The Right Way to Open a Closing Call

How do you open your closing presentation calls? Have you scripted out the best opening, or do you wing it? Do you let your prospect take the lead, by asking if this is still a good time for them, or do you confidently and enthusiastically assume the opening and set the pace for the rest of the call? The way you open your closing call often determines how the presentation will go, and many sales reps set themselves up for stalls by opening a closing call weakly. Here's the right way and the wrong way to open your closing calls:

The Wrong Opening #1:

"Oh hi, this is _______ _______ with _________, and we had an appointment right now to go over the presentation, is this still a good time for you?"

Now I know that it seems to make sense to check in with your prospect before just launching into your presentation, but giving them an out right at the beginning isn't the way to go. When you use the opening I recommend below, if the time isn't right for your prospect they'll let you know. But don't open your call by giving them an out...

The Wrong Opening #2:

"Oh hi, this is _______ _______ with _________, and I was just checking in with you to see if you needed anything today?"

Although this may immediately sound weak to you (and it is), you'd be shocked by how many calls I listen to that sound just this way! This kind of opening might as well be restated as, "Ah, you wouldn't want to buy anything today, would you?" Once again, the cure is to script out an assumptive opening that offers them a choice of products or specials as you'll read below.

The Wrong Opening #3:

"Hi, this is _______ _______ with _________, how are you today?"

Nothing telegraphs a sales call more than those four overused words: "How are you today?" Be different! Be engaging! Use an opening that signals that you're different and that what they're going to experience with you is more than just a worn out sales pitch...

The Right Opening #1:

"Hi _________, this is _______ _______ with ________, how's your Friday going?

[Listen and react accordingly]

_________, I've been looking forward to speaking with you today because I have some updates that you'll be particularly interested in. I'm sure you're in front of a computer, so do me a favor and go to...."

Once again, if this isn't a good time for your prospect (but it should be because you did send out reminder emails, right?), then they will tell you. But the power of this opening is that you are opening with some exciting news, you're directing them into the presentation and you're taking control of the call. And that's what you should always be doing.

The Right Opening #2:

"Hi _________, this is _______ _______ with ________, how's your Friday going?

Great! _________, I'm glad I reached you today, and after you hear about some of the specials we have going on today, you'll be glad I called. Now the last time we spoke you told me you were (heavy users of/always on the look-out for/usually in need of...), and the good news is that today we have (X at $.....) and they are flying out the door. How many of these could I ship out to you today?"

Assumptive, assumptive, assumptive. Now, are they always going to buy? Of course not! But when you assume the sale and lead in with a couple of specials that you know they could be interested in, and then when you ask for an order like that, those prospects who might be interested in what you have will likely take the bait and either order or begin asking you buying questions. And that's what you're looking for, right?

The Right Opening #3:

"Hi _________, this is _______ _______ with ________, how's your Friday going?"

Again, throw away the old, tired opening of "How are you today?" and replace it with a different and engaging opening that anchors your prospect into the day and actually gets them thinking about how their Friday (or Monday, or Tuesday, etc.,) is actually going. I've already added it to the above two openings, and you can see how much better they flow. By using it, you'll be building a lot more rapport by asking this, and I encourage you to try it and see for yourself how effective it is.

When you combine these openings with the requalifying scripts I wrote about earlier, you'll have the most effective and comprehensive opening possible. And it's this type of opening that will give you the edge over your competition and get you further into a qualified presentation. And that will equal more closed sales.

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals by The American Association of Inside Sales Professionals, and is THE recognized authority in the industry. Mike is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. http://www.mrinsidesales.com/

If The Prospect Only Takes Emails, What To Do?

I received an email from a reader who said that he sometimes gets the objection from the gatekeeper of, "I am sorry but he/she does not take outside calls, he/she only responds to emails." He asked if there is a way to get around this, and my answer is: sometimes. Let's start at the beginning:

First of all, my question to the sales rep who sent me this email would be, "How did the gatekeeper know you were an "outside" call," rather than a client, prospect or friend?" The first thing a sales rep needs to do when prospecting is to use the please, please, please technique that I've written about earlier and to be as assumptive, yet polite, as possible. This generally eliminates 60 - 85% of the screening you're likely to get.

If you still get the screening of, "What's this call in regards to," once again, you need to use the assumptive, directive approach I teach, combined with a please at the end. Something like, "Yes, please tell her it's about her lead processing, and I'll be happy to hold please." This will work in most instances. Once again, you must use the openings as I recommend them to avoid the screening that occurs naturally.

If you have used both of these openings and still get the objection, "She only responds to email," then you can try the following statements which may sometimes work:

"I have emailed in the past, and I think they may be getting stuck in her spam folder. Could you please tell her I need just a minute to confirm this please?"

OR

"I'd love to email her my information, but I'm not sure which brochure to send. Would you mind if I had just a 2 minute conversation to see what would be appropriate, please?"

OR

"And how do I reach her if I don't hear back from my email?"

OR

"I understand, but this is important, could I speak with her supervisor, please?"

OR

"I understand she may be busy, who is her manager, please?" Then: "Could you please connect me with ________ please?"

OR

"I know what that's like, we have a similar policy here as well. But after three email attempts, the caller is to be put through. Could you tell her I'm holding, please?"

OR

"Question for you: if I haven't heard back from my previous emails, how would you recommend I reach her?"

OR

"If I end up not being able to reach her, who can you connect me to?"

OR

"My email is down right now, do you might putting me through for a quick question?"

OR

"Could I speak to your supervisor, please?"

OR

"What happened the last time you put someone through to her?"

OR

"I'm not allowed to email anyone I don't already have in my data base. Do you mind letting her know I'm holding, please?"

OR

"Who can you put me through to?"

OR

"Could I have customer service, please?" (And then just go through them to be put through to your prospect)

OR

"What would you recommend is the best way to reach her by phone?"

OR

"No problem, for next time, what is her extension, please?"

These are a variety of responses you can use to get past the gatekeeper and on to your decision maker. Pick the ones that work best for your sale and your personality. If you find that you absolutely cannot get through, then try reaching out to your prospect through LinkedIn or other social media.

If you exhaust all of the above and still find you can't get through to a prospect, then consider them disqualified for your product or service and move on. There are plenty of other deals waiting your call...

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals by The American Association of Inside Sales Professionals, and is THE recognized authority in the industry. Mike is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. http://www.mrinsidesales.com/

How to Stay Organized (and Efficient!)

How are you at organizing your day? Do you find that the "small things" like organizing your office, organizing your laptop, checking in with old customers just to see how they're doing, distract you from what you know you need to be doing to make more money - i.e., cold call, follow up on leads, call prospects back who are on the fence, etc.?

If you're like most inside sales reps, then there are many distractions which seem to scream out for your time and attention. There's checking and responding to emails, organizing your calling campaign and leads, keeping your leads and notes together and up to date in Salesforce, calling on existing customers to follow up on sales, there's meetings, social network research, etc. And on top of all that, when it's finally time to prospect for new business, there's that dang organizing again!

And on top of all of that (or perhaps at the bottom of it all), there's the real dread of making those outbound prospecting calls, you know, call reluctance. So what are you going to do?

You're going to use the proven time management technique known as "The Top Three Priorities." Here's how it works: First, before you go home for the day, make a list and identify the three most important things you need to do the next day to accomplish your most important goal: Making sales. These things might be:

1) Call the hottest prospects in your pipeline - those most likely to buy that day. 2) Make a definite number of cold calls to keep your pipeline full. 3) Follow up with recent orders to upsell them. 4) Reach a certain number of existing clients to look for upsell opportunities. 5) Put together proposals or quotes. 6) Follow up on proposals or quotes. 7) Check in with prospects or leads in your pipeline 8) Etc...

Once you've picked out the THREE most important things that you can do the next day, again, the three most important things that are going to lead to sales that day, then write these down in order of importance and leave them on your desk for the next morning...

