Finding the balance between “successful” and “annoying” can be challenging! If you feel your sales skills are hampering your business’ development, take a coffee break and let’s improve your sales technique thereby increasing the likelihood of converting leads to sales. Keep in mind that curiosity, intelligence and an agile mind are the best predictors of sales success. (Harvard Business Review)
Sales tips for cold calling
Cold calling is critical to developing new contacts and expanding your business network. We have some great tips (internal link to blog post) here to warm up these new contacts before the initial call.
Develop an open conversation
The initial goal when you have a new prospect on the phone is to keep the conversation going. How can you do this?
Start by asking open-ended questions that can keep the prospect talking, being mindful that you need to think of a quality conversation as opposed to quantity. Their time is as limited as yours to work out if you have what they want. So, what do buyers want from sales pros? 69% say, “Listen to my needs.” 61% say, “Don’t be pushy” and “give me relevant information.” 51% want salespeople to respond in a timely manner (Hubspot).
The who and the why
Be clear who you are and why you are calling. Using your full name and company name commands respect and gives the appearance of credibility. By doing this your prospective customer is clear about who you are and why you are calling and now they can focus on your pitch.
Say my name
By learning the clients name (and correct pronunciation) you will sound more genuine and compelling. As Dale Carnegie once said, “A persons’ name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound….”
Research, research, research
Look into your prospect, figure out what problems they could be experiencing and where you can help to eliminate roadblocks. Scripted and generic sales-pitches are so 2014!
Have solutions ready with details on how your goods/services can solve them. It is imperative you have questions ready, partly to help the customer open up, but also to show a genuine interest in their situation and a willingness to solve those pain points.
Look at repositioning your own outlook as a sales person, stop thinking like a sales person and more like a business person. Approach your prospect with an idea as to how you can help them grow or avoid a future roadblock. If you begin with this approach you are far more likely to create engagement and develop a relationship with your prospect.
Naturally, the best transaction is where both parties benefit. Detailing the value that your service or goods can provide to them will undoubtedly further the conversation. Remember that 20% of all sales reps make 80% of the sales (Bill Corbin) – They sell to the prospects that are abandoned by the rest!
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