At the Sound of the Beep

At the Sound of the Beep

by Tim Wackel

There's a school of thought that says never leave a voicemail for someone you're cold calling. These candidates for voicemail's hall of shame should have heeded that advice.

Hall of Shame Candidate #1
Hi, this is Ken with Hopeless Inc. We purchase used office telephone equipment and PC's. Our number is 214.555.1212. If you've recently switched systems or plan to in the near future please give us a call at 214.555.1212.

Not much of a compelling reason to return this call. What is the potential value in doing business with Hopeless Inc.? It looks like the classic numbers game - make enough calls and eventually you find someone who has just "switched systems" and wants to get rid of the junk sitting in the closet.

Hall of Shame Candidate #2
Good morning Kim, this is Barbie with Clueless. We produce the business to business database called Insight Online. I'm following up on your email inquiry to see if you have any questions about our product. Please give me a call at your convenience. My number is 888.555.1212 extension 1234.

Well for starters my name isn't Kim. Yes, I did make an inquiry, and I'm pretty confident that I didn't misspell my name on their form. Barbie says she wants to see if I have any questions on their product. Maybe it's just me, but if I had a question I'm thinking I would pick up the phone and call them. What if Barbie was calling because she had ideas on how Insight Online has helped other sales speakers improve their business? Think I would return that call? You better believe it!

So what does it take to craft a better voice mail message? How can you improve your odds of getting a call back? Here are five questions that will help you start creating better messages now:

1. Who is your target market?
Specifically, what is the title of the decision maker you want to do business with? And, if you are leaving a message for me, I want to hear that you work with professional sales trainers and speakers. I'm not interested in a one-size-fits-all approach. I'm interested in talking with someone who knows something about what I do (that's why it's called research!).

2. What are some of the specific challenges that you solve?
What are some opportunities that you help create? Be as specific as possible. This is the classic pains and gains stuff. Re-visit these ideas often.

3. What emotions (frustration, disappointment, concern, optimism, hope) does your target market experience with the challenges and opportunities you outlined above?
Remember that emotion plays a big part in buying decisions, yet most people sell using too much logic. Ever see someone driving a Lexus or wearing a Rolex? Help me understand the logic behind those buying decisions.

4. What are some of the competitive alternatives available to your target market?
Yeah, I hear you screaming "never bring up the competition!" Do you really believe your prospect is only going to consider you without checking out someone else? Think again! And remember, doing nothing is a competitive alternative.

5. Why, based on all of the alternatives available, should they do business with you?
What are your compelling differentiators? Be careful here, because most of you are thinking "great products, awesome service, solid reputation and a competitive price." If most of you are thinking this, then it really isn't a compelling differentiator is it?

Fill in the blanks, read, revise, get feedback from your peers and you will have crafted a message that is purposeful, powerful and on target.

"I specialize in helping (target market) who are (feelings/emotions) with (specific challenges) and want proven solutions for (your specific benefits). (Quantify number or use names) of clients have already discovered that unlike (competitive alternative), my solution is/does (compelling differentiator).

My goal is not to make a sales call on you, but if these issues sound familiar and the benefits are important to you, then it might be worth ten minutes for us to have a brief fact finding conversation."

Add this to your arsenal of scripts and you'll be getting callbacks in no time.

Tim Wackel is the founder of The Wackel Group, a training and consulting firm. Learn more at www.TimWackel.com.

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Fire Any Customers Lately?

You will always have 10% of your customers who are not profitable. No matter how much you think you need their business, they're hurting your top-line and bottom-line. Save yourself some money and gain some time by firing them.

Whenever I mention this to people, they always freak out because they soon see how serious I am. There is not one salesperson who does not have a customer who needs to be fired, based on the lack of profit you're making from them and/or the hassles they are causing you and your company. The most valuable asset in any company is time - the time the employees have. When it gets wasted doing activities that are not profitable, then it only results in one thing - the overall company being less profitable.

For more great articles and the free download of the week, visit salesdog.com

What Does Eye Movement Reveal?

Today sales trainer Mark Hunter shares how you can watch your prospect's eye movement to learn more about what they're thinking.

Eye movement can reveal a lot about a person's level of confidence and commitment. Rapid movement of the eyes many times will indicate the person is not confident about what they are saying — or what they are hearing.

We simply do not pay enough attention to the eyes, whether it be our own eyes or those of the person to whom we are talking. The eyes reveal a significant amount about a person, and yet over the past 25 years as a society, we've learned not to focus on eye contact.

I'm not sure if this is because of the percentage of our conversations that occur on-line and on the telephone — both scenarios where there is no eye contact — or if the decline in eye contact is due to something else.

If we can learn to give people good eye contact and, at the same time, use our eye contact to study them, I believe we can learn a significant amount about how they think and may react to what we're discussing.

Rapid eye movement is but one indicator, but that in itself is huge, as it can tell us their level of confidence. Confident people are calm, and calm people have stable eye movement. This is why many police officers use the eyes as a leading indicator when they're talking to somebody.