By the way, making this list the night before is crucial as it allows your subconscious mind to begin to devise ways of accomplishing them for you. Whether you know it or believe it or not, what you write down and intend to do sends a powerful message to your subconscious mind, and it will work hard during the evening and night, preparing you to accomplish your goals the next day.

Now here's the key to the whole process of identifying your "Top Three Priorities": when you get in the next day, start working on one priority at a time and work it through to completion before you move on to the next one. In other words, resist the temptation to multi-task these three items. As you know, if you begin doing too many things at once, you end up not completing any of them.

The key to this powerful time-management technique is to pick out the most important priority you've identified, then complete it and then move on the next one, complete that one, and then move on to the next one and complete that as well. If something comes up - like an inbound customer call, or an urgent email you need to address - then certainly handle that, but then get back to the priority you are working on.

While I know that many other things will vie for your attention, and some of them might even need to be done, sticking with and accomplishing your "Three Top Priorities" will not only make you ultra-efficient, but it will relieve a lot of anxiety for you as well. Let me give you a brief example:

Years ago when I decided to become a full time consultant, I had a lot or work to do on my business. I had to create the website, write all the copy for the pages, create downloadable ebooks for my initial product, find hosting sites, shopping carts, write ezines and create opt in pages and links, deal with my webmaster several times a day, proof all the pages endlessly, and much, much more. While all these projects were crucial for me to begin my consulting practice (and I enjoyed doing them), what I found after a while was that I had stopped doing the things that brought me the capital (money) I needed to pay my mortgage and my webmaster, etc.. In other words, I had stopped cold calling and selling.

The solution to this was to create my "Top Three Priorities" and make sure that I worked through them, one by one, before I responded to my webmaster, before I began proofing pages or writing copy, before I created another web page, etc...

I started by making 35 cold calls each day. I took all the time I needed to make these calls, and only when I was done did I then follow up with any leads I had (priority number two). When I finished that, then I moved on to my next priority - which was to call five people in my network to prospect for work or to get other leads from. Only after I completed all three of these priorities did I dive into my work on the business. And what I found reinforced the importance and effectiveness of this time management technique.

The first benefit was that as I took care of the important and difficult things - like cold calling - I felt a great relief because a big pressure was lifted from me. Second, as I completed the next priority, I gained confidence and hope as I scheduled meetings and moved closer to closing deals. Finally, as I worked through the last priority, I felt a tremendous sense of freedom and accomplishment because I knew that the things that would have nagged at me all day were finally complete. I was now free to handle the other important things guilt free!

Another benefit started showing up as well: I started closing deals and making money. As the saying goes: "Sales solves everything," and it did indeed make all the work on the business and website so much easier. As I continued to set three priorities and complete them one by one each day, I made significant progress both on my career and on my website. And the rest, as they say, is history.

But it all started by setting and working through each of my three priorities, one by one, before I moved on to all the other important things in my day. If you're struggling to take back control of your day, then pull out a piece of paper and start writing down your "Top Three Priorities" right now. Remember to organize them around your most important goal for each day: making sales. This one technique is the most important time management strategy I've learned, and I guarantee that once you begin using it, you, too, will feel more confident, become more efficient and make more sales.

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Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

How to Qualify for Interest

Today it seems to be harder and harder for sales reps to qualify for interest and to identify buying motives.

One thing making this so difficult is the decision tree: often there are many different levels of decision makers (committees, bosses, regional managers, corporate, etc.), and sales reps often just skip any attempt to qualify for interest.

Instead, they just send their information or schedule their demo and hope for the best.

As you might suspect, the way around this is to be prepared with scripted questions that are assumptive in nature and that lead your prospect to reveal what the buying motives (or motivation in general) are for the various other departments and decision makers.

Use the following scripts (or customize them to fit your product or service), so you can gain an understanding of what the buying motives are and how to tailor your pitch to each group to close the sale:

Qualifying Question #1:

" _________, why did you (or corporate/manager/boss) choose the solution you're using now?"

Layer:

"And what are you (they) looking to improve upon now?"

Qualifying Question #2:

"If you were to pick one thing that would be a deal killer if it weren't there, what would it be?"

Qualifying Question #3:

"What have you heard they're (corporate, their manager, boss, etc.) specifically looking for in the next (your product or service)?"

Qualifying Question #4:

"Besides price, what else is important (to you, them, etc.)?"

Qualifying Question #5:

"I know that these (your solution) may seem to be all the same, but tell me, what will stand out for you...what's the one or two things you're really hoping to see?"

Qualifying Question #6:

"_________, what have you heard in terms of what the priorities are for adding this (your product/service)?

Layer:

"And what is the timeframe you're hearing for implementation?"

Qualifying Question #7:

"Out of all the companies you've (or corporate/manager/boss) has seen so far, what looks the best to you?"

Layer:

"And why is that?"

Qualifying Question #8:

"If you had to pick one thing that this is going to come down to - you know, one thing that you think will be the deciding factor as to who you'll (corporate/manager/boss) choose, what do you think that will be?"

Layer:

"Besides price, what's next?"

Qualifying Question #9:

"__________, you haven't made a change so far, just out of curiosity, what is motivating you to consider doing so now?"

Qualifying Question #10:

"__________, I know I called you out of the blue; I'm glad you're interested in seeing what we have. Quick question for you, though: What do you think it will take to convince the (corporate/manager/boss)?"

I bet you can think of some of your own, can't you?

The key to any sale is getting your prospect to tell you how to sell them. If you can do that, you'll make your job much, much easier.

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Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Ten Ways to Soften the Price Objection and Keep Pitching

Many sales reps get thrown off their pitch when a prospect objects to something early on during the close.

For example, if when talking about the price of a product or service, the prospects says something like, "Oh, that's way too much," many sales reps don't know how to respond - and often do the wrong thing.

The wrong thing in this case is to stop and try to overcome the objection. Instead, a sales rep should retain control of the call, soften this objection and move on to build more value.

Here's an example:

If a price or price range is given (say, anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000), and the prospect objects with, "That's more than we want to spend," then instead of stopping and trying to overcome the objection (which only gives control to the prospect and throws you off your momentum), you should respond with any of the following:

Response One:
"That's only a range, and I'll explain how that works in just a moment..."

Then continue on with your pitch.

Response Two:
"There are some other options, but first let me explain how this works and how it can impact you (or your company or other departments, etc.)."

Then continue on with your pitch.

Response Three:
"Based on what you know now, it may seem like a lot, but let me get through exactly what you get for this..."

Then continue on with your pitch

Response Four:
"_________, you obviously don't have to go with this at all, and I'm not asking you to make a decision right now. Instead, let me finish explaining how this works, what you get, and how it might work for you (or your company, etc.).

After that, you'll be in a position to decide what to do next, fair enough?"

Response Five:
"Let's put the budget aside for a moment and first see if this is a solution that would even work for you. What I'll do is explain everything to you, answer your questions, and then we can address whether or not it provides the value to justify the investment, O.K.?"

Response Six:
"The budget and the value this provides is quite worth it - as you'll see. Let me finish explaining how this works and what my other clients are getting out of it, then you can decide what - if anything - you want to do. Now..."

Continue on with your pitch.

Response Seven:
"Let's put budget aside for a moment and let me show you how this can positively affect what you're spending now..."

Back to your pitch

Response Eight:
"I know at this point it might seem like a lot, but I guarantee once you understand the whole picture, you'll easily see the value here..."

Back to your pitch

Response Nine:
"_________, those are only the price ranges and what you decide to ultimately spend will be entirely your decision and based only on whether you see enough benefit to move forward. Let me show you..."

Back to your pitch

Response Ten:
"_________ until we qualify your business, we won't know what your payment options are, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. What I recommend is we go through the approval process and then you can decide if this is worth it for you or not - fair enough?"

Remember, the point here is not to get thrown off early in your pitch just because a prospect objects to the price. Instead, you want to maintain control, build value and get buy in during the close.

And you can do this by using one of the rebuttals above to soften the objection.

