When an Objection isn't an Objection

When is an objection NOT an objection? When it comes at the beginning of your presentation.

The blow offs you get at this stage are merely initial resistance, and the last thing you want to do is try to overcome them. Instead, you must acknowledge you heard them and direct your prospect to get your proposal, quote or other material so you can engage with them and deliver your presentation.

This is easy to do if you have the right scripts and techniques to accomplish this.

Here are some sample scripts to deal with the initial resistance you get when closing:

Initial resistance #1: "I looked it over and I'm/we're not interested."

Example Response: "I didn't expect you to be interested; our marketing department hasn't yet figured out a way to get our prospects to call us back - and that's why they hired me!

But seriously, this (product/service) has some great features that aren't readily available in the (demo/material/information) I sent you, and it'll only take a couple of minutes to find out if they would be a fit and benefit you.

Tell you what, do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes with me to find out how and if this would be right for you. Grab the information/quote/brochure and let me cover a few things - do you have it handy?

Initial resistance #2: "I don't have the time right now."

Example Response: "That's fine ________, we'll schedule a better time to go over this. Quick question, though: when we do get back together on this, what are some of the areas I should be prepared to go over with you?"

Initial resistance #3: "It's not for us/me."

Example Response: "It may appear that way now ________, and you may not have enough information nor understand it well enough to be interested. In fact, most people I call back feel the same way you do - they think this is (Quickly list one or two perceived negative points), so I don't blame you for not being interested. I wouldn't be either if that was true.

But ________, that isn't how this (product/service) works. To begin with (list two or three benefits that contradict the first couple of negatives you just gave). These are just some of the things you need to be aware of before you make any decision. Do yourself a favor and get that (quote/demo/email/brochure) and I'll show you how this might work for you, too. I'll be happy to hold on while you grab it."

Initial resistance #4: "We looked at your material and this just isn't for us right now."

Example Response: "No problem ________. Tell you what let's do - because things change, and while this is fresh in your mind, let's take a few minutes now to match up how this can help you when the timing is better for you. Is that (brochure, quote, demo) handy, or do I need to hold on while you grab it?"

Initial resistance #5: "We already have a supplier or dealer or service person."

Example Response: "I know and we spoke about that earlier. Remember, I'm not calling to have you replace your current supplier/company, rather, you were looking at this to see how you might improve the results of what you're currently getting. Tell you what, do me a favor and grab the (demo, information) and let me show you how, if you decide to branch out in the future, this might help you (fill their expressed need from your first call). I'll be happy to hold on while you grab it."

Do you see how this works? Again, do not try to overcome the initial resistance you get when closing, instead, be prepared for it and earn the right to present your product or service!

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If you found this article helpful, then you'll love Mike's Completly Updated and Revised for 2014 eBook, "The Complete Book of Phone Scripts." Visit: http://mrinsidesales.com/completescripts.htm and find out why Jeffrey Gitomer, Brian Tracy and many others recommend Mike's eBook of Phone Scripts!

How to Overcome the "I want to Think About It" Objection

Out of all the possible objections you get when selling your product or service, the nebulous, "I want to think about it" is probably one of the hardest ones to overcome. I mean, the prospect isn't saying no, exactly, but he isn't giving us an objection that we can overcome either. So what do you do?

If you're like most sales reps, then you fumble around for some kind of response and end the call with a wimpy, "Well, when should I call you back?" The prospect is thinking, "How about the 12th of never?"

Any good closer knows that this objection is the mother of all smokescreens and can hide a number of real objections. The real skill in dealing with this is to get your prospect to reveal what the real reason he's not going with it is. And that's what the following responses to this objection provide you with.

OK, now this first response is to give your prospect some options so they can give you an idea of what they really mean - and their answer will give you the direction YOU then need to go in to close the sale:

Response #1: "_________, whenever I tell someone I need to think about it, it usually means one of three things: 1 - I'm not going to be a deal for whatever reason, and I just want to get them off the phone, 2 - I kind of like the idea but I'm going to have to find the money or talk to my partner, or something else is holding me back, or 3 - I really like the idea, and I just have to move something around before I say yes.

Be honest with me; which one of those things is it for you right now?"

As always when asking questions, use your MUTE button and let your prospect get everything out. Use the "Oh?" technique to prod him/her on further…

This next response is one of my favorites because in going through each of these options, you're actually qualifying your prospect as well. Especially when you get to the last question about budget.

Response #2: "Perfectly fine. Just to be sure, you do understand how this (your product or service) would work in your environment, right? And are you confident that if you moved forward with it you would get positive results? And finally, if you decide to give this a try, is the budget there to move forward with it?

Then just to clarify my thinking, what factors will you be considering in thinking about this?"

Again, listen carefully and give your prospect the time to finish his thoughts and give you all the info you need - in other words, use your MUTE button when he/she is speaking.

This tenth response is a little tongue in cheek, but it works! The important thing is not only what your prospect responds with, but HOW they say it…

Response #3: "No problem, ___________. When should I call you back on this? And what is going to happen between then and now that will convince you to move forward with this?"

So there you have it! Three proven ways to handle the bane of every sales person's existence: the dreaded "I want to think about it" smokescreen. Use them today and put an end the stalls you get when trying to close your 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

Use This Magic Button On Your Phone

I was in Staples the other day and saw their promotion using a little red button that says, "Easy" on it. You know the one? They have commercials on it and essentially whenever a business person needs any help around the office, all they have to do is hit this button and BAM! their need is met. Would that be nice? Staples even sells little red buttons with "Easy" on them, and you're encouraged to buy one and keep it on your desk. Nice marketing, huh?

Wouldn't it be nice if you had a little red button on your phone called "Easy" and all you had to do was press it and your prospect or client would automatically start telling you exactly why - or why not - they would buy from you? How much would you pay for that magic little button?

Well guess what? YOU DO! In fact, you have an even more powerful, more magical button then "Easy" right on your telephone, and I bet you're not even using it. That magic button? Your MUTE button, of course.

Now I know you may have heard me talk about the importance of using your mute before, but the question is, are you? If you're like most sales reps I listen to, then the answer is no. Oh, you may use your MUTE button when you need to get information or check on something, but when was the last time you actually used it to truly listen to and allow your prospect or client the time to complete a thought - or even a sentence?

Let me tell you why it's so hard to listen on the phone. When you're with a friend having dinner and you ask them a question, do you immediately jump in as soon as they pause for a breath? Probably not. You see, when you're in front of someone, you can read their body language, you can read their face, and you can see when they are searching for just the right words to continue. During the few seconds it takes for them to find those right words, you don't just start talking at them, do you? (I hope you don't because if you do, you probably don't have a lot of friends!)

But when you sell over the phone, you don't have any of those cues, do you? And that's why most phone sales reps talk over their prospects and that's why most people (including you!) hate it when a telemarketer calls. They don't listen and they don't give you time to collect your thoughts, do they? And, chances are, neither do you…

So, let's get back to your magic button - your MUTE button. Here are three easy ways to begin using your MUTE button to guarantee that you give your prospects the time to complete their thoughts - and their sentences:

1) Use it when asking about who they are using now. I'm sure that during your qualifying stage you probably ask something like, "And how are you handling your lead flow now?" This is the perfect time to automatically hit your MUTE button. Expect them to answer in a sentence or two, but keep your MUTE on! During the next couple of seconds, chances are, they will elaborate.

If they don't, just un-mute and ask, "Oh?" and then immediately hit MUTE again!
2) Whenever they ask about price. As soon as you give your price, you must always qualify and see how that landed with them. This is the perfect time to ask, "And how does that fit in your budget?" And then hit MUTE! Listen here carefully and then to prompt them after they are done by using a layering question like, "And what were you hoping to spend on this?" And then hit MUTE once again. And then listen….

