this probably happens more frequently than you'd like. Customer service issues, phone calls, emails and coworkers are all a drain to your precious selling time each day.

Sales trainer Paul McCord has a solution that can help you handle the interruptions without taking up too much of your selling time. In a recent blog post, McCord wrote, "My solution has been to set aside four 1/2 hour times during the day when I will address non-selling issues. Twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon I set aside my selling and marketing activities in order to return calls, handle 'emergencies,' and the other 'busy' work of my business. Of course, if a real emergency arises, it takes precedence over all else. But real emergencies are rare."

This can be a scary idea for those who check their messages and email often - but you'll find that this system allows you to be more productive and focus better on the task at hand. After all, building your business should always be the number one priority.


Author of "Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals," Paul McCord is president of McCord & Associates, a sales training and management-consulting firm.

Man or Mouse? The Five Defining Moments in Your Sales Process

In a recent blog post, sales trainer Bill Caskey writes about defining moments. If you look up "defining moment" on Dictionary.com, you'll see it's described as "a point at which the essential nature of a character, person, group, etc., is revealed or identified," or "an occurrence that typifies or determines all related events that follow."

Caskey explains defining moments as the "places in life that we have a choice - follow one path that is resourceful and in everyone's best interest, or follow the path of least resistance - where we wimp on our goals." He continues, "If you're a sales person in any context - selling services, products, or selling ideas, there are 5 defining moments in the sales process. Check them out and see how you do in these moments."

1. The First Conversation. This is the time when "orientation" gets set. What that means is the prospect begins to get a feel for how you're oriented. Are you there to sell? Are you there to beg? Or, better, are you there to question and explore? Hopefully, the latter.

2. Finding the Problem. There is a moment in the sales process where the way is paved for you to ask questions to find customer problems. And yet few of us do. We're too buy talking about our company - value-people-etc., stuff that might be important to you, but isn't for your prospect. This moment defines what you're there to do (in the prospect's eyes).

3. Talking Money. Your solution costs money. There are logical times in the sales process to talk money. Your comfort in doing so makes the sales process sail. If you're afraid of bringing it up, you're sunk.

4. Involving Others. In business to business selling, there will be more than one person who makes/weighs in on the decision. There is a moment in the process where you must involve others. Maybe the first step is to ask the simple question: "Who else cares about solving this problem?"

5. Getting a Decision. There is a moment that you should lay the ground work for the decision. You aren't asking for a YES. But you should always be planning the moment where either you tell the prospect NO or they tell you NO. Either way is OK. But don't miss the moment.

Can you think of any other defining moments in the sales process? Have you had an experience changing your actions in one of these defining moments that made a difference in your sales? Let us know!

In the News

Our publisher, Michael Dalton Johnson, is on the front page of Salesopedia this week. You can check out his article, "Why You're Not Selling," here. His advice is excerpted from the bestselling advice book, Top Dog Sales Secrets. One of these tips is sure to help you sell more this week.

Quote of the Week

"Confidence and enthusiasm are the greatest sales producers in any kind of economy." -- O.B. Smith

If you want to keep your sales up in a lagging economy, approach each day with the same confidence and enthusiasm you did in good times. Easier said than done? Then, take a few minutes each morning to remind yourself of your triumphs over adversity. And, while you're at it, remind yourself why your customers need your solutions. What do they like about using your product or service? What is special about doing business with you and your company? These positive thoughts are sure to boost your confidence and help you sail through the tough times.

Ease Cold Calling Fears by Changing Your Focus

Here's a quick tip that is sure to change the way you look at cold calling from The Queen of Cold Calling, Wendy Weiss:

Change your focus from 'cold calling' (sounds scary) to 'introductory calling.' You are calling to introduce yourself, your company, product and/or service. In life, you make introductions all the time. This is an introduction that happens over the telephone.

For more no-nonsense cold calling advice, check out The Queen of Cold Calling.

SalesDog Quick Tip

Sales advice is filled with admonitions to salespeople to listen more and talk less. Sometimes this is easier said then done. Active listening is an acquired skill. Beyond asking open-ended questions, summarizing and asking for feedback, what can you do to actively listen? Try this tip from tele-selling expert Jim Domanski.

