Is Cold Calling Dead? Instead ask: "What if there were no longer sales pros?"

"It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up." 

Vince Lombardi

I have to give credit where credit is due.  A Google+ posted by my pal Gary Hart (Salesdujour) whom I respect and follow inspired me to write this Blog!    The same question keeps cropping up in several different ways, in several different manners, regardless of what forum I dip into:  Linked In, Quora, Blogs,  Facebook, Twitter and now Google+  "Is Cold Calling Dead?"  .... there is even professionals out there that tell you it is dead in no uncertain terms.


Cold calling is part of sales, like "prospecting" "closing" "objection" functions are. In my perfect world  everyone will join together to get on the same page, agreeing on a definition.  Instead, when you ask  what people feel towards cold calling you end up with a debate on whether it works, alive, etc.  If you "Google" cold calling, you may end up at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_calling that explains it to be:  "Cold calling is the marketing process of approaching prospective customers or clients, typically via telephone, who were not expecting such an interaction. The word "cold" is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting a call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by a sales person."   


Oh, oh.  The last business development role I was involved in, they would have hired "Telemarketers" to do "cold" telephone calls, which some are asked to schedule appointments for sales people.  What they wanted was a warm body in front of customers that they weren't reaching by advertising, marketing, etc.  Most bosses I know who have sales departments consider hiring telemarketers an overhead cost.  More often, that falls under "sales" on the balance sheet.  Even more, would say they don't need telemarketers if they have sales professionals to do their own telemarketing.




My first take when I see the question asked is that not cold calling means you be handed engaged buyer-ready customers.  Perfect, all you have to do is "close" them. I want a million dollars and a second home in the tropics too. Doesn't mean I'm going to get either.  In fact, if the world agreed that cold calling is dead, then sales pros may just be killing their own careers!

Seriously, if companies want order takers primed on the ready for warmed leads banging down their door, a sales career would become obsolete.  If marketing could bring in new customers all nice and neatly tied up in a bow that just needed to be written up, would they need sales professionals?  I think not, they would be called "Customer Service Representatives".     In fact, if that were the case, I'm sure most executives would pour more money into marketing and be talking to accounting more about what to do with all that money.


Sales professionals are one of the toughest groups to manage.    Each brings in a set of tools, success strategies, and war stories that would make even the most notorious war generals blink!  Asked why sales aren't improving, you better sit down because that may take a while.  


One of my first Blogs ever, written last August 2010  "When the Going Gets Tough The Tough Go Hunting" http://optioneerjm.blogspot.com/2010/08/when-going-gets-tough-tough-go-hunting.html What I said then and say still is when the economy softens and revenue streams dry up, people turn to their sales professionals or even some stretch resources to hire sales professional(s) to offset declines.  


Now, if we start talking techniques that take the "Cold out of Call" http://optioneerjm.blogspot.com/2010/11/take-cold-out-of-call.html and devise solutions on making it seem less intrusive to people that are too busy to stop for a call from a customer, never mind a sales pro that somehow got through, then we're getting somewhere.  


The great part of these debates, they fuel my passion to write more!  That is why so many sales Blogs like mine are alive and doing well.    Well folks, you won't find any excuses NOT to cold call on this one.


"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."

William Feather

Hunter or Farmer: What type of sales professional do you want?

Clever people will recognize & tolerate nothing but cleverness.

 ~Henri Frederic Amiel

I am often asked how do you really find a top performing sales professional?  What characteristics or qualities can you readily identify that will ensure you’ve got a winner?  That takes me back to what my own sales manager advised me when I was replacing him and asked to a top performing sales role to my first “gig” as a sales manager:   “Hire’em, train’em, send’em out, then watch’em like a hawk!”

I wish it were as simple.  Looking back now,  I can clearly see what mistakes I made when I started and find it easy to identify new or bad managers based on repeating those same mistakes.  Good and bad managers will be left for another blog while I tackle this weighty question:  How do you reduce your risk of making a bad hire in sales?

Initially, you have to understand what type of sales professional you looking for.   Most organizations will say they're looking for "Hunters" and not order takers.  What they mean is someone who can drum up new business.  They can be titled “Business Development Representative” or simply “Sales Representative”.  They are more easily identified when you take the time to understand the Hunter mentality:

• Short sales cycles
• High call rate/activity (they will look and sound busy)
• Transactional sales:  Find’em and Close’em and Move on
• Someone else takes care of the follow through (deliverables, implementation), follow up and customer satisfaction
• They should be armed with lots of marketing pieces and tools to sell
• They will rarely make formal presentations or get involved with RFPs
• The call types are usually small to medium-sized businesses
• Networking to them is to gather as many contacts as possible
• They don’t need leads, but appreciate being fed leads once in a while
• They tend to turnover quicker because what attracts them to hunting may also go hand in hand with becoming bored with doing the same thing over and over again.
• Hunters aren’t as respected amongst colleagues because others tend to have to do clean up from the “sell at all costs” mentality.
• Make sure they are base salary + commission – reward based on results
• They will thrive in a competitive environment – post stats or sales scoreboards – that motivates them to see themselves on the top
• Don’t expect them to be a team player in the office because their game is winning sales, not fans
• They excel at “feature dumps” and may be more technically savvy with every gadget known to speed up sales
• They may be annoyed by too many meetings or impatient with training that takes them out of the hunt
• What paperwork?  You want them to make calls right?  Enter information into a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system – yeah, right, whatever you say … then back out they go.
• They may drive you crazy when you have to constantly remind them to complete administrative tasks.  On time?  When’s that?
• There will be several fish stories and a few whales that got away
• Research for leads is scanning newspapers or web Career Section
• In when the boss is, lunch with "prospects" and out of the office at 5

If you’re still gungho on taking on a Hunter, you should have a plan on how you will take care of existing customers or new customers once they’re signed.  For the sake of clarity, we’ll call them Customer Service.  Here are questions that should be addressed:

•  Are these personnel trained to handle complex issues?
• If existing customers are your bread and butter, should they be left in the hands of someone who may not be your most experienced employee?  
• Is there an elevation process to move up quickly to solve issues?
•  Does someone proactively call on customers before issues come up?
• Who monitors your company's service level agreements are being met? 
• Does anyone personally call on the your customer's place of business?
• How do you promote new product offerings to existing customers?
• Do you identify customers levels?  By revenue?  How they do business? Or frequency?   i.e. Business to Business (B2B),  mid-level, major accounts or enterprise.
• Who can keep track of whether competitors are swimming around your customers, low-balling to get in the door, and you only find out after they've already left by the donut crumbs (zeros) on the revenue sheet?
• If you bog your sales reps down with administrative tasks, writing their own proposals, composing RFPs from scratch, doing their own estimating, etc. etc. is it fair to call them a Hunter?

What often paralyses organizations is when you point out  “take care of your customers and your customers will take care of the bottom line” ...  or,  it takes 85% more effort to attract a new customer than it takes to keep existing customers happy.  This is where there is a disconnect.  Organizations want to pay someone commission to find the new customer and then have them move on to find more.   That is fine as long as you understand:

• How do you define new business?  New customers or net new revenue?
• Who manages the relationship with the customer?
• How are you going to take care of new customers once they sign on?
• Do you know whether the customer bought the person selling them just as much as the organization, service, product?
• At what stage or how do they transition from the rep to someone else?
•  How complicated is the sales process?  
• Is pre- and post-sales support required?
• How long are the sales cycles?
• Is your offering transactional business that churns quickly?
• Do you support sales efforts with captivating marketing or sales tools like brochures, samples or demos?
• How accurately are the territories aligned?
• Are you giving kudos to a rep who carries a $750,000 territory and increases new business by 10% and not to another rep who carries $1.5 million but only increases new business by 5%?

If you want your sales reps to do the hunting while the organization takes  care of the business they sell, that is completely fine.  However, depending on the answers above, sales cycle, ongoing involvement required, you may hire an Account Executive or Account Manager.  They come packaged looking like a  “Farmer” with most or all of the following attributes:

• Builders of strong and lasting relationships
• Not as high activity as their Hunter counterparts; there is a balance between hunting versus taking care of existing customers; more of latter
• They will be thorough because they care about their reputation
• They can be annoying by being actively concerned and want to be involved during any implementation process
• They will do follow up, know everyone and everything about the customer
• They’ll research a prospect, understand who’s who, what’s before they pick up the phone or enter the premises
• Networking to them is within the context of their customers' industry so they can attend their events, see them in their own environment, with their peers and learn more about the customer's business
• Yes, they appear to spend time doing pretty power points customized to who/what they’re presenting
• They rely on referrals more than cold calls, because they’re warm and a testiment to their hard work and reputation
• The new business  may not be from brand new customers, but from brand new individuals or departments within their customer base
• There will be little clean up from over promising and under delivering
• They will have  ideas on how to make the life of “their” customers easier
•  They won’t turnover, as long as you recognize the value they bring
• Don’t criticize their sales efforts, new business means new revenue 
•  Paperwork will usually be detailed, updates whether you want it or not
•  CRMs are conscientiously updated because they want to track and remember each customer as though each one is their only one (that is how they will be treated)
• They won’t mind meetings as long as it is discussing their customers, resolving issues, coming up with innovative ideas to manage customers better.
• You may wonder if that rep leaves if that customer will leave with them?
• They will be more of a team player because they’re open to learning better ways to retain their customers or new avenues to create revenue from their warm pool.
• Chances are while everyone else is sharing whale tales or discussing sports scores, they're at their customer's office or working at their desk; they'd rather not discuss it until its done
• You probably don't notice what time they start in the morning, unless it seems late, failing to notice dark circles under their eyes