3) The third time to use the MUTE button is whenever you get an objection. Rather than rush into answering it, ALWAYS get more information. Ask things like, "What do you mean?" OR "What else were you thinking in terms of this?" OR "Beside that, what other questions do you have?" And then hit MUTE directly after each of these and listen to what is behind the stated objection.

I think you can see how much more information you will get if you just listen instead of talking. You can do this easily if you just start using that magic button on your phone called, MUTE!

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Do you have an underperforming inside sales team? Talk to Mike to see how he can help you and your team reach your revenue goals. To learn more about Mike, visit his website: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

How Peyton Manning Helps You Slow the Game of Sales Down

I was reading an article in Sports Illustrated by Boomer Esiason (the ex-NFL Cincinnati Bengals quarterback) and he was breaking down what makes Peyton Manning such a great quarterback. He discussed specifically how, on November 17th of this season when Payton was playing the undefeated Chiefs, Peyton was challenged with surviving a defense that was leading the league in sacks. Boomer says:

"Pundits were saying how that K.C. pass rush was going to get to him, that this would really be a disaster for Peyton. But from the first snap, he knew right where he was going with the ball, he knew exactly what coverages he was seeing, and he took so much pressure off his line that the defense had no chance to get to him."

K.C. didn't get to Manning even once that night, and when the game was over, K.C. had its first loss of the season.

Boomer goes on to make a crucial point: When you truly understand the game of football, it's turns out to be a simple game. To quarterbacks and players who haven't taken the time to really learn it, to study it and adapt to it, it's a fast paced game and one you often just react it. But when you're committed like Peyton is, you can literally slow the game down and control it. Once you do that, you realize it's really a simple game.

And in sales, it's exactly the same.

Many sales teams and reps I work with find that the selling process - the prospecting/qualifying call, the demo call, the closing call, etc., all seem to happen very fast. They are often overwhelmed during each of these calls and miss asking important questions or lose control of the situation. They then become frustrated and struggle to catch up.

Boomer goes on to report that as a veteran himself, he also knew how to slow the game down and perform at the highest level. He says:

"I also had a crystal-clear understanding of what was happening on the field. I could process the game so quickly - call a play, get to the line, audible immediately, read the defense, work through my progressions, find the open man. I was like an old pitcher who could no longer throw 95, but who knew from ages of experience what he had to do to get the job done."

And it's the same in sales.

All top producers understand this analogy to sales. When you listen to a top producer's recording, what is immediately apparent is their complete understanding of what is happening during the call. They, too, can process the situation quickly - and ask the right question, get to the appropriate comeback, read the prospect, work through their responses and find the opening they need to direct the call or handle potential objections.

As Boomer says next, "…but in every game his (Peyton's) mental capacity is clearly so much higher than everybody else's that it appears he has the answers to the test before he takes it."

Peyton's preparation, commitment, and study of the game allow him slow the game down and control and dominate it. His work habits are legendary. Boomer used to joke with Frank Reich - Peyton's quarterback coach for several years with the Colts - that coaching Peyton had to be the easiest job in the world because of how much work he puts in. Frank disagreed:

"To the contrary, Boomer, this is the hardest job in the league. Peyton's the most demanding player. From the moment I walk in, I have to have certain film clips ready; I have to be ready to talk over and over about what's happening on the field, trying to foresee things that might happen. He has a relentless desire to be great."

To be great in sales, you also have to put in the time, invest in the resources, and commit to learning the skills and tools you need to succeed. But once you do, the game of sales slows way down. It becomes easy for you to identify qualified and interested prospects and you immediately know exactly how to take them through the sale and win the deal.

It's one of the most satisfying and exhilarating feelings in the world, and I hope it's one that you have a relentless desire to experience, too.

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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/

The Sooner You Lose the Sale, the Better

Last week I was speaking with another training company about perhaps joint venturing on webinars together. They would give a webinar to my list of subscribers, and I would then give one to theirs. After the initial conversation, next steps were made and we were to exchange various deliverables and take the conversation to the next level.

After giving it some thought, however, I decided that we weren't a good match for each other, and, before we went through all the trouble of sending and reviewing material, I emailed them and declined. The email I got back was brilliant. They thanked me for my time and then simply said:

"We always like to lose early."

Now that's a response from a company (or sales rep) who understands the value of qualifying. Unfortunately, most sales reps operate the exact opposite way. Here's how most sales reps do it:

Most sales reps act with a desperation to put anyone into their pipeline that will take their information. They are then happy to call these very shaky prospects back and waste their time by sending information or revising documents or whatever else they are asked to do. And after this long and frustrating process, the majority of these prospects end up not being a sale. In fact:

The industry wide closing average is 1 or 2 out of ten prospects!

Think about that for just a moment. Think about all the time, energy, phone calls, voice messages, emails, chasing and disappointment you have to go through pursuing 8 or 9 prospects through a sales cycle only to have them finally tell you no.

That's why the response, "We always like to lose early" is so brilliant. By losing the sale early in the process - as a direct result of an intensive, first qualifying call, by the way - we both saved ourselves a lot of work, a lot of time in following up and the disappointment of a lost deal at the end of it all.

What this all comes down to is the concept of "disqualifying" your leads rather than qualifying them just enough to get them into your pipeline. What this allows you to do is spend less time pitching unqualified leads that steal your valuable time. And I'm sure you know who I'm talking about…

In order to identify non-buyers early on, get into the habit of asking these types of qualifying questions during the initial call:

"I know we're at the very early stages of this, but give me an idea of your time frame for making a decision on something like this."

"If you like what you see in our demo, what would be the next steps for you?"

"What would hold you back from making a decision to move forward on something like this in the next two weeks?"

"Besides yourself, who would be making the final decision on this?"

Then layer:

"And what insight do you have on where they are leaning right now?"

And finally,

"From what I've been describing so far, what are your initial thoughts on this?"

If any of these questions reveal that your prospect might not be a good fit or won't buy at this time for any reason, then hold off! The less time you spend pitching bad leads who aren't going to buy, the more time you can spend finding the real buyers.

This is a big point, so here it is again:

The Top 20% producers spend more time disqualifying out the non-buyers and so less time stuffing unqualified leads into their pipeline hoping they will close. In other words, they would rather lose early because it frees them up to find and spend more time with buyers later on. And this is what makes them top producers.

I challenge you to start losing more sales earlier in the sales process so you can spend more time winning bigger deals more often.

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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/

6 Things NEVER to Say During Your Sales Presentation

I've been listening to sales rep pitch their products and services for over 25 years now, and there are still words, phrases and techniques that send shivers down my spine. And I'll tell you now they send shivers down the spines of their prospects and clients, too.

Let's face it - when selling over the phone, all you have is your voice, and the way you deliver your presentation - the words you use, the inflection, pacing and timing you use - has a huge impact on the way you are perceived by your prospects. Unfortunately, many sales reps project an image of being unprepared, unsure, rushed and sometimes even scared.

Your prospects sense this immediately. They know from your first few sentences whether they are dealing with a confident sales pro, or with someone who isn't very sure of what they're selling and who is uncomfortable with the sales process. And like sharks, these prospects will attack and blow you off with all the stalls, resistance and objections you get now.

If you want to project an image of professional competency, then make sure and avoid using any of the following statements or words:

What NOT to say when cold calling or prospecting:

1) Stop opening your calls with, "How are you?" I've written about this before, but 99% of sales reps are still telegraphing themselves as unwanted sales persons by starting out their conversations this way. How do YOU feel when someone you don't know calls you and uses this worn out line? Probably like hanging up on them- which is exactly how your prospects feel as well. So stop it!

Instead, use a better opening line that immediately differentiates you from all the other sales reps calling your prospects. Use something that connects with them instead, that focuses them on the call and that forces them to think and interact with you.

A few of my favorites are: "How's your Tuesday going so far?" and "Has it started/stopped snowing there yet?" and "Can you hear me O.K.?"