Eye movement or eye contact also can tell us if the person is engaged with us or pre-occupied. Yes, it's very easy for people to pick up a person's lack of interest if they are not giving us eye contact, but we can also tell by their level of focus. When people are attentive to what you're saying, their eyes will have far more focus than the aimless stare of the disengaged person.

What I find amazing about all of this is these are not complex insights. They are very basic. Yet that's what makes them so good, because so few people truly learn from the other person's eyes. Raising our awareness to this one cue can open doors where we can gain valuable information.

One final thought — I may have shared this all in the context of watching someone else's eyes, but don't forget the same observations apply to your eyes as well. So pay attention to what you are doing with your own eyes too.

Selling to the Opposite Sex

No one will deny men and women have different ways of communicating - just ask any married couple. The question is - how do you deal with these different styles when selling to the opposite sex? Sales trainer Will Turner has the advice you need to break down the communication barrier and start selling. If you're a female salesperson calling on a male prospect, focus your talk on goal-oriented activities, tangible accomplishments, or problem solving. Observe and listen rather than processing out loud, and be succinct and bottom-line focused. Be careful not to offer help before it is asked for, as doing so may indicate a lack of trust in his ability. Above all, never force a man to talk if he is not ready. If you are a male salesperson calling on a female prospect, ask what you can do to help, as she will interpret this as a show of support. Understand that women may process out loud as a way of including others and building relationships. Listen patiently to the stories of your prospect, even when you are anxious to get to the bottom line. Never short-circuit the opportunity to get to know your prospect. Get advice to increase your sales each week. Take a moment to sign up for Coffee with Dog. You'll get world-class sales advice from America's leading experts along with priceless personal growth and motivational insights. :  click here and start selling more.

Are You a Student of Sales?

Today sales trainer Kelley Robertson gives us a great reminder - never stop learning!

The business world is constantly changing but many sales people don't keep pace with these changes. Instead, they continue to use tired tactics, outdated scripts, and ineffective approaches.

Consider these questions...

--When was the last time you attended a sales training workshop?
--What was the last sales book you read?
--How often do you implement a new technique, strategy or approach?
--What changes have you made in your sales approach in the last three month? Six months? Twelve?
--Are other sales people in your company achieving better results than you are? If so, what are they doing differently? What could you learn from them?

Several years ago I attended a conference and one of the breakout sessions focused on negotiating skills. I struck up a conversation with the guy beside me and learned that he was the chief negotiator for a prominent gravel company. When he told me that he had held that position for more than 15 years, I asked why he was attending this particular program.

"I can always learn something and even if the session only reinforces what I know, it will be worth it."

What a great perspective!

He truly epitomized the concept of being a lifelong learner and reminded me of the importance of keeping an open mind.

To succeed in today's challenging business climate and increase your sales, it is essential to maintain a student's mindset and constantly look for ways to refine your skill and update your knowledge.

As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com

SalesDog Quick Tip

Think differently.

Not every group of prospects is going to be interested in the same things. Learn to differentiate between the companies and contacts on your list, so that you can grab their attention in your cold calls and lead generation activities.

Today's quick tip comes from Kendra Lee, a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert and author of the award winning book "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. To find out more about the author, read her latest articles, or to subscribe to her newsletter visit www.klagroup.com or call +1 303.741.6636

Where Does the Time Go?

Today sales trainer Tom Reilly shares how a return to some old-fashioned selling may just be your best bet.

Salespeople spend most of their time on non-revenue producing activities. Really?

A recent study found that salespeople spend more than 70% of their time doing things other than selling. Our research found that salespeople spend, at most, 30% of their time in face-to-face selling. The rest of the time is spent handling administrative tasks, making collections calls, resolving logistics issues, attending meetings, and filling out reports.

How can we call these folks “salespeople” anymore when less than half of their time is spent selling? Maybe we should call them "support account administrators who occasionally sell." Who is at fault--salespeople or management? Finger pointing does not really accomplish much other than scapegoating the blame.

It confounds me when salespeople tell me that they cannot make more face-to-face calls. Why not? Do buyers perceive little value in the meeting? Do managers require salespeople to yield to administrative distractions? Is traffic that bad?

I grew up in a sales culture where we were required to make eight face-to-face sales calls per day. If we were in the office between 8 AM and 5 PM, our bosses assumed we were goofing off, and we probably were. Sales managers scrutinized our phone credit card statements to make sure we did not spend the day doing phone work versus face-to-face selling. We did paperwork at night or on Saturday morning. If it sounds a bit Draconian, it was not. We were salespeople after all, not office people. I learned a work ethic that helped me start and run two successful businesses, and I am eternally grateful for the lesson. Maybe it is time for some old-school selling rules again.

Tom Reilly is the president of Tom Reilly Training. He is an authority on value-added selling, and speaks to thousands of salespeople and managers annually on increasing their value to their company and customers.