This sometimes circles back to organizations rethinking the original complaint that they want hunters.   Many sales managers fall short on this area.  Especially new sales managers.  Ask yourself:  as long as revenue is growing, what is the problem with feeding off existing customers?  The predisposition is to expect new customers.  Many executives love the war stories of Hunters and think that they must be doing extraordinary. What is wrong  with new revenue channels from existing customers?  Aren’t the results the same?  The challenge being, you can't rely on existing customers in the long run.

As a matter of fact, most end up with Farmers because they actually prefer the behaviours of a Farmer.    They are easier to manage.  They don’t turnover as much, nor do they strain the organization resources as much as a hunter does.  

By now, you may be irritated.  What you really want is new revenue.  Well, then you have to decide what that new revenue will look like and how it will be managed once it arrives.

Often times,  the people doing the pre-screening are not sales people.  Unfortunately, the mediocre sales pros are sometimes better at selling themselves than producing results.  The Hunter is who HR tends to gravitate towards if they're pressured to hire someone that can sell.   In some circles, Hunters can be stereotyped as “bottom feeders”.  From my perspective, if you're not careful, they'll tell you what you want to hear then afterwards eat your bottom line.

Personally, I’d opt for the person who is attentive, appears to be somewhat humble, and asks great questions.  I understand that high turnover in sales actually detracts from creating revenue streams.  Many short-lived sales people result from being fakes, not being able to add value or deliver results.  I get it that there are ones that may actually look like a Farmer but still have the Hunter instincts.  That's when you have  found Utopia.

Hit the Road Jack: How do you decide it is time to move on from a prospect?

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals

~ Anonymous

Q:  What do you do when you’ve done everything in your power to win the sale and your buyer seems to all of sudden be stalling at actually making a decision? 

A:  You probably didn’t do your homework at the beginning of the process so now you have to do some backtracking.  Regardless, have the confidence to be direct and ask the customer what may be preventing them from making a decision to move forward today?  There could be several reasons for the stall:

1. Your contact is not as high in the organization as they led you to believe
2. Their role is the quote gathering when someone else makes the final decision
3. Who you are selling to is not able to make the final decision and, to save face, they don't want to tell you that

 Hesitation in itself should provide you with clues:

1.  Ask direct questions to uncover why they are hesitating;
2. Perhaps there is another proposal on the table and you are just there to reinforce that their decision is a good one
3. They have a current supplier and they just want to make sure they are being treated fairly
4. You may want to move on tactfully, while keeping the door open for when they are in the market.

If you are a true sales professional, you aren’t dividing and conquering.  You should remain realistic that some just aren’t ready to buy.  You have to determine why they aren’t ready to buy by asking the right questions.  Ultimately, there are questions most experienced sales pros know to ask  at the beginning of the sales process, rather than scrambling at the end when you forecasted as a done deal, or thought it was time to close.

Here are some suggested questions you should ask at the beginning of the sales cycle in the preliminary qualification stage in the sales process:

1.      When are they planning to buy?

2.      What are the steps in deciding how they will buy?

3.      Who is involved with the decision making?

4.      Do they have a specific budget in mind?

5.      Is there specific criteria to determine who/what they will buy from?

6.     Who do they currently buy from and why? 

7.    Is there a specific reason why they are in the market right now? 
8.    How will their business be impacted if they change from suppliers? 
9.    What business issues are they trying to solve? 
10.  Perfect case scenario, what do they really want?
11.  What will it take to earn their business?

Answers from all of the above responses provide clues to you on what the next steps are.  You may have simply overshot the close date or  too optimistic on timelines.  Customers drive the close, not sales reps, even less management who are trying to meet quotas.

If you have done your homework and feel that you completely satisfied the aforementioned questions then perhaps the stall is coming from left field.  You have then earned the right to ask direct questions or find out what you may not have addressed for them to make a decision today? 

Their response may give insight on how you decide to move on - either to the next step or period:

1.      Handle the obstacle that surfaces by asking the direct question,

2.      Ask what you can do to help address that obstacle

3.      Were you a benchmark against current supplier, or price comparison

4.      Decide to move on tactfully yet agree to keep in touch

I don’t want to kick you while you are already down.  Especially, if you’ve already told your partner to plan that big vacation based on the sale.  However, most sales pros sense when they are being stalled and can avoid last minute appearance of “buyer’s remorse” by asking direct questions up front at the earliest qualification stage.