2) Take the word, "individual" out of your vocabulary when speaking, emailing or otherwise addressing a prospect, as in, "I know you're a busy individual..." The word individual is an institutional, cold phrase that doesn't belong in a sales conversation.

Think about it: When was the last time someone you didn't know called you and referred to you or your wife as "individuals"? How'd that make you feel? Did it give you the warm and fuzziness or did you make you think you were about to be committed?

The language you use must help you create a natural, conversational tone, and words like, "busy individual" or "busy professional", etc, do just the opposite.

3) "Things of that nature." I cringe as I even write those words.... Whenever I hear a sales rep end a sentence with "Things of that nature," I'm pretty sure they have no idea of what they're talking about. That phrase is most often used by mediocre sales reps to hide or cover up the truth that they don't know all the details of what they're talking about. Or, it is used to as lazy way to bridge into other qualifying questions.

If you are using it now, please consider using something else, or better, explain a few of those "things" and then use a tie down to see how that landed...

What NOT to say when closing a sale:

1) "Can you transfer me to (the decision maker)?" Most presentations end with the stall: "Well, I need to run this by my boss/partner/manager/corporate, etc." Unfortunately, this usually comes as a surprise to many sales reps who failed to qualify for this upfront. Some sales reps then think they can just bulldoze through the stall by demanding to talk to the decision maker right then and there.

While I applaud you for your tenacity, asking to blatantly go above the person's head you're speaking to or have just pitched, immediately alienates them. Often times this person is some kind of sales influencer and alienating them is NOT what you want to do.

Instead you should use different techniques, one of which being: "So, John, when you consult with your manager, is this something that you're sold on and will recommend to them?" (If yes, then): "Great, how can I help you sell them on this?" (Only if they can't think of anything): "Would it help if I spoke to them and went over this just like I did with you?"

That's the way to get permission and to finally earn the right to speak to the decision maker.

2) "I don't know about that - let me get back to you." It's O.K. that you don't have an answer for something, but what's important is that you convey that in a confident manner. Try any of the following:

"That's a great question and we have several ways of handling that. Let me ask you a couple of questions regarding your particular situation, and then I'll be able to get the best solution for you..." OR

"That's a good question for my technical support team. Let me see what they would propose and get back with you." OR

"We have a whole department that deals with that, and I'll check with them to give you the best solution." Each of these responses helps you delay answering until you get the right answer, but they paint the picture of a bigger, more competent company structure which helps to give you credibility.

3) "When should I call you back?" Why would you want to put the crucial follow up of your sale in the hands of your customer? Asking this question means handing over control of the sale to the prospect which means you lose control. That's bad. Here are better ways of keeping control and getting a commitment for a follow up call:

"How long will that take?" Then: "O.K. I've got my calendar open and that would put us to Tuesday of next week. Are you looking at your calendar? Great. How does 2:45pm look for you?" OR

"(Prospect Name) you're probably as busy as I am, so let's go ahead and schedule a follow up call to access progress. I can do this same time (tomorrow, Friday, next week), does that work for you?" OR

"It's going to take me (a day, two days, a week, etc.) to get this started on my end, how about I give you a call around Friday at this time to see if there's anything else you need? Does 2:15pm work for you again?"

The key here is to get a commitment. All top producers remain in control of the selling process and know when the next call in the sales cycle is - and so do their prospects!

So there you have six things to stay away from during your next sales call. As you use these techniques, you'll find yourself developing better rapport, getting more information and staying in control of your selling situations. Heck, it's starting to sound like you're a top producer already!

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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/

Why Not You?

Russell Wilson, the 5'11, 25 year old Seattle Seahawks quarterback who just won the Superbowl, loves to tell the story of how his dad pulled him aside when he was a kid struggling to make teams because he was so small. His dad would tell him, "Russ, you've got the talent, you've got the drive and the work habits, why not you? Why not you?"

Wilson says those words became the driving force that kept him competing for starting jobs on college teams and kept him working hard to get drafted in the NFL. On draft day, he watched as other quarterbacks got picked in the first round, and then the second round. The announcers who covered Wilson back then all said that if he were only 3 inches taller he would be a first round draft pick. Finally, with the 12th pick in the third round, the Seahawks drafted the undersized quarterback.

When Wilson showed up for training camp, it was almost certain he would sit on the bench behind highly prized free agent, Matt Flynn. Matt had been Aaron Rodgers' back up in Green Bay and had a franchise record setting, 6 touchdown performance at the end of the previous season. Millions of dollars later, Matt was projected to be the Seahawk's starter for years to come.

As Wilson started training camp, he heard his coaches say that the starting quarterback spot was open to the best player at that position.

"Why not you?"

These words rang in Wilson's head again as he practiced, competed and performed during off season workouts and throughout the preseason. By the final game, Wilson was named the starter, and he went on to have an amazing 2012 rookie season.

As the 2013 season began, Wilson had a message for his team: "Why not us?" Every player bought into those words and that became their team mantra as they went on to a dominating 13-3 season. In February as they headed out of the tunnel to start Superbowl XLVIII, they all believed that no matter who their opponent was, there was no reason they couldn't be hoisting the Lombardi trophy at the end of the game.

After all, "Why not them?"

Now if you're wondering if you can really achieve this kind of success in sales, I'll borrow a line from the 3rd round pick of the 2012 NFL draft:

"Why not you?"

Once you become a top producer, you never go back and suddenly you know how to succeed in selling anything. I'm here to tell you, the freedom from worry, from debt, from the future is an amazing feeling and one you owe to yourself and to your family.

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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/

Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers (Part Eight)

In Top Characteristic Part Eight, we're going back to cold calling and qualifying to reveal an important skill all top producers possess:

Top Characteristic Part Eight: Treat all gatekeepers with courtesy and respect.

If you have to make cold or warm calls to prospects, then you probably have to deal with your share of gatekeepers. These can be receptionists, office managers, assistants, etc. No matter what role they have, whoever stands between you and your prospect is someone you have to deal with first.

Most sales people struggle to effectively deal with and get past these so called "gatekeepers." And the majority of the time, the problems they have they bring on themselves. The reason is because most sales reps treat these people as obstacles to get past by using tricks or by acting authoritatively or by being downright rude. And you can imagine how that goes.

In addition, many sales people simply don't understand some basic rules in regards to how to speak to gatekeepers, and so they create their own problems by giving incomplete information which just triggers the gatekeepers to do their job and keep them away from the decision maker.

Here is a common mistake:

Rep: "Oh hi, is Mr. Jones in?"

Gatekeeper: "Can I tell him who's calling?"

Rep: "This is Bob."

Gatekeeper: "Bob who?"

Rep: "Bob Smith."

Gatekeeper: "With what company?

Rep: "The XYZ company."

Gatekeeper: "Will he know what this call is regarding?"

Rep: "Ah, it's about his (whatever the rep is selling...)"

Gatekeeper: "Has he spoken to you before?"

Rep: "Ah, no......"

Once a sales rep gets into that kind of dialogue with a gatekeeper, they will rarely win. Over and over again they will get turned away.

The way to fix all this is easy: Always give your first and last name and the company you're calling from right away. And this is crucial: always end with an instructional statement like: "Is Bob available please."

And by the way that's crucial, too: always be polite and use please - two or three times.

Here's an effective opening:

Rep: "Hi could I speak with Bob please?

Gatekeeper: "Can I tell him who's calling?"

Rep: "Yes please, please tell him that (your first and last name) with (your company name) is holding please."

If you do this right and with a smile in your voice, you'll avoid 80% of the screening that you get now. Guaranteed.

In addition, if you don't know a contact's name, use the "I need a little bit of help, please," technique. But always wait for them to respond before you ask for it:

Rep: "Hi, I need a little bit of help please."

[Now pause long enough the gatekeeper to respond]

Gatekeeper: "What do you need?"

Rep: "I need to speak with the person who handles your _________. Who would that be, please?"

This is very effective if again you say it with a smile in your voice.

