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.

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."

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.

"I'm just calling to check in ..."

This is surely one of the most ineffective (translate: lame) openers you could use. But does that stop most salespeople? Unfortunately, no.

"If you're like most people, you've used this opener at some point in your sales career," says Colleen Francis of Engage Selling. "What you may not realize is that this little sentence can quickly reduce your credibility with your prospect. Are you really calling just to check in or check up? If so, either you've got a lot more time on your hands than I do, or else it's time to seriously consider a career change!"

Francis gives this advice for creating a more effective opening:

First, start by removing the word 'just' - it makes you sound unimportant, and your call seem like an afterthought.

Replace it with something like: "The last time we spoke, you ..." By taking the customer back to the last time you spoke, you remind them of your relationship, and prove that you are carrying through on what you were asked or promised to do.

Nothing builds rapport better than a promise kept. Rapport leads to trust, and trust leads to loyal customers.

Give this tip a try this week and see the impact on your calls.

Sales trainer Colleen Francis is president of Engage Selling Solutions and a contributor to Top Dog Sales Secrets.

Unstuck the Staller

You know the type - they hem and haw through all your follow-up phone calls and just can't seem to make a decision. Phone call after phone call, meeting after meeting, and you're no closer to a deal. What can you do to get them to take action? Try this advice from author and speaker Dianna Booher:

Offer guarantees

"Stallers typically suffer from indecisiveness," explains Booher. "Create opportunities for the indecisive to touch, see, feel, and experience your product or service. Provide all the possible evidence of results. Put the indecisive in touch with references who can offer assurances. Delay payment options until the buyer has opportunity to sample your service and trust that you will not deliver and then run and hide."

Help the indecisive to pass the buck

"Once you determine your Staller is incapable of making a decision no matter what guarantees you offer, help him to pass the decision off to others, for example, his boss, a team of colleagues such as a task force, or even a subordinate 'who needs to develop judgment.' If the would-be target is a task force, volunteer to help get the group organized. Yes, generally, it is tougher to sell to a committee, but you have a better chance of selling to an action-oriented committee than a stalled individual," says Booher.

You probably have a few Stallers clogging up your pipeline right now. So, get in gear and put this advice to work for you right away.

-- Dianna Booher, founder of Booher Consultants, is a contributor to Top Dog Sales Secrets. She delivers keynotes and training on business communication.

Cold Calling Demystified

What sales activity do you dread the most? If you're like most sales professionals, it's cold calling. Picking up the phone and talking with a perfect stranger (who has the power to reject you) can strike fear in the heart of even the most confident salesperson.

Fortunately, Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling" (and one of the featured authors in Top Dog Sales Secrets) has outlined 8 strategies to guarantee your cold calling success.

Cold Calling Strategy #1: Make telephone calls

No one will buy from you if they do not know of you, your company/products/services. Every sale has its own cycle. Depending on what you are selling, it could be a short cycle of a day or two, or it could be a long cycle of a year or two. Your call is your introduction and the start of your entire sales process. Without that initial prospecting call, you will not close any sales.

Check out the rest of Wendy's strategies at: 8 Strategies to Guarantee Cold Calling Success

Wendy Weiss is a former ballet dancer who set appointments for clients as her day job. She was so effective, one of her clients dubbed her the "Queen of Cold Calling." The title stuck. When injuries sidelined her dance career, Wendy transformed her day job into a full-time career as a sales trainer, coach and author. Her clients include ADP, Avon and Sprint.

Wendy's the real deal. She has a ton of free resources and terrific training programs on her site. Check it out at http://www.wendyweiss.com/ or e-mail her at wendy@wendyweiss.com