Experienced sales pros also keep up a positive, professional image no matter how deflated they may feel or how much they counted on that particular sale.  They know, that by leaving a positive experience, they will be the very first person that will be contacted whenever the next opportunity comes along .... because they are optimistic realists that know they do.  They don't give up, they're tenacious, committed sales pros.  They will review every step in the process and ask themselves what questions they should have asked, what signs they ignored, how they can do better the next time.  Great sales pros distinguish themselves by knowing there is a next time and optimistic by how much they learned by avoiding the same mistakes.  Everyone makes mistakes, the best are the ones who review the mistakes and take tactical steps to avoid them the next time .... there is always a next time!

 

Top 13 Sales Terms and What They Mean

I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.

~Walt Disney

Ever wonder what all the sales jargon means?  Here is a look at some of the more basic terms:

Close:  If you close a sale, you’ve slam dunked and high-fived your colleagues and boss.    Can you say return or refund?  Most sales only begin once you’ve come to agreement to do business

Cold call:   The term alone seems to raise the “b.s. meter” jump several decimal points.  Go ahead, ask a group about cold calling and you will get endless advice, debates, opinions, and experts.    News flash:  Everyone does cold calls!  You've walked into a business without an appointment, you've asked an administrator who the best person to talk to, you've followed up a referral, or  you've telephoned, e-mailed, sent a letter to someone you’ve never met to introduce yourself, promote a product or sell a service.

Decision Maker:   Is the Ogre that will jump out at you or growl at you if you disturb them.  In reality, many sales professionals have learned the hard way after they’ve wined and dined the person they thought was the decision maker only to find out that they bought from someone else who was talking to the decision maker all along.

Farmer:  Someone who harvests crops, sometimes complains about the weather, and drives a tractor.  In sales it is used to describe a sales style.  Some sales professionals like to rely on warm leads while talking about their golf score, while others specialize in growing existing business by finding other departments or persons within their customer base to add revenue.

Forecast:   Usually, it is because you are planning an outing and want to know whether or not you should take an umbrella.   To sales professionals, it is how you determine what dollar figure you will arrive at and will be accountable for.

Gatekeeper:  Someone you should avoid at all cost!  They will make your life miserable, often curt or sometimes rude, they’re job is to get rid of you before you annoy or interrupt their boss.   Should you start out with this super person, it is best to get on their good side, ask them for permission to speak to

Hunter:   Someone that Daffy Duck always avoids in cartoons.   It is a sales professional who gets an adrenalin rush from uncovering a prospect, steals a customer from the competition and knows what the term “cold call” means.

Negotiate:   Some people will negotiate just to barter the price down – they don’t see the value in what you are offering, their only goal is to see if they can squeeze a “deal” out of you.  If you’ve done your homework, understood your customer, really listened, you avoid this phase altogether.  

Networking:    Scoring marks of a networking champion by the amount of business cards they can hand out in the shortest period of time, like speed dating.  Networking is when you speak and share information with attendees at a business conference, luncheon, dinner, or event.   

Objection:  Is where you haven’t convinced your prospect to buy because they are asking you endless, annoying questions when all you want to do is get them to sign or give you the money.    Objections are clues to figure out what the hesitation to move forward is.

Prospect:  Synonymous with target, market, or object for whom you are attempting to sell to.   If you haven’t done your research to even know if they’re in the market, they are a suspect.  Once you’ve established communication and interest, you’ve earned the right to call them a prospect.

Qualify:  Can they even pay for what you are selling them?  Or, do they enjoy playing with you, like a cat does with a mouse?  Yes, it may  look promising if they take a Porche for a test drive, however, if they drove up in a ’69 Beetle (unless they’re a rock star) they may be wasting your time where you can try selling to someone who can actually buy.  Asking the right questions will tell you that they were delivering pizza.

Referral:  Geez, you gave me a smokin’ deal or I get a rebate if I tell my friends to call you.  The best referrals often take place after an extended period of time because most people don’t refer someone unless they think they will make them look good.

  

The Artful DODGER

Getting past "the gatekeeper" creates a wealth of discussions and tips on how you get around them. To me, the corporate receptionist (aka gatekeeper) is a last resort and I see many sales folk take that approach to cut corners or not do their homework (i.e. research).


A corporate website has a wealth of information.  It typically lists key contacts, their responsibilities and how to get a hold of them.   That information isn't there to help research savvy sales pros.   It is simply and logically there because those same people are available for their customers or shareholders.