Last technique: Speaking of a smile, always put a BIG smile on your face right before your prospect (or gatekeeper) picks up the phone. It does wonders for how you project your attitude and opening line.

And, don't be afraid of building a little bit of rapport with the gatekeeper as well. Ask them if they're happy it's Friday, or how Monday is going, or if they're glad it's hump day. Ask about the weather. Anything to be personable and to show them that you value them as people rather than just an obstacle to get around.

The bottom line is that top producers know how to interact with gatekeepers and know how to gain their trust and get them on their side. By using the techniques above, you can now begin doing that as well.

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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

Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers (Part Seven)

How many times do you ask for the sale during a close? Once? Twice? The number of times you should be asking might surprise you...

Top Characteristic Part Seven: Be prepared to ask for the sale five times - or more!

Most sales reps I listen to (while reviewing their closing and presentation calls), ask for the sale once. If they are get a stall or objection, they generally go away in defeat. It's rare that I hear someone ask for the sale more than three times. Think about that for yourself. How many times do you ask for the sale before you give up?

Years ago I was taught that the close doesn't even begin until the prospect has said no at least five times! I was taught that in order to win the sale, I needed to show enthusiasm and confidence, and that I needed to be persistent and show that I believed in the reason the prospect should buy more than he/she believed that she shouldn't.

Now please don't misunderstand me here. I can just hear some of you complaining that you don't want to be a telemarketer, you don't want to be an obnoxious sales person, don't want to be unprofessional or pushy. Good, because I don't want you to be either.

But what I'm talking about is something completely different. Let me explain:

To start with, you must be working with a qualified prospect. One who has a legitimate interest in your product or service, has a need, is a decision maker, has the budget, etc. This is the first step. If you don't have any of these things and you begin closing five times or more, then guess what? You're going to become a pushy sales person.

But if you do have all these qualifiers in place, then you can feel confident that you're dealing with someone who can and will benefit from your product or service. And if that's true, then it's up to you to present value, overcome stalls and objections, and ask for the sale five or six or even seven times or more.

You have to remember that many times a prospect is on the fence, and the only way to push them off it (and onto your side), is to be persistent and overwhelm any doubt or hesitation they have with your belief, confidence and enthusiasm. Here's how you do it:

First, you have to have solid and proven rebuttals to all of the common stalls or objections you're going to get. You must know these responses inside and out so you're not put off when you get them. So many sales reps act like a deer caught in a headlight when they get an objection. Many give up as soon as they do.

You can (and must) avoid that defeated feeling be being prepared with a rebuttal that not only addresses the concern, but that then leads you back into building value. In other words, you need a way back into your pitch. You can use something as simple as:

"I totally understand how you feel - it does seem that way at first, but actually the way it works is that..."

And then continue to build value or discuss a benefit and give them a further reason to buy! And once you've answered the objection, you must confirm your answer with: "Do you see how that works?" (In other words, use a tie-down.)

And if you get a yes, then you ask for the order: "Then here's what I recommend we do..."

And BOOM! You've just asked for the sale again! And when you then get another objection or stall, you answer it, confirm your answer and ask for the sale again!

This is the long lost art of closing the sale. You must be prepared to keep pitching, keep building value, and keep asking for sale - five, six seven or even ten times.

Now again, for any of you rolling your eyes, you obviously need to be in tuned with each prospect and if someone is getting upset or really isn't going buy or commit right then, then you back off. Of course you can still try getting back into the close with something like:

"You know ________, I love to learn: do you mind telling me why?"

Keep trying to reopen the sale.

If you are willing to do what the other sales reps are not going to do, then I recommend you get your favorite ten or fifteen closes together to handle the five to eight common objections you always get (see Top Characteristic Number Two). Then you'll memorize them and be ready to deliver them automatically and perfectly.

Once you do, you'll then be able to persevere and ask for the sale over and over again. And when you do, something amazing will begin to happen: You'll begin closing more deals. You'll begin closing prospects who you would have given up on before. Your confidence will go up. Your weekly checks will go up.

And before you know it, you'll have arrived.

You'll suddenly be in the top 20% of your company, and as you revise your pitch and get better and better, you'll move into the top 5%.

And then the top 1%.

And once you're at the top, you'll wonder how you ever did it any other 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

Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers (Part Six)

Top Characteristic Part Six is difficult for many sales people to develop and practice, yet it's one of the most important of skills to cultivate. And it is:

Top Characteristic Part Six: Learn to build rapport before, during and after a sale.

While most people think that sales people have the "gift of gab" and can seemingly talk to anybody, it's not that way at all. If you don't believe me, just listen to a few of your own recordings or those of your teammates...

The truth is, knowing how to honestly and naturally build rapport with someone takes a lot of skill, practice and patience. Unfortunately, most sales reps are in a tremendous hurry to get their pitch out and so they treat many prospects as an obstacle to go through to get a sale.

This is a big problem.

Years ago, my first sales manager (my older brother, Peter), taught me an important lesson. As I rushed through a pitch to qualify and then tried to close people, he told me that I was missing out on the most important thing - connecting with and treating people with respect and with genuine interest.

He told me, "Michael, these are people you're speaking with. Treat them as such and you'll go much further than you are now."

It took a while for me to lower my guard and overcome my fear of rejection, but as I got more successful, I began to develop a genuine interest in the people I was speaking with. Once I remembered that they had lives, responsibilities, fears and goals just like me, it made talking to them, rather than at them, so much easier.

And once I did that, it was much easier to build real rapport.

You've probably all heard the saying that people buy from people they like, know and trust, right? When selling over the phone, learning how to develop genuine rapport will help get someone to like, know and begin to trust you.

There are three areas that you can learn to develop rapport: before (during the initial qualifying call), during (during the close or presentation), and after (once your prospect becomes a client).

Here are some tips on how to build rapport during all three stages:

1) On the prospecting call. This is perhaps the hardest time to do this because your prospect doesn't know anything about you other than that you're a sales rep trying to sell them something. This is when their defenses are the highest.

The way to build rapport during this phase is to concentrate on relating with them right in the beginning - before you start pitching. You do this by asking any number of things like how the weather is ("Is it still over a 100 degrees there?"), or by asking how the new conversion or transition is going, or if they're super busy now that it's Monday, or if they're relieved that it's Friday. Find some common ground and build some rapport around it before you launch into your pitch. Your goal is to try to build a connection before you put your sales person's hat on.

One good way to do this also is to develop a touch point plan of leaving voice mails and sending emails if you're not able to reach someone right away. By leaving a carefully constructed series of messages beforehand, you can start your conversation by asking if they received your messages and if they've had a chance to read them yet. If not, then build rapport as above before you go into your pitch.

Building rapport this way takes a little practice, but if you truly become interested in each and every person you speak with, they'll feel it and you'll separate yourself from all the other sales reps just trying to sell them. Believe me, this will pay dividends...

2) Build rapport during your presentation. Most sales reps are in a hurry to get through their pitch so they can see if a prospect is going to buy or not. This is not only bad technique but it is also rude.

Top producers, on the other hand, continue their interest in their prospect and concentrate on having a conversation throughout their presentation rather than making their pitch a monologue. The way you do this is by putting lots of tie downs, open ended questions and even trial closes into your presentation. Your goal should be to check in with and involve your prospect in a conversation rather than give a pitch.

An example of this is by checking in with your prospect after you've given a benefit or explained how something works. Asking things like, "How would that fit in with what you're doing," or "Would that help you?" is a good start.

Using open ended questions is good, too. Instead of asking, "Are you with me?" you should ask, "What questions do you have for me so far?"

By building rapport in this way, you also begin getting an idea of how interested or engaged your prospect is. The more engaged they are, the better your chances of advancing the sale.

Spend some time this week to rewrite your demo or presentation giving your prospect opportunities to acknowledge, engage and ask lots of questions. The more rapport you can build during the close, the better.