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Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Seven Things to Say when Prospects Don't Have the Time for Your Presentation

We've all been there - you call your prospect back at the appointed time for your presentation and they tell you any of the following:

This isn't a good time, OR
They only have a few minutes, OR
They ask you in an exasperated tone, "How long will this take?" OR
They tell you they have a meeting in 10 minutes, can you give them the information anyway?
Or any other put off that will cut short the 30 minute comprehensive presentation you had planned.

Most sales reps respond to these objection-like receptions by asking if they would prefer to set another time. That response might be appropriate with the first put off - the "This isn't a good time," - but with any of the others, I have a better technique for you.

Let's start at the beginning. First, when you get this kind of response from a prospect you qualified a week or so ago, don't be surprised! Face it: it's a law in all sales - Leads Never Get Better! If you sent out the hottest lead ever, a "10" on a scale of 1 - 10, then when you call them back, have you ever noticed that now they're about a "7"?

And of course since most sales reps don't qualify thoroughly enough, most of the leads they stuff into their pipeline are made up of sixes and sevens. And you can imagine how they are when reps reach them. So expect that your leads are going to drop in interest and receptiveness when you call them back, and then be prepared with a best practice approach to handling them. Here's what to do:

Whenever a prospect responds to your call to do a presentation with one of the responses above - the "How long will this take?" - kind of response, don't offer to call them back later, rather, get them to reveal their true level of interest to you and get them to tell you exactly how to pitch them to get the deal. Here are a number of statements you can use to do just that:

Responses:

"Sure, I can take as long or little as you need. Let's do this: why don't you tell me the top three things you were hoping to learn about this, and I'll drill right down and cover those areas for you. What's number one for you?"

OR

"Absolutely, we can do this pretty quickly. Tell me, what would you like to know most about how this might work in your environment?"

OR

"I understand, sounds like I caught you at a bad time. Let's do this: If you needed to see or learn just one thing about this to determine if it might actually work for you, what would that be?"

OR

"No problem. Our presentation is pretty in depth, but I can do this. Go ahead and tell me two things that are absolute deal breakers for you, and I'll see if we pass the test. And then if we do, we'll schedule some more time later to go into detail on how the rest works, fair enough?"

OR

"In ten minutes, I can show you some things that will help you determine whether or not you'd like to spend more time with me later. In the meantime, let me ask you - what would you need to see the most to say yes to this?"

OR

"I understand, we're all busy. Let me just ask you: has anything changed from when we last spoke?" (Now REALLY listen...)

OR

"Tell you what: let's reschedule something for later when you have more time, but in the ten minutes we do have, let me ask you some questions to determine whether this would still be a good fit for you..." (Now thoroughly re-qualify your prospect)

As you can see, the responses above are all aimed at getting your prospect to reveal to you both their level of interest and what it is going to take to sell them - or whether or not they are still a good prospect for you. Have some fun with these; customize them to fit your personality or the personality of the person you're speaking with. Find your favorites and then, as always, practice, drill and rehearse until they become your automatic response when your prospect tells you they don't have time for your presentation.

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Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

15 Ways to Handle the Competition Objection

We all face competition. There is always someone who can do it cheaper, or faster, or better (at least in the mind of your prospect). Because of this, prospects - and even customers - are constantly on the search for a better deal. Knowing how to handle the competition objection effectively can mean the difference between winning the sale or suffering that sinking feeling of having lost the business to someone else.

There are several times you can handle the competition objection, but surprisingly most sales reps wait until it comes up at the end of their closing presentation. This is the worse time to handle it because you have already given your pricing and options and sometimes even your best deal. While you may have to handle the objection of competition during the close - and I'll give you some scripting to do just that later in this article - the best time to handle it is in the beginning, while qualifying. Here are some ways you can do that:

Qualifying for competition:

Option #1: "_________, let's talk a little bit about who else you're looking at for this - who's top of your list right now?"

If you're uncomfortable bringing up potential competition, let me assure you of two things: One, if they are shopping you, they are most likely shopping others, so don't be surprised, and Two, trust me, it's better to know in advance who you're up against so you can position yourself to win the business during the close. And always ask this in an assumptive way...

Option #2: "How many companies are you getting quotes on for this?"

Once again, don't worry about introducing the concept of getting quotes, if they are going to do this (and most are), it's better to get an idea of it now. If they tell you they are getting three quotes (doesn't matter how many), layer this with: "And who have you liked so far?" Again, be assumptive with this.

Option #3: "_________, how does your current supplier fit into all this?"

This is a nice opened ended, assumptive way to get your prospect to reveal why they might be moving away from their current vendor - or why they might still be considering using them. A great way to layer this is to ask:

Option #4: "And if you find that we can give you a better deal than you're getting right now, what will you do next?"

Obviously you want them to reveal that they'll take it back to their current vendor to get them to lower their price, and this is what you want to know in advance. Asking this question in an opened ended way like this often gets them to tell you this. You can also ask this in a more direct way:

Option #5: "________, if we can show you how we can take care of what you're doing now, and do so for less than you're paying your current vendor, what will prevent you from taking it back to them and getting them to just drop their price to keep your business?"

Listen carefully to not only what your prospect says here, but how they say it. If they hesitate or if their voice goes up or wavers a bit, then you're in trouble. You can also handle it this way:

Option #6: "Now _________, after we do our analysis, I'm pretty convinced that we'll be able to save you money just like we do our other clients. But ________, I have a concern and I need you to level with me: Sometimes we go through this work to find these savings, and after we do, some companies use them to get their current vendor to lower their prices. Do you see what I mean?"

[Wait for response]

"So I'm happy to do the work for you and show you some savings, but let me ask you: what is the chance that you'll take these back to your current vendor and do the same?"

OR

"Let me ask you: if we can also show you savings, what would prevent you from doing the same?"

Option #7: "________, what is going to be the deciding factor on who wins your business on this?"

And if it's price, then layer with:

"O.K., then after you get all the quotes, will you at least let me compete against the lowest quote to see if I can do better?"

Handling competition during the close: If after you've presented your product or service your prospect says they want or need to check on other offers/estimates/quotes, then use the questions below to get your prospect to open up and possibly reveal what it might take for you to win the business:

Option #1: "I understand, which way are you leaning right now?"

Option #2: "What would it take for someone else to win your business?"

Option #3: "What would it honestly take for you to choose us for this?"

Option #4: "What don't you see with our proposal that you see in others?"

Option #5: "Are we in the running with what else you've seen out there?"

[If yes]

"What about us would take us out of the running?"

OR

"What would you need to see to choose using us?"

AND

"What can I do right now to insure that we win your business?"

Option #6: "Obviously you're going to show this quote to your current vendor - if they match the price, will you just stick with them?"

[If yes]

"What can I do to prevent that?"

Option #7: "How many times have you taken other quotes to your current vendor?"

[If they tell you]:

"And what do they usually do?"

[If they say they lower their price to keep the business]:

"How can we break that cycle and get you the right pricing from the start?"

Option #8: "_________, let's take your lowest bid right now and compare it - services to services - to what we're offing you. If I find you're getting a better deal, I'll tell you so. If I can beat it, then I'll let you know that as well. Either way - You'll Win! Do you have that other quote nearby?"

Remember, competition will always exist, but you can beat it and win business if you're prepared with proven and effective scripts like those above. Pick your favorite ones and tailor them to your particular sale.

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Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Stop Pitching the Gatekeeper - and What to Do Instead

One of the biggest mistakes many inside sales reps make is pitching the gatekeeper. For some reason they feel compelled to pour their pitch on the first pair of ears they get, and, unfortunately, this usually gets them into trouble.

To start with, the gatekeeper is just that - someone whose job it is to screen salespeople from getting through to the decision maker. The worst thing you can do is immediately identify yourself as a salesperson by pitching them in hopes that they'll be so moved by your pitch that they'll want to put you through. Doesn't happen. Instead, all you do is trigger their automatic response of, "Just email something, and I'll forward it to my boss." Or worse...