Personally, I also like taking a look at the company's news release section:  it identifies key contacts, new promotions, mergers, partnerships, purchases, new products, new endeavours, and financials.  You can use this treasure chest to your advantage.   Another tidbit on reading the financials or news release can hint at financial troubles that you may decide to avoid.  All your hard work may be wasted if they're going bankrupt or positioned to be sold ... that is, unless it tells you to approach the other company.

The best approach for me has been to go as high up in the organization as possible - if it means a craftful approach letter that offers compelling reasons why they may want my expertise in helping them: save time, reduce overhead, streamline process, with quantifiable examples of how I've done that with others.   Trust me, all your competitors are saying they're the best too!  They most likely are pointing out the same benefits or the less experienced are doing "feature dumps".  What you all may have in common is how quickly you are being shot down, being asked to forward a package (to get rid of you and that package more often than not ends up in a dumpster), or asks for a price (that tells you that you have no value and you are being commoditized).

Before you contact any senior level executive, you should have an idea of their company, their mission, values, industry and what is impacting their business.  You can artfully apply the information to your advantage to position yourself more as a colleague than as a sales person.  If you're like me and you do a lot of reading up on sales, there is a common complaint from executives who are approached by salespeople:  they know little or nothing at all about their company and see that as a disrespectful waste of their time.
 

Kevin Davis five-star sales book on Amazon "Getting Into Your Customers Head” is a great resource for the sales professional.  His newest release "Slow Down, Sell Faster" provides greater incentive to adapt your sales approach to that of your customer's needs.  You can check out his blog "Inside our Head" listed in the sidebar.

Don't worry if the upper level decision maker refers you down the ladder to someone whose responsibility it falls under.  It is called "topped down selling".  Regardless, it is a lot easier than trying to dodge a gatekeeper who takes pride in "getting rid of annoying salespeople who interrupt the boss' day" ......

Forecast, project or dart board?

There is much to be said about the debate amongst operations, service and sales regarding forecasts.  All have viable arguments or points of view.   Operations and service  need accurate forecasts to ensure they have the right amount of personnel, inventory and resources to support the sales efforts.   Yet, sales hedges on putting their name on a number.  All points of view need to create a balance  to manage success between the organization and its customers.

I have spoken to numerous entrepreneurs, executives, operations personnel, managers, sales reps and been on both sides of the table.  Even though I have been on the sales side longer, I favor accurate forecasting.   The reason is logically because I care more about delivering on promises to my clients than not getting it right or avoiding accountability.  I "get it" that operations is not a never-ending money train either.  The compromise is to come up with a forecast that balance everyone's needs.  It is also important to note that  it takes significantly more expense, resources and time to generate one new customer (something like 75%) than it does to keep existing customers happy.  Yet, most organizations spend a great deal of effort on winning new customers, especially during uncertain times. 

Forecasting is particularly critical if you are focussed on gaining new customers or when economic conditions are unpredictable.  Organizations are caught between laying off employees prematurely or out of panic, leaving themselves short when a customer does need the added resources or services available.  We know that scientists have confirmed that the chicken did come before the egg.  Forecasting is the chicken and needs to be in place before anything else can be established.  Every organization, with one employee or one thousand, needs to establish where their revenue will come from.  "Forecasting" is just that.   Very few organizations have the cash flow or can survive by what I call "Field of Dreams" mentality:  build it and they will come.

Even without sales professionals on staff, setting realistic goals on attracting and retaining revenue can determine the success or health of your business. 

Unless you are in a large corporate sales environment, the culture for forecasting tends to be less of a requirement.   Yet, from formulating or guesstimating best estimate on each sales professionals predicted revenue by year, by month or even by week will help operations and support their efforts.  It is sometimes called "accountability".  Many sales professionals are uncomfortable with this as they consider it will reflect badly on them if they are off the mark.  However, not assessing their own performance will likely restrict their success anyhow.  Here are a few suggestions I would offer:

• Understand the full annual territory revenue value, then break down by customer, by month
• Record the projected new customers by annual value, by month, considering purchase date
• Assess percentage or ratio of revenue between existing customers and new customers
• You can take last three months, projected next month that includes new customers, and same month from previous year.  Total all 5 months, divide by 5 to get a forecast amount.
• Organizations should post results by week, by month or provide access by reps for cross-checking.

The above is a simplified formula to start with.  It is just as important to go back and track your success, boost or modify against actuals.  What I love about doing something like this is, it is just like golf -- you really are competing against your OWN score.  When YOU set the goal, YOU have more of a tendency to make it happen.  If you take it more seriously, you will assess your close ratio.  How accurate are you at predicting your own success rate?  Does it mean you have to make more calls to increase your success rate?  It can also prove to be one of the single most motivating tools you can have.  If your personal goals are aligned with your forecast, you will increase your chances of meeting/exceeding your forecasts.  (Remember that new car, a trip, house, marriage, baby, early retirement ..... etc.)