3) After the sale. Many sales reps are surprised to hear this, but aftercare of a new client is just as important as getting one to begin with. Most sales forget a client once their check is in, but top producers know that right after a prospect has purchased is the best time to either up sell them or get a referral.

And the way you do this is by once again having a conversation and expanding upon your rapport. Get in the habit of calling your new clients a week or so out just to see how they're doing. Offer any assistance and continue to develop a relationship with them.

If you have a chance to offer an additional service or product, do so. If not, then have your referral script handy.

Also, consider drip marketing to your new customer by using a greeting card system such as Send Out Cards. The more you can "touch" your new client, the stickier they are going to become and the more likely you'll be able to do more and longer term business with them.

In conclusion, building rapport seems to be a lost art for many sales people. This is why most people (yourself included) hate getting calls from sales reps. But top producers know the value in treating people with respect and with genuine interest.

By doing so, you can not only develop a long and loyal customer base, but you can begin to enjoy what you do more as well. Sounds like a win/win to me.

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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

Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers (Part Five)

In today's ongoing series of the "Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers," I'm going to give you a powerful way to open your closes. This is a technique that top producers use all the time, but that most sales reps are afraid of using.

If you do this right, however, you'll have the confidence to ask for and get the sale the majority of the time. It is:

Top Characteristic Part Five: Requalify your prospect at the beginning of your closing presentation.

Let's start with how most sales reps give a closing presentation or demo. Most sales reps get a prospect on the phone and then go through a long winded presentation, seldom checking in, and then at the end vaguely asking for the order with a weak statement like:

"So what do you think?"

A client of mine once described his sales team as "spraying and praying." They "sprayed" a long presentation, and then at the end "prayed" the prospect was onboard and wanted to buy.

If that's how you're doing it now, then you know how sick of a feeling it is to finally ask for the deal (and usually be turned down).

Top producers handle this in a very different way. First, top producers get much better quality leads out because they follow Top Characteristic Number Four of fully qualifying their leads.

Next, when they get a prospect back on the phone, before they jump into their demo or presentation, they take the time up front to requalify their prospect so there are no surprises when it comes to asking for the sale at the end.

What they are requalifying for are things like decision making ability of the person they are pitching, the timeline for making the decision (especially using a trial close like: "And if at the end you like what you see today, is this something you can move forward with?"), and any other qualifying areas that weren't covered during the qualifying call.

Here is a list of some sample questions you can ask at the beginning of your presentation:

"I know you mentioned last time that you were particularly interested in learning about ________. Is there any other area you wanted to see today?"

AND

"You mentioned that you were the one who would decide on something like this - is that still the case?"

AND

"I know you said you wanted to find a solution as soon as possible, so let me ask you: if this is everything you're looking for, are you prepared to move on this today?"

AND

"You know ________, we talked about the range of investment being between $10,000 to $50,000 depending on which program you went with. If you do like this today, what kind of commitment are you thinking of making?"

AND

"I'm happy we have some time to go over how all this works and let me ask you: If after you see all this you agree this is what you're looking for, is this something you can give me the go ahead to put to work for you today?"

If some of these questions seem daunting to you, it's probably because you haven't been thoroughly qualifying your prospects to begin with. You may be more used to the "spray and pray" model.

I'm here to tell you that you'll close more deals, avoid more frustration, and confidently close more deals if you begin requalifying your prospects up front.

The benefits of doing this are many. To start with, if you find that a prospect isn't going to make a decision at the end but rather has lots of concerns or objections already, then you can adjust your pitch accordingly. You can shorten it or ask for their main interests points and address those first. Then after you've answered any questions, you can begin overcoming some of the obstacles or ascertaining if this is a prospect who is ever going to close or not.

If you find that most of your prospects aren't going to make a decision at the end of your presentation, then you can go back to your qualifying script and put in more definite questions so you get better qualified leads for your next closes.

On the other hand, if you find out that your prospect is indeed ready to go, then you can use more tie downs and trial closes during your presentation and then confidently ask for and get the sales sooner.

Either way, you'll know where you stand at the beginning of your pitch and what you've got to do to win the deal.

Take some time this week to restructure the opening of your presentation or demo and put some of the requalifying questions you've read above. Or, adapt some of your own. The more you ask these kinds of questions, the stronger of a closer you'll become.

And one last note: Don't be afraid that you're going to scare off buyers by doing this. Know one thing: buyers will respond to these kinds of questions. Only non-buyers will give you trouble, and wouldn't you rather know up front who is going to buy and who isn't?

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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

Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers (Part Four)

In today's ongoing series of the "Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers," I'm going to introduce you to one of the main differences between the Top 20% of sales producers versus the other 80%.

And in a sentence it is this: "You can't close an unqualified lead."

Top Characteristic Part Four: Thoroughly qualify each and every prospect and client before you set up your close or demo or run your appointment.

I'll start with a story: I was in the Bay Area giving a training to a group of tech sales reps, and I was talking about what makes up a qualified lead and how important it is. I went over the six things you need to know about each prospect before you set up a close, and then I covered specific scripted questions (along with rebuttals for any resistance) and how to get this information.

The sales reps sat around the conference table with a look of wonder on their faces. Only one person in the back of the room was smiling broadly and nodding his head up and down. Turns out he was a new rep who had just joined the team after working for IBM.

After I was done with the qualifying piece of the training, this rep raised his hand and told the following story:

"I know exactly what you're talking about in terms of fully qualifying leads before setting them up for a demo or appointment. In fact, the number one rep in our division at IBM had a team of "qualifiers" who would make the initial calls and then turn the leads over to this guy for his approval.

"This rep (we'll call him Brad), had put together a "qualifying checklist" of ten items he demanded his qualifiers ask, and if they turned a lead over without at least eight of the questions answered, he'd turn the lead back over and tell them to call back and get the rest of the questions answered.

"Now here's the thing," this rep said, now almost shaking with enthusiasm. "All the other reps would have been happy if three or four of the questions had been answered. We'd all of considered that a good lead to call!

"But not Brad. Brad wouldn't waste his time with what he called, "non-qualified leads" because he said he didn't need the practice of trying to close sales. He said he's only interested in pitching and closing qualified leads."

And then he dropped the bomb that made believers out of all the other sales reps in attendance:

"And the thing was, Brad was the number one producer in our division and grossed over one million dollars a year in commissions!"

And that's the characteristic you need concentrate on with each and every prospect or "lead" you generate. You have to make sure they are fully qualified. Ask this about every lead before you set a demo or appointment:

1) Why will this person buy? What's their specific buying motive? Hot buttons?
2) Why won't this person (or company, etc.) buy? What's the likely objection that will kill the deal?
3) Who are all the decision makers? What is this person's role?
4) Timeline! What is the decision process like? How long will it take? How many hoops do you need to jump through? How soon - or how long - are they going to take to make a decision on this?
5) Competition. Who are you competing against? Is their old supplier or vendor still in the mix? Why would they choose you?
6) Budget. What is your prospect or client looking to spend? Is your solution perceived as having enough value to justify your cost? If not, how can you build that?

These are the six basic qualifiers that you need to know about every lead before you enter the closing area. There may be more given your particular sale, and if so, you'd better create your own "qualifying checklist" and make sure that you know this information well in advance.

If, for some reason, you didn't learn everything on the first call, then consider strongly "requalifying" at the beginning of your close or demo. Ask these questions at the beginning of the call so you'll have the leverage you'll need to confidently close later.

There is a reason Brad wasn't interested in attempting to close leads that weren't completely qualified. He knew the basic rule of sales: You can't close an unqualified lead.

So stop trying! Fully qualify upfront and watch your closing ratio soar.

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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

Here's the Secret to Success

Want to know an important secret? The most powerful technique to ensure your immediate and continued success is staying focused on what you want - all aspects of it - and not give in to worry, doubt, or to the temporary circumstances are happening right now in your life. I know this sounds simple, but most people find it extremely hard to practice.