Other variations include:

"We have a rep who visits us each week and we don't want to do business over the phone,"

OR

"I've known my rep for years and we have a great relationship so I wouldn't be interested,"

OR

"Our supplier is the boss's son (or father, sister, pastor, etc.) and we only do business with people we know."

The list can go on and on.

The tricky thing about this objection is that we can all relate to having a personal relationship with a family member or someone we really like and trust, so we feel awkward trying to overcome it.

Here's the thing: sometimes this is a real objection, and sometimes it's just a smokescreen that works on salespeople so the prospect keep using it. Either way, below are some ways to get around it, or, at least, set the prospect up so they're thinking about you when that relationship changes:

Response One:

"I totally know how that is, and I'm not here to come between you and that relationship. But hey everything changes, as you know, and if something should change between how you're doing things now, it's always good to have done your research in advance so you're not scrambling later.

Why don't we at least get together briefly, and I'll give you some solid options in case you ever need them..."

Response Two:

"I understand and you know _________, every now and then initiatives change. Sometimes you might need a lower price, or more variety of product, or who knows. The point is that it's always good to know what's out there.

How about this: it doesn't cost anything to at least compare what's really out there these days, and who knows, if things change with you, at least you'll know who to call to ask questions. Let's do this..."

Response Three:

"Glad your (brother in law, sister in law, etc.) is handling this for you, but heaven forbid anything ever happen, you know a divorce or a falling out, you'll be happy you've got a good backup!

Let's do this....(set an appointment)"

Response Four:

"Well _________, you know how life is - people can get sick, or change jobs, or whatever - the smart thing for you to do is to always have a ready back up, you know just in case...

Since it doesn't cost anything to learn about our services and prices, why don't I drop by..."

Response Five:

"Because things have changed a lot since you've been working with (him/her), I'd suggest you at least be prudent and learn about what the current market has to offer you. Who knows? You may find that there's an even easier/less expensive option available to you and you can let them know about it!

Let's do this..."

Response Six:

"I'm happy you've found someone you've been able to trust for all these years. Let me ask you this: If something changes with that relationship and you find that you need to look elsewhere, could I be the next in line person you speak to about getting this (product/service) from?"

[If Yes - get information and give yours, then]

"_________, just out of curiosity, what might have to happen for you to even begin looking?"

Now you have a variety of ways to handle what may have seemed like an almost impossible objection in the past. Will all these work? No. Will some of them work a lot better than what you're probably saying now? Yes!

---

Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

How to Get Your Prospect Talking

Have you ever had a prospect who plays his feelings on your product or service "close to the vest"? Someone who simply won't share much of their opinion one way or the other? Or should I say how many prospects do you have like that?

These days many prospects hide behind nebulous stalls like, "Let me think about it," or "I'll run this by the committee," etc., and it's often hard to know where they stand. And then it gets worse when you try to set an appointment to get back with them only to hear, "I'll get back to you."

If you're struggling with prospects like this, then it's time to learn some advanced closing skills that only the Top 5% are comfortable using: And that's asking open ended questions and actually giving your prospect a chance to fully answer - negatively or positively. While this may sound easy to do, only the top, top pros know how to fully listen long enough for their prospect to tell them how they really feel. (HINT: they use their MUTE button!)

But to get your prospect to open up, you need some well-crafted scripts that you adapt and make your own so you can deliver them sincerely and not sound salesy. Take some time to review the choices below and do just that - make them your own:

Question One:

"You know ________, we all buy emotionally and go with our gut feelings. Share with me: What is your gut telling you is good about our solution, and what is it telling you isn't so good?"

[Now hit MUTE and listen - same advice after each rebuttal]

Question Two:

"__________, I'm sure you're weighing this purchase against some of our competition, so tell me, in what ways are we better than your next option, and in what ways are we weaker?"

Question Three:

"_________, you've probably heard of the old Ben Franklin way of making a decision haven't you? (Wait for a response)

Ben would make a list of all the reasons to make a decision to move forward with something, and all the reasons not to. If the reasons were stronger to move forward, he would.

So tell me, what are the reasons, as you see them, for moving forward with this, and what are the reasons not to?"

Question Four:

"_________, I know there are other people who need to weigh in on the final decision on this, so tell me, if you had to put a wager on it, would you bet that there were more votes on moving forward on this or more votes against it?"

Layer:

"And why is that?"

Question Five:

"Now _________, I know you like what we have, and there are probably some things you don't like. Tell me, if we could deliver more of what you DO like, what would that be?"

Layer:

"And if we could give you less of what you don't like, what would that be?"

And then, "And why is that?"

Question Six:

"__________, some people love our solution and some people - believe it or no - hate it. Tell me, what do you LOVE about us, and what do you hate about this that is preventing you from moving forward right now?"

As you can see, these scripts are designed to get someone who is noncommittal to begin opening up and to tell you where they stand - both positively and negatively. Once you know where someone is emotionally and logically with your product or service, you'll have the leverage to adjust your close and get closer to a sale.

---

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Positive Statements that Help You Sell

When I began my sales career all those years ago, I was told that at the bottom of all successful sales was a transfer of emotion - my manager told me that I was either transferring my positive feelings about my product onto my buyer, or he/she was transferring their negative feelings about it to me. Whoever was able to transfer more of their emotion and feeling won.

Now that may seem a bit simplistic to you now, but if you look at the essence of it, there is a lot of truth to it. You've probably heard some of the sayings like, "Enthusiasm sells!" or, "Whoever has the strongest reasons to buy or not buy usually wins," and things like that. My question to you is: "Are you enthusiastically presenting your product or service on every call?"

I'm sure you know the difference between having a good day and having a bad day, right? Have you ever noticed how on fire you are right after a big sale? You're positive, on top of the world, unstoppable, right? This is why good sales managers tell their reps to "get back on the phone while you're hot." Have you ever noticed how objections aren't quite so bad when you're in such a positive mood?

And the converse is true as well, isn't it? Have you ever noticed how, when you're having a bad day, it's easy to be put off when cold calling and how you don't pitch with quite the same level of power? Have you even given up after being put off or after an objection, only to then say something like this to yourself: "Well, this just isn't my day. Maybe I should just stop calling today and try again tomorrow?"

If you're in sales, then I bet you can relate to both of those scenarios, can't you?

What I've found over the years is that most sales people let their prospect's mood affect and lead theirs rather than the other way around. After listening to thousands of calls over the years, I can hear how a sales rep's voice drops or slumps as soon as a prospect cuts them off or tells them they don't have much time, or worse, that they don't really see the value in their product or service.

Top reps, on the other hand, have a different approach. They know that it is their job to transfer their belief and attitude to their prospects, and they stand ready with a list of "Power Statements" that help get their prospect into the proper mindset. They then overwhelm them with their positive attitude and don't give up until they get the sale.

Here are a few statements you should have ready at all times when you're closing or cold calling. Any one of these can mean the difference between who catches whose attitude and who sells who:

Positive Statement #1 "________ once you truly understand how this works, you'll be as impressed as I was during my interview here. Let me take just a moment to fill you in..."

Positive Statement #2 "_________, I guarantee you'll be 100% happy you took just a moment with me to show you what this can do for you...."

Positive Statement #3 "Are you ready to be amazed today? - because after I show you the changes we've made to this (product or service), you'll be more than surprised. Go ahead and open that..."

Positive Statement #4 "________, virtually nothing that you know about this (product or service) has remained the same - in fact, we've made every part of it better and added some features that you'll soon never be able to live without. For example..."

Positive Statement #5 "I'm sure you wouldn't mind learning why we're the best selling (your product or service) in the marketplace, so let's do this - go ahead and open that email and let me point out just two things that make us number one..."

Positive Statement #6 "_________, you do want to go with the best company you can for this with the best customer support and loyalty program, don't you?"