I won't dwell on it too long because I want to emphasise all the many advantages to forecasting, however, organizations can be their own worst enemy.  For example, they may project what the forecast has to be and then divide it amongst the sales team.  That projection could be based on operational expenses, factoring in commissions, and then profitability.   I can put forth my theory that many private organizations don't share the numbers on projections or post actuals because they don't want everyone to know those numbers ... in other words how much money the owners make.   Some share only lump sums or maybe only larger corporations emphasise profitability to leverage forecast requirements under a budget, target or plan.

What this all comes down to is accountability.  If you are a sales professional, you should have a handle on where your revenue will come from.  Sales reps should up the ante through increased activity if a customer or prospect doesn't come through.  Where the true value comes from is when you, after practice, become  more accurate with time, like golf.    Organizations would win by recognizing accurate forecasting.  Both sides benefit when there are real numbers to work from.  The customer wins the most by having the high level of service and product they envisioned. 

Accurate forecasting eliminates mistrust from sales who spin tales to save face or ease pressure of unachievable projections.  Organizations reduce buffering or stretching numbers.  If an organization feels they have to set the budget higher to stretch their sales team, then they may have a completely different issue to consider.  One might be to buy a dart board.

Feedback is learning.  Please comment, share or provide your own opinion on this Blog.

The rules haven't changed in sales basics

People buy from people. That hasn't changed over many generations. Yet, how we interact with customers and prospects certainly have.

Professionally, I just had to take the "Introduction to SEO/SME" online course by Google that I was fortunate to gain access because it was a qualifying step to exceed 75% to move on for an interview with one of their partners.  Ironically, the talent scout told me after I'd passed that in less that a week, he'd had to tell 4 other people ACTIVELY in the field that they wouldn't move forward because they didn't pass the test.

I am sharing this because I actively started a BLOG even before that, signed up to TWITTER around the same time. Next up will be FACEBOOK. I, like so many others, considered these avenues for keeping in touch with family/friends.   I look at it humorously at times to see what is really going on in my teenagers lives.  Ask them in person and everything is cool.  You don't have to wait to ask on Facebook, they're prepared to tell  a world of aquaintances, even strangers, what is on their mind.

What startled me recently was a study released just over a week ago that by 2014, Social Media will replace e-mail. What startled me more was the parents dinner a couple of weeks ago while we were out of town for a soccer tournament with our 16/17 y/o daughters -- we were told then that "e-mail is old fashioned". We all were shocked, with our Blackberries and iPhones, close at hand.  How could that be?  Yet if truth be told, if did want to reach them, they won't pick up the phone but they'll respond to a text.   Pretty soon, I will have to read their blogs to find out what really is going on in their heads, where our parents could just simply ask us, even if we still edited what we told them. 

Yet it hasn't changed in sales or business.  People still  buy from people and face to face is ALWAYS best!! However, as sales professionals keep trying to get in front of key decision makers, it is becoming more challenging when there are more shields for us to penetrate or for them to hide behind.  It's no longer just the Gatekeepr.

Time to roll up your sleeves and get back to the basics of sales. You have to create a compelling business reason or establish value in order to earn the right to see a decision maker personally.  That hasn't changed.  Unfortunately, with all the new media, ongoing changes, if we think we're confused, imagine how much more e-mail/social media/tweets our prospects are weeding through, eating up their time, allowing them even less time to meet with sales professionals.   The circle is more crowded.  Decision makers need us to help them weed through the good, the bad and the ugly, now more than ever before.

A good ole fashion approach letter, on letter head, with handwritten addressee, a real postage stamp (not from a metre) would be such a relief, I'm sure they'd welcome something other than a flyer or e-mail to read!!  You still have to go further and be able to say how you are going to make their life easier, save them time, improve the bottom line, increase revenue ... before they even consider the less precious moments they have to spare.

I just put forth my opinion on sustainability (previous BLOG Hogwash, Brainwash, Greenwash or Lipgloss) that's another issue that is clouding key decision making criteria that is causing debate on how valid it is.

This customer is so rude!

A question was posted on LINKED IN by Desmond: "What's the most professional way of overcoming a client's professional discourtesy? i.e. Not returning phone calls, emails, or failing to follow through on committments, etc."

My response is that it is YOUR perception and not the clients that they are being discourteous. Are they really a client or are they a prospect? It sounds more to me that they are a prospect with a proposal you've provided and now they’re stalling. Why I say that is because if you have a true client/sales rep relationship, you will have gained permission to be on their active response radar.  You may not have earned the right to say they're being discourteous if you haven't established TRUST  (see earlier BLOG Who can you TRUST?).