While everyone understands the importance of goal setting, what usually happens after the excitement wears off is that reality sets in. You may have a goal to earn a certain amount of money, or drive a different type of car, etc, but after you receive a few checks that seem to be about the same, or after you get back into your old car for a few months, have you ever found that you forget about your goal and just start accepting that things are probably going to remain the same?

Or have you ever attended a motivational seminar or read a motivational book and been fired up for a while? Have you even taken some of the advice and written down your new goals or even taken some action and tried a new marketing plan or diet? If you have, then you've probably experienced the kind of let down that comes from not making progress fast enough and then laying in bed at night worrying about your income or about your future (again).

In fact, let me ask you right now: "How much of your thinking is about what you don't want to happen or about what might happen if something you're trying to accomplish doesn't work out?"

The answer to that one question will always determine your ultimate success. You see, the secret to all success is to be able to stay focused on exactly what you want regardless of how long it takes, or what else is currently happening. It is this single ability to stay focused, committed and always trained on the end result you want - no matter what - that enables you to ultimately achieve any goal you set.

So how do you stay focused on what it is you want when so much seems to be contrary, or your mind constantly says, "Yes, but…."? Here are some tips that help me, and might help you as well.

I remember when I wanted to upgrade my Nissan Hatchback to a Mercedes. Well, at first I couldn't afford the down payment, didn't know how I was going to make the monthly payments, insurance, etc. Instead of trying to figure all that out, I started with the thought, "If other reps in the office drive nice cars and they seem to be able to write enough business to afford them, why not me?"

That basic belief was the core driving thought that I always went back to when I had a bad sales day or week. Whenever my mind started to go negative on me with the, "Who are you kidding? You a Mercedes?" And so forth, I would always reaffirm what I could believe in - "If others could do it, I could do it too!"

After that, I strengthened my vision by going to a Mercedes dealership and test driving the car I wanted; I had the sales rep at the dealership take pictures of me next to my ideal car. I brought all the brochures home of the car I wanted and kept them on my desk and looked at them often. And then I wrote an affirmation card and spent three to five times a day slowly visualizing how I felt now that I owned my dream car.

That combination - always combating any negative thoughts with a thought I could believe in - "If others could do it, I could as well" - along with constantly feeding myself the feelings of having accomplished my goal, enabled me to stay focused on what I wanted, rather than on what I didn't have.

The result? Four months after writing up my affirmation card and making the commitment to owning the car of my dreams, I went back to the same dealership and bought the exact car I had been visualizing about.

So my question to you is this: What do you want, and what belief can you believe in now that can become your default self talk that will counteract any negative thinking? And then what kinds of reinforcement tools can you surround yourself with that will keep you focused on how you'll feel once you attain your goal? These, coupled with an affirmation paragraph that you read and visualize several times a day, will keep you focused on what you want.

And once you do that, your goal will always become a reality…

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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/

Three Things You Need to Have to Be Happy

Are you happy?

I mean consistently, get out of bed, enthused about another day happy?

Or, do you wake up and wonder if it's the weekend yet? Or worse, if it's the weekend already, do you still wake up and wonder when the weekend is coming?

I was talking with a client the other day and he told me about a psychologist he heard being interviewed on the radio, and the psychologist had a very simple three-step process to being happy. He said that if you examine all the happy people in the world, they generally all have these three things in common. Here's what they are:

#1) Someone to love. This is an important ingredient for happiness for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that it gets you thinking of someone else other than you. Let's face it - the quickest way to feeling miserable is to think only about yourself all the time. If you don't believe me, just try it for a few hours.

When you have someone to love, however, you spend much more of your time thinking about their welfare instead of your own. Also, you now have someone to share life with - both the good and the bad. You are no longer in this thing alone. You have someone on your side and someone who knows you and cares about you. This someone to love can be a spouse, a partner, or someone you are dating or in a relationship with.

The person can also be a son or daughter, or even another family member. In some instances the bond with a pet can be strong enough for awhile. I remember once I got a cat and told my chiropractor, and she asked how long I had been without a pet. I told her over 10 years and she said, "How did you go so long without unconditional love?"

John Lennon said, "All you need is Love." It turns out there are two more things you need to have:

#2) Something to do. Boredom is a killer. It can kill a relationship, a vacation or just a weekend. In fact, compare how you feel when you don't have anything planned for a weekend to how you feel when you wake up with a list of things to accomplish or enjoy. It's a different experience, isn't it?

Mark Twain said "To be busy is man's greatest happiness," and I agree. That's one of the reasons I love sales. In sales there is always plenty to do. There are people to call, deals to close, clients to work with, and sales reps to train. I have a thousand things to do in my business, and I love them all.

After work I fill my time with the gym, with writing, with friends and, of course, with spending time with my wife. Together we make plans to get together with friends, find ways to help others and then engage in one of our favorite activities - planning vacations and trips together. And that leads to the third thing you must have to be happy:

#3) Something to look forward to. The other day, I was looking at an email from a travel site I subscribe to (travelzoo.com) and they had just sent out their weekly travel specials. I almost deleted it because I have a very busy second quarter coming up, but I opened it at the last moment.

When I went down the list of travel deals they had, I was amazed to see a deal to Honolulu for five nights that included air for two and a five night stay at my favorite hotel on Waikiki Beach - the Mona Surfrider. It included airport transfers, breakfast for five days and even two cocktails each evening. The price was amazing. Ten minutes later my wife and I were booked!

What's amazing about this is how I felt immediately after I paid for our reservation. Before it I was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the work I had to do. But the moment I got off the phone with Pleasant Holidays, I was a changed man! There was a lightness in my step, and all I could think about was getting there and sitting on the beach watching the sun set the first night. I could already feel the soft trade winds blowing and the Hawaiian band playing there under the Banyan Tree. Heck, I get excited by it just writing this!

It was at that moment I realized and remembered how important it is to have something to look forward to.

As I listened to my client describe the three things you need to be happy I smiled to myself when I realized I agreed. In that moment, happiness was simple. And when I hung up with him and thought about it some more, I realized that I was indeed happy.

And that made me smile some more….

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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/

Six Ways to Handle the "I'm Not Interested" Blow Off

Today you're going to get six ways to handle the "I'm not interested" blow off. Did you notice that I didn't call that an objection, but rather a "blow off"? The first thing you must recognize about blow off statements - things like "Just send me information" or "We don't have the budget" or "I'm not interested" etc., is that these are not objections. Instead they are simply resistance statements meant to blow you off.

You use blow off statements all the time. Think about your response to a sales rep at a department store who asks you, "Can I help you find something?" Your typical response is probably something like, "Oh, I'm just looking." That is not an objection (because the sales rep hasn't pitched you anything yet), but instead it's simply a resistance statement designed to blow you off.

The key to handling resistance statements is NOT to try to overcome them, but rather, to simply acknowledge and then move past them. And that's what the following "I'm not interested" rebuttals listed below teach you to do.

As with all scripts, adapt these to fit your product or service and your personal style. Once you have, then practice, drill and rehearse these until they become habit. Here are six ways to handle the "I'm not interested" blow off:

"I'm not interested"

(Remember, your goal here is not to overcome an objection - but instead to acknowledge this initial resistance and qualify for interest.)

Response #1: "That's fine _________, and many people I speak with tell me the same thing as well. And as they learn more about this and see what this can really do for them, they were glad they took a few minutes to listen.

One thing that would be a good fit for you is…." (Continue on with your pitch, briefly, and then ask a qualifying question like, "Do you see how that would work for you?")

Response #2: "I didn't expect you to be interested ________, you don't know enough about this yet. But like me and everyone else, I do know you're interested in (provide a benefit here - saving money, increasing production, return, etc.) and that's why I'm calling. Let me ask you a quick question: if I could show you how you can (provide your unique benefit here) and even save you (time, money, etc.) wouldn't you be happy you took a few minutes to find out how?"