The best way to listen is to listen with a pen in your hand. Take notes. Tell your client that you'll be taking notes as you go. They'll appreciate it. It gives them peace of mind. It suggests to them that you are thorough. They also have a tendency to slow down a bit which makes listening and note taking that much easier.

Write in point form. Don't worry about getting every word in a sentence. If you miss something or you don't understand something, put a circle around it or put a big question mark beside it. When it is time for you to 'investigate' use your notes to guide you. Preface your question with trigger phrases such as, "I have a note here on my pad. You said something about ... and I did not quite get it. Could you elaborate?"

Taking notes is almost a forgotten art, particularly in tele-sales. This is often due to complacency. The rep figures he's 'heard it all before' and the need to jot down notes is not necessary. Big mistake. Writing notes keeps your focus and concentration.

Jim Domanski is the President of Teleconcepts Consulting Inc. and works with companies and individuals who are frustrated with the results they have been getting when using the telephone to generate leads and sales. For more information visit: www.teleconceptsconsulting.com or call 613-591-1998.

Working with Warm Leads

If you're like most salespeople, your company probably gives you leads from website inquiries, trade shows, Internet advertising, media advertising, and more. This is good for you (more leads!) but can also be troublesome if you don't know how to deal with these "warm leads." Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, has some Do's and Dont's for handling these leads:

#1 DO begin your opening in a welcoming, assumptive way. Try:

"Hi, this is Mike with ABC Company. I wanted to thank you for (visiting our website, stopping by our booth, your interest in) and I wanted to answer any questions you had. What specifically were you interested in?

DON'T be vague:

"Ah, this is Mike getting back with you. I see you went to our website and I was wondering how I can help you?"

#2 DO be prepared to ask qualifying questions and LISTEN to uncover their specific buying motives. Try:

"What motivated you to take the time to fill out our request form?"
"What specifically were you interested in?"
"What part of our (product/service) appealed to you most?"
"Many of our clients like that we provide X. Is that what you were looking for, too?"

DON'T start pitching! 80% of your competitors make the critical error of assuming a warm lead is interested in your product or service so they start pitching. Don't go into pitch mode!

#3 DO use a script. The top 20% of sales closers (who account for 80% of sales revenues) understand how important it is to make a connection, stay in control, uncover buying motives, and disqualify prospects who are just looking. Only a carefully crafted script allows you to do that.

DON'T ad-lib your way through your presentation. 80% of your competition still make the mistake of assuming that a warm lead is a good lead and so they often quickly make appointments, send demos, etc., without properly qualifying. Big mistake! Treat a warm lead like any other and qualify it using a script.

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, specializes in helping sales reps avoid rejection and make more money. Check out his free ezine at http://www.mrinsidesales.com/ezine.htm

How to use Google to search smarter

While looking through past posts, I found that I talk a lot about doing research before starting the sales process. If you're like me and you aren't a tech guru (another thing I seem to talk about a lot) then you may not be finding everything you need.

Simply typing a company's name into Google will only get you so far. Here are some tips from the HubSpot blog to help you search smarter:

Looking for your prospect's stock info? Enter a valid ticker symbol as your search term and Google will give you the current financials and a quick thumb-nail chart for the stock.

Example: GOOG

Want to find sales advice on a specific subject? Search within a website by typing the word or phrase you're looking for, followed by this modifier - site:(site you're looking at).

Example: "cold calling" site: www.salesdog.com

Putting together a proposal for an overseas company and need to figure out the total in Euros? Type the following into Google:

Example: 100 USD in Euros

See the rest of HubSpot's Google search tips, (and many more from their readers!) here.

SalesDog Quick Tip

As a sales professional, it is vital that you ask about competitors. Most of the time, clients will readily tell you about competitors giving you important information to plan a competitive strategy, and properly position your solution. A small percentage of clients may refuse to answer. For them, a simple acknowledgement like, " I can understand" and then moving the conversation along, works well. Or you can ask, "I know you don't want to share names, but how does (your idea) compare to what else you are hearing?"

Today's quick tip comes from Linda Richardson, president and founder of Richardson, a leading global sales training and consulting firm. This tip was excerpted from Linda's chapter in Top Dog Sales Secrets.