Positive Statement #7 "________, I couldn't wait to speak with you today. I've just had an update that will knock your socks off! Do me a favor and grab that brochure..."

Positive Statement #8 "_________, I couldn't wait to speak with you today! So much good news has happened since we spoke last that I don't even know where to begin. Tell you what, let's start by reviewing that email I sent you..."

Positive Statement #9 "_________, there are three things that make me excited to come to work every day, and they also make all my clients excited to sign up with us. The first is...."

Positive Statement #10 "_________, are you ready to finally get the best (your product or service) on the market today? If so, then grab a pen and get ready to take some notes: I've got some exciting things to tell you today..."

If Prospect is Negative:

Positive Statement #11 "If that were true I wouldn't be representing this... The fact is, most people don't fully understand how this works, but once they do, they understand why we're the number one product on the market. Let's do this..."

Positive Statement #12 "Let me tell you just three reasons why we're the number one brand in this industry, and if you still aren't interested after that, then we'll part friends. The first is our world class customer support..."

As you can see, by using these kinds of statements you are the one setting the tone of the call. Never forget that enthusiasm does sell, and always check your attitude before you pick up the phone - and have these statements ready!

---

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Always Have This Close Handy

How many times do you get the objection, "Well, let me talk to my (partner, boss, manager, spouse, etc.)"? In any kind of sale, this is one of the most common objections or stalls prospects use. And they use it because sales reps don't seem to have any effective come back to it. Variations on this objection include:

"Let me run this by..."

OR

"I'll have to get with...."

OR

"Let me check with..."

OR

"I'll show this to my boss and see what he wants to do..."

I'm going to give you the right rebuttal to this and give you a real life example of how I used this - and what I learned - just this week while I was closing a prospect on one of my training programs.

I was speaking with a customer who had recently purchased one of my book of phone scripts. I had never spoken to her before, but decided to call her and see how the scripts were working out for her.

During our conversation I learned what her company was about, what they sold and how many reps they had. I established that she was one of the owners.

After listening to exactly what she was trying to accomplish, I suggested helping her by writing customized scripts and having her record those sales presentations so I could revise and perfect her scripted sales approach.

Then I asked how that sounded.

And that's when I got the objection above. She said: "I'll run this by my partner..."

Now this is where 80% of sales reps let the prospect go with, "O.K., when should I follow up?"

That is the wrong thing to do.

Instead, the proper technique is to isolate this objection by taking the other decision maker out of it so you can gauge how your prospect truly feels about it.

Because let's face it: if your prospect isn't sold, the other decision maker isn't going to be either...

So here's the close you need here: I told her: "That's great, definitely show it to your partner. Let me ask you: If you're partner says it sounds good, what would you do then?"

And this is where this technique really pays off. If she had said, "I'd do it!" then I would have set some coaching times (nothing in stone; just set some tentative dates - another form of a trial close), but if she said what she did, then I would know exactly where I stood.

She said, "I'd then go back to my reps and tell them to use the scripts I just bought and see how it goes. I'd tell them I'd already spent a lot of money on them and they needed to produce before I'd be willing to spend more."

How's that for a good answer?

Now you're probably thinking, "Good answer? Mike, it doesn't sound like she's going to buy!"

But that's O.K. Some will, some won't, who's next?

You see, what's so good about this technique, and her honest answer, is that she revealed that she isn't going to be a deal. That means I get to move on...

Compare this to how most sales reps would just schedule a call back and then begin chasing her?

How many of these types of unqualified leads currently clog your pipeline?

When I say this is the type of close to always have handy, I mean it. Every time you find yourself in this situation, always, always, isolate this objection/stall to find out where you really stand.

It will save you tons of time (and frustration); time you can spend prospecting and finding real buyers...

---

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

How to Use Tie Downs to Build Momentum

I don't know why tie downs aren't used more by sales reps selling over the phone. They serve several crucial functions, including:

Getting confirmation that the point you just made was understood and accepted by your prospect. This is especially important when selling over the phone as you don't have the physical clues that tell you how it's going.

Using tie downs is also instrumental in building that all important yes momentum. If the prospect keeps agreeing with you, then you can feel confident at the end in asking for the sale.

Tie downs also give your prospect a chance to engage with you - when you use one, you actually have to wait for them to respond.

Using tie downs also gives you control over the flow of the call. Remember, whoever asks a question is in control.

There are many other value reasons for using tie downs, but let's look at some of the most effective, and go over in what situations they work best:

#1: Whenever your prospect asks you a buying question (and any question a prospect asks you is a buying question), after you answer it you must use a tie-down. Examples:

If a prospect asks you how much something is, after you give them the price, you can use any of these tie downs:

"How does that price sound?"

OR

"Is that what you were looking to spend today?"

OR

"How does that compare with what you are paying now?"

OR

"Is that within your budget?"

OR

"That's a great value today, and I'd take as many as I could at that price - how many should I ship you today?" (O.K., that's a close, but I couldn't help myself! Do you see how tie-downs can lead to a close :--)

If a prospect asks a question about a feature or a benefit, use any of the following:

"Do you see how that works?"

OR

"Does that make sense?"

OR, better:

"How would you use that?"

OR

"Do you understand how that works?"

OR

"I think that's a great benefit - how about you?"

If a prospect makes a statement that seems negative, use:

"How did you come to that?"

OR

"Compared to what?"

OR

"What do you mean exactly?"

OR

"How does your current vendor handle that?"

#2 Use tie downs throughout your presentation. Most sales reps power through their presentations and use far too few tie downs or check-ins. And when they do, they are usually closed ended which lead their prospect to reveal little. Use these more open-ended tie downs to engage AND learn crucial buying motives:

"That's how we drive the leads....now tell me about how you would get the most out of them?"

OR

"That's one of our biggest selling points....tell me: how would this impact how you're currently doing things?"

OR

"Do you see how this works?" - And then: "How might this work for you?"

OR

"Are you with me there?" - And then: "What questions do you have?"

OR

"That's a nice feature, don't you think?" - And then: "How would that work for you?"

OR

"Is this sounding like it might work for you?" (O.K., there I go again! Do you see how after a few tie downs, it's just natural for you to start closing?)


#3: General tie downs are useful at any point of your presentation. Customize from any of these to fit your product/service:

"What do you think of this so far?"

OR

"Would this location work for you?"

OR

"How many locations would this work for?"

OR

"How many departments would want one of these as well?"

OR

"That's pretty special, isn't it?"

OR

"Do you see why this is so popular?"

OR

"Tell me, would that fit into your budget?"

OR

"Most people like this - how does it sound to you?"

OR

"Will that work?"

OR

"What else do you need to know?"

OR

"What other area are you interested in?"

OR

"Would that be a deal killer for you?"

OR

"Would that be enough for you to move forward with this?"

OR

"Tell me: how close are you to wanting to move forward with this?" (There I go once again!)

Let me reiterate that using tie down's gives you the intel you don't have because you can't see your prospect's reaction (because you're selling over the phone). Therefore, it's critical for you to begin using more of the above tie downs during every conversation. Remember, the more you can get your prospect talking, the more you'll learn what it will take to close them...

---

Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

"I Want to Think About It" - Ten New Ways to Handle it!

I know, we've already been through this objection, but sales reps always want more input on it so here it is:

The bottom line is that when someone says they want to think about it, it means they aren't sold yet. And it could very easily mean that they aren't sold on your solution, and they never will be because they have something else in mind.

Your job is to either get to that hidden objection and learn what you need to do to overcome it, or get your prospect to reveal why they aren't going to go with your product or service.

And that's why you must get your prospect talking. Now here is why this is so hard for sales people: They don't want to ask because they don't want to know! Most sales reps would just prefer to let the prospect "think about it" hoping they will somehow convince themselves and buy at some time in the future.

How often does that happen?

What usually happens is that the prospect then disappears at this point, never to be heard from again. And that's why sales reps dread this objection.