I would turn the lack of response back on myself, asking myself why they may not be returning my calls or e-mails or whether I've established myself as an equal business partner.  That is someone with whom they are more inclined to take my calls because they associate me with "value".   It would tell me that am not yet considered someone who is there to help solve their problems or bring them information/services/products that they are looking for.

If they are a prospect, and they aren’t responding in the way you think they should, then I’d be certain that you have not given them a compelling reason for them to talk to you.  If buyers sense the only reason you are calling them is to "sell" them something, most people are programmed to avoid emails/phone calls from sales reps if they are not in the market for what you are selling or regardless if they've asked you to give them the proposal.  Face it -- circumstances can change from the time you were asked to prove the proposal.

Personally/professionally I always try to return calls and communicate that my needs are being taken care of at present, however, welcome updates to product offerings for such a time as I am researching/looking. Many buyers don't think the same way.  Consider the fact that some decision makers are simply busy, having less time to respond to every e-mail or telephone call.  Have you tried a real letter by snail mail, that shows that you've taken extra time on your end just after the meeting but before the proposal reminding them of the reasons why they considered you in the first place,  based on real results/improvements they'll have ($ or %)?

Desmond went on to highlight what perceived delays that gave cause to the perception they were being rude:

1. Agreed to pay on a certain date, and still hasn't;

2. A deposit is involved, but now they're asking for a free sample or preview

3. They agreed to call back with critical information to meet the deadline, and doesn't, but expects you to maintain your stated deadline

4. They fail to meet commitments for appointments, phone calls, follow ups, information repeatedly.

Desmond is right that they maybe stalling, however, I emphasize finding out the real reason. My first reaction, would always be direct and don’t skate around asking direct questions. There is always a logical explanation to what you perceive as a delay. An example could be to ask them if there is someone else in the organization that you should be talking to review the information with? Or come right out and ask "what is preventing them from making the deposit", or "how their schedule has changed from what was agreed on".

There are many disreputable organizations out there.  They cause viable business reasons as to why you may be asked to provide them with a sample or preview -- which can cause a stalemate or chicken/egg syndrome. Ask how the sample or preview is going to help go to the next step?  It may show that they don't have as much decision making authority as they've led you to believe and that there is someone else behind the scenes.  I would do what I could to  provide a "trial" or "sample" because hesitation on my end may communicate lack of confidence in what I'm trying to get them to buy.  If samples/previews are out of the question, then provide testimonials and references at the minimum.

If they're stalling on a deposit - that is telling you they may not have the money, have the ability to send the check or you are not dealing with the decision maker, but a gatekeeper.  You may have to face that you are wasting your time. Give yourself permission to let go.  Recognize that not every prospect is a good one and move on.  Spend  time with those you share a give/take healthy exchange.   Effective qualifying is why top performers get results (see BLOG What is Qualification in Sales?).  Be thankful to free up your time to spend with those that value what you are offering or can meet your criteria such as a deposit.

One of my first jobs in sales, I was asking questions of a veteran operations person ... and every answer came back to me that "clients lie".  (This may be a little over the top yet your support team can sometimes think this more often then they are telling you).  Relax, it is very common that people don't get back at agreed time but expect you to maintain the original deadline.

You may be forcing the issue because it is you or your organization’s target that is the deadline, not the customers. Sales gimics such as “first 100 customers” or “buy now and save” are to try to get a high conversion. I’d like to find a situation where if you have money in hand, all matters qued up, your sale will be turned away (of course, there are real circumstances, but far fewer, that actually are REAL deadlines). Give credit to buyers, consumers or decision makers that they are smart.

If you want to really establish long term relationships, I suggest you portray yourself as patient, empathetic and try understanding the real reason for the the perceived “rudeness”.  If nothing else, the customer REALLY does have a legitimate reason for 1-4.  It is your perception that they are not meeting what you need.  

Bottom line -- the CUSTOMER establishes the criteria/timelines/delays .... never the sales rep or their organization.

TWITTER:  http://twitter.com/OptioneerJM

Is COLD CALLING really necessary?

Cold calling is always necessary in any times, any industry, any target company size. The how/what/where is the gem.

I consider "cold calling" active, personal research. You can uncover potential clients or opportunities that you would not otherwise find, unless you do.

Most people are afraid of sales because they strongly align it with "cold calling" .... yet it is active/personal research on ways of gaining customer intelligence. You can collect Annual Reports, etc.

In a world where we (I include myself) can easily hide behind e-mail and social media ... seeing a live person is compelling. I don't think "gatekeepers" are interrupted as much as many would think by salespeople pitching their wares ... unless they're selling cookbooks or copiers.