Response #3: "I know that _______, heck if you were interested you'd have called me! (Say this with a smile in your voice :-) But seriously, I know you get a lot of calls, and every now and then it makes sense to listen to the right call, and this is it." (Continue on with your value proposition and then ask a question like, "Do you think that would help you, too?")

Response #4: "________, you probably get a lot of these calls, don't you? You know, I get them, too, and believe me, I don't like getting them any more than you do. But every now and then I listen because sometimes there is information out there that will benefit me. And this is that kind of call for you. Let me ask you a quick question…" (Ask how they would like to improve, save, make more money using your product or service.)

Response #5: "Believe me, I'm with you. But the good news is that taking just 30 seconds with me right now could change the way you do business, and could help you (achieve your quotas, save thousands of dollars - whatever your product or service will do for them). In fact, let me share briefly with you how we've helped hundreds of companies just like yours…"

Response #6: "That's no problem, __________. I have a drawer full of clients who told me the same thing when I first called them as well. In fact, I'll put you touch with some of them if you want. But the point is this: if you're like most people I speak with, you're having trouble (list the problems your product or service solves) and in a couple of minutes I can share with you the solutions to those problems that my other clients are enjoying right now.

Let me ask you - If I can show you how you can (give benefit here), would it be worth a few minutes to find out how?"

Remember, the top sales producers in your company and industry have proven responses to the objections, resistance and blow offs they get over and over again. And that's how YOU'RE going to move into that elite group as well.

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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

Top Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers (Part Three)

Last week, in Top Characteristic Number Two, I introduced the concept of scripting out the very best responses to the selling situations and objections you get into 80 to 90% of the time. I urged you to practice, drill and rehearse these responses until they become automatic.

The point here is that you are practicing the right responses.

You see, the thing about practice is that it doesn't make perfect, as everyone has heard. Practice only makes permanent. And that's why underperforming sales reps and sales team remain stuck in unsatisfactory results. They keep doing and saying the wrong things over and over again.

The truth is this: Only practice of perfection makes perfect.

That's why Characteristic Number Two is so important. Only by practicing the right responses will you achieve perfection in sales. And this leads us to Number Three:

Top Characteristic Number Three: Record and critique your calls every day.

A top telemarketing sales trainer, Stan Billue, first introduced me to this concept. He said that nothing could help you double your income in 90 days faster than recording and critiquing your calls daily.

He also said that most sales reps would not be willing to do this (and he's right). But, he said, if you are willing to do it, then you will quickly move into the Top 20% of the selling professionals in your company and industry (he was right there, too!).

By the way, all professionals record their performances and then use them to improve. Think about how much time football players spend watching game film, or dancers spend watching film of their practices and performances, or actors and directors watching a previous day's shoot, etc.

Every professional records, critiques and gets better by analyzing and improving their performance using some kind of recording device. You need to as well.

Once I made a commitment to recording my calls, I was quickly amazed by how much I was missing, and I think you will be, too. Here are some things to be on the look-out for:

1) How well did you listen to your prospect or client? This is huge because once you begin hearing yourself on a sales call, you'll be amazed by how much and how quickly you start talking. Often talking over your prospect.

2) Did you hear what your prospect or client was saying or did you just hear what you wanted to hear? Clients and prospects are always trying to tell us what's important to them, but most of the time we never hear it. When you begin listening to your calls, you'll see the need to begin using your Mute Button so you hear the buying signals - and the potential objections.

3) Did you ask all the right qualifying questions? Most sales don't close because prospects just aren't qualified to begin with. By listening to what questions you are missing, you'll be able to strengthen your calls on the front end, thereby producing more qualified leads to close later on.

4) Did you follow your best practice script, or did you fall back on your old habits of ad-libbing. Following a new script is hard! Our tendency is to fall back on our old scripts and start shooting from the hip. By recording yourself, you'll begin to hold yourself accountable.

5) When answering an objection, did you end by asking for the order or did you simply talk past the close? This is a big one as well because many sales reps are afraid of asking for the order for fear of getting more objections. But asking for the deal is crucial and must be done over and over again...

6) Did you introduce an objection by talking too much? This will give you shivers the first time you hear yourself doing it.

7) How about tie downs and trial closes? Most sales reps love to talk. It's a bad habit because in inside sales, you have no idea what your prospect is thinking - unless you stop to ask them. By recording yourself, you'll get an idea of how much you're talking, and how much you're listening.

8) Are you improving? This is big because we all need reinforcement. You need to hear yourself getting better, celebrate your improvement and see the benefits of all the work you're doing to get better. By recording yourself, you'll be able to do just that.

9) How is your tone, your pacing and your energy? All of these things are crucial on a call, and if you're not objectively listening to yourself, you have no way of correcting yourself.

10) You'll find many other ways to improve as well - ways that would never occur to the other 80%.

As you begin listening to yourself, you'll find that it's painful in the beginning. Nobody likes to hear the sound of their own voice, and no one likes to hear how bad they usually are. But soon you'll be happy you did, because nothing pays off faster than practicing this crucial characteristic.

The easiest way to start is to pick a partner at work and begin listening to each other's calls during lunch. Get a buddy and make a commitment to tearing each other apart (all in fun!), but be ruthless in your effort to get better. What you'll find is that when you're back on the phone, just before you go off script or talk over someone, you'll see your buddy's face and you'll hit Mute to avoid making a mistake that your buddy will point out later...

As soon as you can, find a way to record and download your recordings for playback and critique. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll leapfrog over your competition!

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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

The Importance of Following Up

Let me ask you this: If you just met with a really hot prospect, how long would you wait to follow up with them? A day? A couple of days? A week?

Here's my experience with a couple of real estate agents this week:

My wife and I are selling our home and have begun interviewing real estate agents to represent us. I got a couple of referrals from good friends in our neighborhood, and then I reached out with an email telling them that I'm ready to list my home and want to meet. I think I'd call that a hot lead, wouldn't you?

So Tuesday night we meet the first agents - a husband and wife team - a very nice couple who have been selling real estate in our neighborhood ("South of the Boulevard") and claim to be the Number One agents in this area (It's odd that the other two agents we meet with also claim to be the Number One agents as well, but that's a discussion for another article).

We spend a nice couple of hours together, really like them, like their recent experience and success on the next block and also love their strategy. We tell them that we're meeting with another agent referral the next night but that we will get back with them the following day.

O.K., so now comes the test. When would you, if you were them, get back with me?

The right answer is 9AM the next morning. If I were them, I would have sent a quick email saying it was so nice meeting me, that I enjoyed and really liked the house and that I was confident that I could sell the home using the strategy I outlined. I'd say if there was anything I could do, just reach out to me, and that I look forward to speaking with them (me) very soon.

No brainer, right? Well, here's what happened: Because I'm a Top 20% closer, it was ME that sent them an email thanking them for their time and how nice it was to meet THEM! I sent it at 9AM and hadn't heard back from them by NOON that afternoon! How do you think that made me feel in terms of how they would represent me?

O.K. So the next night we had the other agents over - a team of two "Number One" selling agents in our area (they really used that term as well!). We really liked their pitch also and were impressed by what they wanted to list our house for. In fact, when they left, we were leaning towards hiring them! How long do you think it took for them to follow up with us?

We're still waiting to hear from them two days later!

I'm still stunned because as we told them we'd have a definite answer by the next morning. Did we get a follow up email? No. Did we get a follow up phone call? No. Now two days have gone by and have we heard from them?? NO!! YIKES! What's wrong with these sales people??

In the meantime, the first couple emailed us the next day wondering what happened with our other meeting and expressed their strong desire to work with us. We then spoke on the phone and negotiated a bit. Now they are coming over tonight to pitch us some more. They've redeemed themselves a bit and will probably get our business.