But top producers know that getting their prospect talking at this point is crucial to find out one of two things (and both of these things is a successful outcome):

1) What the hidden objection really is, and so find a way of dealing and overcoming it, or:
2) What the reason is they aren't going to move on it, and so be able to hang this up as a learning experience and use the lessons to qualify the next lead better.

Let me repeat - BOTH of these outcomes should be considered a success. The first because you'll learn what you need to do to get a deal, and the second because you won't start chasing an unqualified lead that will never buy, and you'll learn how to not create another one in the future.

So the following ten rebuttals to "I want to think about it" are designed to get your prospect talking - and then you'll be able to decide which category they go into...

[Note: I would be remiss if I didn't emphasize again that you should have avoided this objection from coming up in the first place by asking this type of qualifying question during your initial call: "And if you like what we have to offer, what would be your timeframe for getting started?"]

Objection: "I want to think it over"

Option 1:

"I understand. Just out of curiosity:

• "Do you understand how the (explain the benefits of savings or making money here) work right?"
• "And do you understand what we mean when we say, (stress any warranties guarantees or customer service options) here, don't you?"
• "Then while we're on the phone together, what other questions do you have?"

[If None]

"Then just to clarify my thinking, what part of this do you need to think over?

Option 2:

"Are you going to be thinking over the (name two or three benefits) we spoke about today or about whether or not this solution is the right fit for you?"

Option 3:

"I know I've given you a lot to think about today, do you mind me asking what part of this you'd like to think over?"

Option 4:

"I understand, and I'm sure you've got other options to consider...do you mind if I ask how we're stacking up to what you're also looking at?"

Option 5:

"__________, it sounds like you're probably considering other options as well - do you mind if I ask who else you're looking into?"

Layer:

"And how do we stack up compared to them?"

Option 6:

"__________, besides yourself, who else would be weighing in on this?"

Option 7:

"I totally understand, many people I speak with want to consider all their options before making a decision. Tell me, who else is in the running for this?"

Option 8:

"That's no problem. Level with me, if you would, what would be holding you back from saying yes right now?"

Layer:

"And is this even a realistic option for you?"

Option 9:

"And as you think about it right now, what would be the major reason for not moving forward with it?"

Option 10:

"I understand - not everyone I speak with is ready to move forward with it right away. Quick question:

"What would you need to see here for you to say yes to this?"

As you can see, all of these responses are geared to get your prospect to reveal what it's going to take for you to get the sale - and some are also geared to get your prospect to reveal why they will never be a deal.

Again, either way you win.

---

Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Too Many Options? Narrow It Down to Get the Sale Now

If you sell a product or service with many add-on's and options or choices, then it's easy for your prospect to get overwhelmed and want to "think about it." Many sales reps actually make it for harder for buyers to decide because they keep pitching (instead of closing) and so complicate the sale even further.

If you find that you've "talked past the close" as I like to say, then it might be time to un-complicate the sale and make it easy for your prospect or customer to buy something now, rather than putting the decision off.

Here are some ways you can do that. As usual, take some time to customize these to fit your product or service:

Option 1:

"Now _________ I may have made this harder on you than I should have. Let's look at the basic package again, the (restate the easiest offer), and let me ask you: will this do most of the things you're looking at this to do for you?"

Option 2:

"It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the choices and combinations, so let me make this easy for you: most people in your position go for our X package because they find it does everything they need it to do. And, of course, you can always upgrade later should you have the need.

So let's do this...."

Option 3:

"I'm getting the feeling we've gone over too many options, and it would probably be easier for you if we just took half of these away. Which features don't you feel you need?"

Option 4:

"I know it's easy to go back and forth on some of these combinations, so let me ask you: is this a toss-up decision, or are you leaning towards one more than the other - and if so, which one is it?"

Option 5:

"__________, let's step back here for a moment. You don't have to get the package that has all the bells and whistles - unless you really want to, of course.... - so tell me, which one of these are you leaning towards?"

Option 6:

"You know, going through all the possible options and combinations could take you hours and hours. You don't have to do that now. Instead, let's break this down to your absolute essentials: which features can't you live without?"

Options 7:

"If you had to pick one package/combination over another, which would it be?"

Option 8:

"With all of these options you're going to get our (warranty, performance, delivery, etc.), so any package you pick is going to be fine for you. Tell me, what are you leaning towards right now?"

Option 9:

"__________, let's make this simple and get you started with the basic package for now. That way you can see how this works for you, we can get into a relationship, and later, down the road, if you want to expand your coverage, you can. At least in the meantime you're not missing out on these results...."

Option 10:

"Let do this: let's take the premium package so you won't have to worry later that you're missing out on something you wish you had gotten in the beginning. With this package, you'll get everything you need...."

Having these closes handy when you feel your prospect slipping away or having a hard time making a decision could very well save the sale for you.

---

Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Boost Your Sales by Using This One Word

Catchy title, huh? "Boost your sales using just this ONE word." Wouldn't it be nice if there was just one magic word that could really increase your sales?

There is...

Before I tell you what it is, though, let me give you a brief background on how I discovered it. Years ago as I was struggling to make sales, I found a bad pattern had developed in terms of how my sales attempts were ending up. After pitching and pitching, most of my sales were being stalled with some variation of:

"Let me think about it,"

OR

"I'll have to discuss this with my partner..."

OR

"O.K., why don't you get back with me in a few weeks..."

Sound familiar? It should. Most sales presentations end this way. After racking my brain for the reason, I finally began listening to how the top closers in my company were closing their sales. And how they were opening and qualifying their prospects as well.

Turns out they all were using one magic word. And the word was....

"Today."

Or some variation of it when they were qualifying. And that's when I started using it as well and it didn't just boost my sales, it catapulted it! In fact, it had much more impact than that. It also greatly reduced the number of unqualified leads I sent out and spent hours of useless time with.

Here are some examples of how to use the word today in both your opening and closing statements.:

For qualifying you must qualify the prospect's timeline and set the proper expectation for the close. At the end of your cold call and before you schedule your demo or send your information, you must ask something like this:

"So _________, I've got you on the calendar to do a walk-through of our solution next Wednesday, and if after we're done you really like this, is it something that you can make a decision on at that time?"

OR

"So _________, I look forward to our demo next Wednesday, and if after we're done you really like this, I'm going to ask you for a simple yes or no, is that fair?"

Now in some situations if you're dealing with an influencer, your question will be about what the next steps are, what the decision maker's time frame is like, how many other companies they're looking at, etc..

But if you are dealing with the owner or decision maker, you must get a firm commitment as to timeframe, ideally confirming a decision right after your pitch.

For closing calls, you use the magic word:

At the beginning of your presentation, before you go into your slide show or however you do it, you requalify by asking:

"I'm excited to show you this, and at the end if you feel this is the right solution for you, this is something you can move on today, right?"

That's it. No wishy washy way around it. You must set a clear expectation right from the beginning (and that means on the qualifying call) and then reconfirm it at the beginning of the close.

I know what you're thinking: "What if they say no?" Then you adjust your presentation to target their buying motive and start overcoming what their objection is.

Bottom line: You will make more sales faster and with less struggle if you set the proper expectation on the front call and confirm it by opening your closing call using the magic word: today.

Try it today and see for yourself.

---

Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

The Proper Way to Handle a Call in Lead

Call in leads can be tricky. Because reps often equate the implied interest of a call in to being "qualified," they often skip some important steps. This can happen to all sales reps and even happened to me recently...

A CEO called me the other day and wanted to know more about the kind of training I offered. Before I gave him my menu of services, I did what I teach and asked him how he found me, what motivated him to reach out to me, what he was looking for, etc.

I listened carefully as he revealed, in a candid way, what was happening with his inside sales team and what he as hoping to accomplish.

After he was done, I went over how I could help him and carefully matched up my customized solutions to each of the points he brought up. After a pause, he told me he would think about it and reach back out to me.

Now, this is usually the time that I would qualify and close, but I was on vacation when this call took place and was more interested in getting back to the museum tour I was on than I was on closing the deal (I know, shame on me). But...