If you approach cold calling with a fun attitude that it's an adventure - you're on a scavenger hunt, looking for hidden treasure. The pirates are the "gatekeepers" guarding the treasure.

What is QUALIFICATION in sales?

It's that old selling example of selling ice to an eskimo.

I say the eskimo has not been qualified appropriately. If you "qualify" the eskimo, you would ask him where he plans to put the ice, how he plans on using it, and if it is going to be in his igloo how long does it have to last? Does the eskimo have to discuss the purchase of ice with someone else or does he have the coins in his pocket? You may also want to ask how often he needs ice (determine pricing and/or future opportunity)?

Through the qualification process -- which is asking a ton of questions -- it comes down to patience and commitment to uncover the real need or opportunity.

If I were to sell ice to an eskimo, I'd end up selling a refridgerator!

Yes, it would have been much easier and quicker to sell him ice, which would mean I did my job. Yet, if I ended up selling him a refrigerator, he'd be much happier, most likely refer me to other eskimos who have only thought of buying ice, and I'd end up looking outstanding!

To me, it isn't rocket science -- it results from clear qualification.

How many TIMES do you CALL?

Many of us sales types start to wonder if we're being annoying and that's why we're not getting calls back from our calls. So how many times is too much?

I don't think there is a clear cut answer, yet I know statistically, 85% of all sales reps give up after the 1st call ... yet most opportunity happens after the 5th call!

If it isn't working, try some new approaches:


1) Change it up
2) Be explicit about why you are calling or why they should call you back
3) The higher you call, the more compelling their reason to call you back should be
4) Script Option: I appreciate how busy you are ... I will call back at such a such time (the earlier the morning the better)
5) Script Option: If I am calling you and you are not the appropriate person I should be speaking to, I would appreciate if (i.e. your assistant) or you get back to me with the appropriate person's name (I've done this, and then it looks like you've been referred top-down)
6) ALWAYS have a reason for your call and a reason WHY they should talk to you
7) Research: The best time to call a prospect is between 8:30-10:30 a.m. yet most people believe it is just after lunch (which is the worst time)
8) Research: The best day of the week to call someone is a Thursday
9) If I were to leave you a message saying I'm calling about life insurance (no, I don't sell that .... but who doesn't get a lot of those calls?) ... you'd automaticly delete me ............. but if I were to call you to say I have important ideas on succession planning that have proven successful with other executives like you (specific name dropping is always better) ... would you take that call instead?

Once you've developed strong relationships with key decision makers, they will want to help you be successful because in essence you've helped them in some way. Go ahead and ask them how many calls they get and which ones they answer and why?

Many times you will discover that they get a ton of calls/e-mails a day so they all start to sound the same. Yet disciplined decision makers also realize that they can gain the best information from their "circle" or go to to solve a problem. They hardly want to pass up an opportunity to learn ways to save money, save time, ease pressure, solve problems. If you can "hit" that note in your voicemail or message, you may be more likely to connect.

Here are some ideas to give you incentive to keep plugging:

i. Remember, they're busy. Yes, many are intentionally ignoring you. Many more are simply to busy to answer every call/e-mail they get.

ii. Keep in mind, that many decision makers become cynical after dealing with sales people who over promise and under deliver

iii. Try sending a introductory letter so that you can carefully lay out what it is you are offering, how you've helped others, and when you will call to set up an appointment to share your ideas in depth

iv. They're counting on you to give up after the first or second call

YOU make all the difference to your prospect

Everyone wants to work with a winner.

Key differentiation is YOU. What do you do that is unique?

If you're not sure, ask your best customers why they work with you specifically when they could work with those others in your market.

You have to be able to communicate specifically how you or your product/service has *helped save money or *improved processes/streamlined or *saved time (which costs money)

You have to STOP going on about your company/service/product as bells and whistles. You will sound like every other person out there trying to get an appointment or to the next level with that prospect.

EVERYONE has the best product/service/company out there believe it or not? Yet what they don't have is YOU. Think about:

1. When have you gone the extra mile for a customer and they prefusely thanked you?
2. How did you help them solve a big problem?
3. What traits do you have that they say they can't get from anyone else?

If you rely on your organization to conclude the sale after you hook them, this is going to be more difficult to answer.

Realistically, if you move between companies, a client may not follow you because the service/product they were getting is being met by the initial organization that you sold them on.

You can't assume they will follow you because you were the reason they started with your company to begin with. However, you can increase your chances that if something goes wrong, you will be the next person they will call.

I have tried to position myself as "the go to gal". Even if its not a service/product I personally sell, I position myself that if I can't do it, I will help them as best as I can.

People can sniff out sales folk that want a sale from those who want to help them succeed.

How you position YOU, is up to YOU!