By the way - the other team? We still haven't heard from them, and I'm thinking I never will. And that's too bad for them because when we woke up the next morning, we were completely on the fence, and we decided that whoever got back to us first would probably win our business. We figured we'd wait and see who was more of a go-getter, and who would be more aggressive overall and that this would (hopefully) translate into who would be more aggressive in selling our home.

So here's the lesson for all you sales reps and business owners out there - Don't wait days or weeks to follow up prospects! Especially the hot ones or the ones you've either met with or spent quality time with over the phone. A simple email that thanks them for their time, acknowledges how much you learned and how excited you are to help them will go A LONG WAY to earning you their business. Especially since not many others have this kind of urgency.

By the way, I usually send a quick email right away when I get off the phone with a prospect and include something of value in the email - a white paper, an article - something that will help them and also help them think about me.

So start thinking about what you can send to someone when you reach back out to a prospect. And follow up more often and sooner than you think you should. Based on what the majority of other sales reps apparently do, it will mean more business and referrals for you…

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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 Eliminate Objections

I was coaching a client this week and he was complaining about the biggest objection he almost always gets at the end of his presentation - that prospect stall the sale by saying they have to run it by another person first to get approval.

Now I've written about this before and provided ways of overcoming this, such as by isolating it with: ("If the decision were up to you, what would YOU do?"), etc., but he tells me that it still comes up and is the number one objection/stall that keeps him from closing sales. Here was my advice:

First, realize that when an objection keeps coming up at the end of your close, you need to find a way to deal with it - actually eliminate it - during your first qualifying call. I've always found that if I didn't uncover and deal with an objection on the first call, then it's my fault if it continually comes up at the end of the closing call (which it usually does). So the point here is that you need to handle it before it comes up.

Second, I recommended that we role play the solution. Here's how it went:

Me: So tell me who you consult with when making the decision on something like this?

Prospect (P): Well, if I like it, then I send it to my regional manager.

Me: O.K., and how open is your regional manager to adding another vendor in this area?

P: Actually, I don't know. I just send things on to them and sometimes they do it, and sometimes they don't.

Me: I understand. And what is the name of your regional manager?

P: Dave.

Me: O.K., well how about we do this. Rather than you and me taking time to go through a whole presentation together and then you liking it and sending it on hoping that Dave approves it, how about if you send Dave an email and see if he is even open to adding vendors at this time. If he is, then I'll set up the presentation with you and then, if you like it, you can then forward this on to Dave, how does that sound?

P: That's sounds O.K.

Me: In fact, I'll go one further for you. How about if I send Dave the email, I'll copy you, and then we'll both know if we should continue or not. After I hear back from him, yes or no, then I'll reach back out to you and either set something up or schedule to follow up in a few months - how does that sound?

P: O.K.

Me: Great. What's Dave's email address?

What we've done here is qualify before we invest all our time and effort in a prospect who may or may not even be in the market to move on something. This is crucial when we're dealing with an influencer who, and as we know, are often not in the position to make a decision. We absolutely have to get buy in from a decision maker (if we can) before we go down the very frustrating road of pitching the wrong person.

Now, will this technique work all the time? Of course not; none will. But what it WILL do is give you a fighting chance of finding out if there is even a real opportunity here to begin with. And that's a whole lot more than you probably have right now.

Also note: the influencer's willingness to go down this road will also tell you something as well. If they aren't willing to email the decision maker, then he/she probably already knows what the answer is. If they are willing to do it, then you'll either get a qualified lead, or you'll save a lot of time. Either way, you'll be way ahead of the game.

So take back control of the sales process by learning to eliminate objections and stalls on the front end of the sales cycle. If you don't, then you have no one to blame but yourself…

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Mike has been voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals 3 out of the last 4 years 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/

The Key to Using Your Imagination

I'm reading a great book this summer about the power of using your imagination, called "The Law and the Promise" by Neville. It's the kind of book that adds very fine distinctions to the concept of the Law of Attraction, and acts almost like a graduate level work on the subject. It's the kind of book that reminds you what you think you already know about the power of setting specific goals and visualizing their accomplishment, but it does so in a way that makes you go, "Ah hah!"

The key that I took from it is the distinction between thinking of an image or goal realized and thinking from the image instead. This difference is so important, that it means the difference between a vision or goal being manifested or not.

The book points out that everyone uses their imagination, and the way most people use it is to think about something. In other words, they imagine something - a new car, more money, a new home, etc. - and they think about what it looks like, or they visualize the image as being out there. For example, everyone can hold the image of a beach in their minds - everyone can visualize it. The imagination can create virtually any image and think about it. That's how most people use their imagination.

The difference in thinking from the image rather than of the image is that when you think from the image, you become part of it. It ceases to be an abstract concept, and instead, by entering into the wish fulfilled, you feel its accomplishment and thereby manifest it much faster. As Neville says, everything we see is created by focused and sustained thought through imagination, and fastest way to sustain that thought is to think and feel from the image manifested.

What this means in practice is that it's crucial to create an image and then to inhabit it by feeling, seeing, hearing, sensing, acting as if it has been manifested. The sooner you do that, the sooner it will come into being.

Neville has many other golden nuggets in this book, like:

"Imagine better than the best you know."

"If we live in the dream - thinking from it - and not of it, then the creative power of imagining will answer our adventurous fancy, and the wish fulfilled will break in upon us and take us unawares."

"The drama of life originates in the imagination of man."

"Life would undergo a change of appearance because we ourselves had undergone a change in attitude."

I love that last quote about attitude. I've written many times about how changing our attitudes can change everything else too. Remember it was Zig Ziglar that said, "It's our attitude, not our aptitude that determines our altitude."

If you are looking for another book to add to your summer reading, then pick up this gem and read it today. It's a fast read (you could read it in an afternoon), but it is a rich read as well. All books of truth are. I hope that learning to live from your dreams help you manifest them even sooner.

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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

Three Ways to Get Better at Listening

What do you think the most important skill of a Top 20% producer is? Persistence? Work ethic? Time management skills? Closing skills? Tenacity? Certainly all of these skills are present with any Top Performer, but what really separates a pro is their ability to truly listen. And I mean the ability to sit through awkward silences, to not jump in and speak when the client or prospect is thinking, and to be O.K., in fact even welcome, those dead silences when it's almost impossible not to say something...

So how do you get better at listening? Here are the three top techniques I teach that immediately make you a better listener:

#1) Get in the habit of hitting your MUTE button immediately after you ask a question OR immediately after your prospect or client begins to speak. This habit will force you to listen and, because you're muted, it even allows you to talk over your prospect because she/he won't hear you!

The other rule with the MUTE button is to count slowly to 3 after they pause or when you think they are done speaking. You'll be amazed by how they will often fill in the space and complete their thought - often giving you amazing information you can use to close the sale.

#2) Use my favorite technique to encourage someone to keep talking. If a prospect says something you don't understand, or if they haven't revealed a buying motive yet, when they stop talking, simply say, "Oh?" I know that sounds too easy, or even a little awkward, but try it and see for yourself how powerful this is.

Also, make sure your voice goes up at the end of the "Oh?" Put a question in your voice as you say this and after you do, make sure and Hit MUTE. If you master just this one technique, you'll be so far ahead of your competition because you'll learn much more from your prospects and clients...

#3) Use any of the following statements to encourage your prospects to keep talking:

"What do you mean by that?"

"And what else?"

"How do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, come again?"

"What would have to change for you?"

You see how this goes. The important thing is to ask an open ended question and, after you do, Hit MUTE! It took me several years to learn how to truly listen to my prospects and clients, and I used all of the above techniques to help me get really good at it. I will tell you now that I hear things no one else hears. I hear the motive and the meaning behind what they are saying, and if I'm not clear, I simply say, "Oh?"

Don't take my word for this, instead, try it yourself and see. I guarantee that once you get good at listening, you'll get better at qualifying and closing. And if you don't improve your listening skills, you won't improve in those areas very much or very quickly. Remember, the most important skill of a Top Producer is the ability to truly listen.

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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/