When I was back in the office the following Monday, I reached out to this prospect and picked right up where I left off.

Here are two ways of handling a call in lead (the first being what I should have done on the first call, and the second what I did on the next call the following Monday):

The proper way to handle the first call:

After first hearing your prospect out and then matching up your product or services to them, you should then begin qualifying and even closing using the following questions and statements:

"What is your timeline for getting this process started?"

[If "As soon as possible"]

"O.K. - Let me check my schedule: (or your delivery/install schedule, etc.), I see that I could have you on the calendar this coming Wednesday - does that work for you?"

AND

"How does what I've described sound to you?"

[If "Sounds good"]

"Great - are you ready to put me to work for you today?"

AND

"Who else have you looked at for this so far?"

[If "You're the first" or "A couple of people"]

"How does our solution sound to you?"

[If "Sounds good"]

"Great - then let's look at our calendars and pick a date to get started..."

AND

"If this sounds good to you, are you in a position to get started today?"

[If "I'll have to run this by (whomever)"]

"I understand. Does what we've just gone over sound good to you so far?"

[If "Yes"]

"O.K. Then let's go ahead and schedule a time to speak with (whomever they mentioned) and that way I'll be able to answer their questions as well..."

Do you see how I'm moving the call to either a close or setting up the next step? At each phase I'm taking their pulse and directing and keeping control of the call.

If you missed asking these questions on the first call, then here's how you handle the call back:

"Hi this is ________ and I just wanted to get back with you regarding our last call. Now I know you were interested in (your service or product), and I don't know if you've spoken to other companies or where you are in the process...."

[Now hit mute and listen...]

AND

"Hi this is ________ and I wanted to get back with you regarding our last call. Now I know you were interested in (your service or product), and I wanted to know what your timeline for getting started with this is..."

[Now hit mute and listen...]

And

"Hi this is ________ and I wanted to get back with you regarding our last call. Now I know you were interested in (your service or product), and I wanted to know what other questions you might have are..."

[Now hit mute and listen...]

Based on what their answers are to the above questions, you can pick up where you left off last time and resume asking the questions from the first set listed above (direct and control the call towards the close).

Either way, just remember that when you receive a call in lead, you need to still qualify and close. And if you forget or get rushed off the phone, the key is to call back within a day or two. And when you do, take the call as far as you can using the scripts above.

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Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

How to Handle the "Status Quo" Objection

As you know, I often get emails from readers of my ezine, "Secrets of the Top 20%", asking me how I would handle various selling situations and objections.

Someone sent in a request asking me how to deal with the, "We are used to the status quo and don't want to make waves" objection. This reader also wrote that he had been told by another training company that he needed to, "Make them painfully aware of something they don't see coming at them (like a freight train) and develop a more compelling message."

As you might imagine, he wasn't able to come up with anything that was working.

By the way, I must comment here that I frequently hear this about other "sales training" companies: they are quick to offer what sounds like good advice, but they don't provide the specific solutions to back it up.

As you know from reading my ezines, watching my YouTube videos or reading or listening to my books and CD's, I not only tell you what to you, but also how to do it.

In this case, I think the reader was having trouble with this technique because, to begin with, it's not a good approach.

Trying to convince someone that what they're doing is a bad idea and it's going to lead to big trouble (so you can say, "I told you so" later), isn't going to endear you to anyone. What I recommend instead is to find a way to bypass this obvious initial resistance and find a way present your product or service in a non-threatening way.

Your goal on the prospecting call isn't to overcome objections (which this isn't, by the way), but rather, to qualify and set a date up to demo your product or service.

Here are some sample scripts to help you do just that:

Objection: "We are used to the status quo and don't want to make waves..."

Approach One:

"I'm completely with you and believe me, I don't want to rock the boat. But because things change all the time, there might come an instance when you need to consider your options. So let's do this: I'll set a time to give you a brief demo of what we do and how it might help you.

After we do, you can then decide if you want to do anything with it now, or keep it in your back pocket in case you ever need to consider a different source - sound good?"

Approach Two:

"I understand and I'll try not to make too many waves here. Just out of curiosity, when was the last time you did compare services and pricing - you know, just to keep current on what's available to you?"

Approach Three:

"I'm with you and believe me - I'm not here to cause trouble. But let me ask you this: isn't it wise to at least know about your options just in case you need to make a change at some time in the future?"

Approach Four:

"I'm with you. So tell you what: instead of me trying to sell you something, let me just educate you on what's currently available in the marketplace - you know, so in case you need something further down the line, you'll know who to call - make sense?"

Approach Five:

"No problem, I fully understand. Let me ask you this though: If something were to happen to your current provider, wouldn't you at least want a dependable backup plan so you didn't miss a beat?"

The point of these rebuttals is to bypass this resistance so you can get in front of a qualified lead and pitch your product or service. Obviously, once they agree to do a demo with you, you'll want to ask other qualifying questions.

As always, I encourage you to practice, drill and rehearse your responses so you can internalize them and deliver them in a natural way.

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Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

How To Self-Promote Without Being Pushy

I make my living giving career advice to creative entrepreneurs and freelancers and if there's ONE thing they want more than anything else, it's to know how to promote themselves without being pushy.

A thriving business or career is built upon providing a valuable service to a community of people who have a genuine need for it. So, in order to connect with our niche or tribe, we need to: (1) dynamically and concisely articulate how our services meet their needs and (2) make it really easy for them to find us.

I'd like to share a concept that changed the way I approach business: good marketing is not about 'pushing' our services, but rather 'pulling' our ideal clients towards us. And the fastest way to do that is to shift your mindset from one of 'selling' to one of 'serving'.

Here are a few suggestions of how your can put your new 'service' mindset into practice.

1) Stop 'networking' and start 'connecting'
I understand why people hate networking. Random networking is kind of like going on a blind date. Sure, something awesome could come out of it, but most of the time you wish you'd stayed home with a good book!

So here are three tips to network more effectively:

Instead of networking, think of it as an opportunity to meet cool people. Let's face it, you went out on your own to work on cool projects with cool clients, right? Connecting with potential clients, creative collaborators, resources and referral partners is an organic process that can happen at any place and at any time - you don't need to go to an event. It could even happen in line at the supermarket (that's how I found my amazing assistant)!

Go where all the cool people that you'd like to work/collaborate with hang out.

Be genuinely interested and interesting. No one wants to talk to someone who's only interested in talking about themselves. Ditto for being a bore. Enthusiasm is really appealing and really contagious so apply it generously to your own endeavors, as well as other peoples.

Know whom you'd like to meet and what you'd like to share with them. A lot of people are reluctant to approach these people because they don't know how to talk about what they do. Which brings me to number two.

2) Create a non-pitchy elevator pitch
In order to build relationships with people who will support and champion your services, you need to be able to describe what you do in a dynamic, concise way. You need an elevator pitch.

Your pitch should:
• Describe how your skill/service is unique
• Speak directly to your ideal client
• Address your ideal client's struggles?
• Communicate the results they will get from working with you

Now, I want to say right now that once you've written your pitch you won't recite it verbatim (that's BAD networking etiquette). What you will do is hit the highlights that hopefully pique the other person's interest.

3) Practice 'authentic marketing'
There was a time where marketing was pretty low of my list of priorities (newsflash: it should be at the top of our list), so I'd like to tell you what cured me. Creating content that is helpful to others. Most of us fall into the trap of describing what we do, what services we offer and what our process is. Not only is this ineffective for getting new clients (remember: they're not interested in process, only results), most of us feel terribly uncomfortable marketing this way. Once your marketing goes from self-serving to serving others it becomes more interesting and of more value to all involved. That's not to say that you shouldn't also promote your work or product. Just remember the 80/20 Rule. 80% conversation:20% promotion.

The tools you use to share your expertise will differ, depending upon your strengths and personality and the preference of your ideal clients. Perhaps you'll create a fantastic design/lifestyle blog or maybe a YouTube video channel.

My primary tools are:
• Newsletter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter

4) Connect with like-minded people
Build your list of contacts strategically and organically. Connect with potential clients/collaborators/joint venture partners and regularly share your helpful and relevant content. As soon as they have a new project, I promise you'll be top of mind.

Besides being wildly effective, a service-based approach infuses your work and interactions with meaning and authenticity Now what's pushy about that?

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Successful entrepreneurs know that self-promotion is crucial to building a creative business. Justine Clay is a business coach for creative entrepreneurs who need help marketing themselves more effectively and growing their business. To download your free guide to building a successful and fulfilling creative business visit Pitch Perfect Presentation.

Softening Statements to Get Prospects Talking

One of the objections I always get from sales people who don't want to use scripts is that they sound so, well, like scripts. I tell them that if they sound like they are reading them, sure, but if they internalize them and then deliver them naturally, then they don't sound like scripts at all.

The other objection I get about using scripts is that many scripts sound very salesy. They sound too direct and pushy. Again, it's all about how you deliver them. For example, are you matching the pacing of the person you're speaking with? Are you using timing properly? Are you hesitating and adding the right inflection at the right time?

You see, the great thing about scripts is that they afford you greater flexibility in not only what you're going to say, but, more importantly, how you say it. And let's face it: inflection, pacing and tone are everything when you're selling over the phone.

The other great thing about a carefully crafted and delivered script is that you can use softening statements if you sense your prospect is getting irritated or short or is in a hurry. If you have to ask for some sensitive information - like who your competition is, or what their budget is, or how they figure into the decision making process - you can preface your question with a softening statement to help bring the defenses of a prospect down, and to make yourself sound more natural, more real.

Here are a variety of softening statements you can weave into your opening and closing scripts to help you connect with your prospect and to get them talking:

For opening scripts:

"If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me what you paid for that previously?"

AND

"And _________, obviously you're going to run this by others there - do you mind me asking how you figure into the final decision process?"

AND

" _________, don't take this the wrong way - and I'm only wanting to know for comparison purposes - but when you got (X product or service) last time, what did you end up paying for that?"

AND

" _________, the only reason I'm asking is that if you purchase (more than the normal amount or add on to the order) then I may be able to offer you a discount. Hey, we all like to save money, right?"

AND

" __________, I don't want to go above your head, but I also don't think it's fair for you to do my job for me - so do you mind if I ask if it's O.K. to speak with (the boss) briefly and answer any questions he has?"

AND

" _________, do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions to see whether or not this might be a fit for you?"

AND

"I promise I won't take a lot of your time - I know you're busy. Can I ask how long you've...."

AND

"I don't know about you - but I usually hate talking to sales people I don't know.....Just so I can be respectful of your time, do you mind if I ask you...."

AND

" __________, you and I haven't spoken yet, and I hate to barge into your day, so do you mind if I take just 2 minutes to see if this is something you'd like to learn more about?"

For Closing Calls:

"Before I show you all the in's and out's of this, do you mind if I ask you again: what specifically are you hoping to learn today?"

AND

"Our price for this is $_____ -- do you mind if I ask how that compares with what you're spending now for all this?"

AND

" __________, I know you want to think about this and that makes perfect sense. Do you mind if I just get an idea of what part of this is not resonating with you right now?"

AND

" __________, please don't think I'm being too forward here - but after we're done and you've learned everything about this, is it fair that I ask you for a simple yes or no?"

AND

" _________, would you mind if I asked you: 'If the price on this was closer to what you felt comfortable spending, would this be the solution you'd want to go with?'"

AND

"I totally understand, believe me I do. In addition to that, though, what else might be standing in the way of you saying yes to this?"

AND

"Hey I get it - you have options and you want to talk to others. But let me ask you: from what we've just gone over and from what you understand about this - are we even in the ballpark for earning some of your business?"

AND

" __________ if at any time this isn't sounding like it's for you - would you be willing to let me know?"

AND

" __________ what I don't want to do is talk your ear off. So do me a favor - if you've heard enough and it sounds like it's for you - would you let me know?"

AND

" __________ do you mind me asking why you're still considering other companies for this?"

AND

" ___________ I know you have a lot of options out there - would it be O.K. for me to ask you what the deciding factors will be for you?"

AND

" __________ you know we're not for everyone, and if we're not for you that's O.K., Obviously, I'd like your business, but I'd rather do what you think is right for you. Do you mind telling me what you're really thinking about right now?"

AND

"Is there anything I can say or do to get you to reconsider?"

AND

" _________ I know we're not the cheapest option out there - and there are reasons for that - but is it just the price on this or are there others things keeping you from saying yes to this?"

AND

"I know I've given you a lot of information on this - could you give me an indication of where you're leaning?"

As you can see, many of these responses are down to earth and real world responses - something you might say to a friend or family member. The more real you are, the more your prospects will feel it - and the more they'll be honest with you and reveal what it might take for them to move forward with you.

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Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Ten New Ways to Handle, "We're all set"

I receive emails from my readers all the time asking me how to handle various objections and resistance statements. A common request I get is how to handle the initial resistance statement "We are all set." A variation of this is anything along the lines of:

"We are O.K. with our present system"

OR

"We've already got a company that handles that"

OR

"We're fine for right now"

As you can see, these are all basically the same, and, more importantly, they aren't objections - rather they are initial resistance statements or blow offs. Essentially they are saying something along the lines of: "I'm not interested in being pitched right now, please go away."
Now here's the thing: Because this is simply resistance and not an objection (it's not an objection because you haven't pitched your product or service yet. It's like when you walk into a department store and the sales rep asks if they can help you and you blow them off with, "I'm just looking.") Again, "We're all set" is not an objection, just sales resistance.

And the key to handling resistance is NOT to try to overcome it (remember it's not an objection) but rather you simply want to bypass it and get into your pitch.

So, with that in mind, here's how you handle the "We're all set" blow off or/and any of its variations:

"We're all set"

Response One:

"That's great, and I'd just like to see if we could get on your vendor list for the next time you're in the market. Let me ask you..."

Now get into your qualifying questions...

Response Two:

"Most companies I speak with are 'all set' and that's why I'm reaching out to you now - I want to give you an option for the next time you're in need of this. Let me ask you..."

Back to qualifying...

Response Three:

"No problem. Let me ask you: the next time you're in need of this, what's number one on your wish list?"

Response Four:

"I understand - I didn't expect to catch you in the market right now. Instead, let me get an idea of your perfect profile, and then I'll send you some information you can keep on file next time you need this..."

Now re-engage by asking a qualifying question.

Response Five:

"Got it. Let me ask you: the next time you are in need of this, are you the right person to speak to about it?"

If yes, then qualify them for that next time - especially asking about timeframe, budget, etc.

Response Six:

"Understand, and let me ask you: When is your next buying season for this?"

Then keep the conversation going by asking additional qualifying questions...

Response Seven:

"That's fine; I totally understand. And let me ask you - the next time you're in the market for this, how many companies are you going to reach out to?"

And then ask how you can become one of them, what their budget is, who the decision makers are, etc.

Response Eight:

"No problem. What you might find helpful is to know about our special pricing and the additional services we provide. Did you know that...."

Then pitch one or two things you do that others don't - and use a tie down!

Response Nine:

"I'm glad you said that. What I've found is that those companies who are already using a vendor for this are surprised to learn that...."

Give them a shocking statement about how you've just been rated number one, or that you give free delivery, etc. Something that will peak their interest...

Response Ten:

"No problem. Could I be the next in line company you call the next time you're in the market for this?"

If yes,

"Great, let me get your email and send you my info..."

Then:

"And just out of curiosity, what would have to change for you to even begin looking at someone else?"

Look for an in here...

So there you have it - ten new ways of handling this age old blow off. Just remember, your goal isn't to try to overcome this - rather, it's to sidestep this resistance statement and get information you can use to create value and continue the conversation.

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Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com