8 Tips for Cold Calling By E-mail and Telephone

 

Since the advent of the digital age, cold calling went out of vogue. But in the lingering downturn – whether you’re in advertising or staffing services – cold calling has become the logical tool to use to generate clients or business customers.

For most businesspeople, cold calling isn’t the easiest route but it is a proven way of getting clients and customers. It gets easier and more fun with practice – using your value propositions.

Once you get some results, it will actually create a domino effect. A little bit of footwork leads to some business, which leads to even more business.

So it’s all about attitude – an attitude of gratitude and providing a valuable service to your prospects.

Here are eight tips:

1. Make certain all online references about you – social media, Web site and press releases – are professional. Once a prospect is interested in you, the person will search your name on the Internet. So do the footwork now.
2. Remember you’ll only get a brief moment to pique the person’s interest in a phone call. Develop a tantalizing phrase for your subject line, if you’re e-mailing. Know your elevator pitch before you start the sales process – benefits that differentiate you. Your initial goal is just to get face time to lay the foundation for a possible relationship. Don’t try to sell your products or services. Go for a single instead of a home run.
3. After you’ve identified the right prospects, also target centers of influence – people and organizations that can direct business your way. That means a business association, chamber of commerce or the news media using press releases.
4. The best time to make contact via e-mail or telephone is early in the morning. If you get the person’s assistant or receptionist, indicate you’d like to call back. Try to learn the best time to try again. But try never to allow an employee to forward a message to the person for you.
5. Engage the prospect by setting up a dialogue by asking open-ended questions. The best salespeople listen 90 percent in such conversations.
6. Demonstrate that you care about the person and her/his business, and that you listen. Follow up with a handwritten thank you note – or an e-mail, if you must. Include a restatement of the prospect’s concerns, an appropriate value proposition with additional information, and a statement to prevent buyer’s remorse.
7. Unless you are able to schedule an appointment in the initial contact, allow five business days before you follow up. Remember your image — you want to earn the business, but you don’t “need” it.
8. Be patient and persevering. Only a small percentage of the contacts will turn into prospects or sales. It often takes five positive contacts before a person buys. Make sure you’re not committing the seven deadly sins of selling. So use the best selling techniques, the seven steps to higher sales.

From the Coach’s Corner, here’s another resource link: The Lost Art – How and Why to Use Cold-Calling for Higher Sales.

“If you don’t take a chance, you won’t have one.”

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

The Seven Steps to Higher Sales

Secrets for sales success include: Five value perceptions that motivate customers to buy; seven steps to higher sales; and the three-step process for overcoming sales objections.

 

Are you worried about sales?

Recession or not, there seven steps you need to take in order to effectively sell your products or services for optimal revenue. The seven steps are applicable either in a two-minute discussion in a retail store or to sell big-ticket goods or services that take months.

But first, it’s important to understand why people will buy from you – remember it’s always an emotional decision.

Admittedly, about 18 percent of customers – blue-collar and professionals, alike – will only buy if you’re selling at the cheapest price in the marketplace.

Assuming you’re selling products of value, avoid those people. They are the most troublesome.

Even if they buy, they’re more likely to show up the next day demanding to return their purchase. Even if they keep the purchase, they complain the loudest and longest. 

Focus on people who are motivated by price and value.

For them, here are the five value perceptions of what your customers sub-consciously think in motivating them to buy from you:

Employees, Spokespersons – 52 percent. The key characteristics are integrity, judgment, friendliness and knowledge. Remember, about 70 percent of your customers will buy elsewhere because they feel they’re being taken for granted by your employees. And customers normally will not tell you why they switched to your competitor.

Image of Company – 15 percent. They are concerned about the image of your company in the community. Cause-related marketing is a big plus in forging a positive image. So is cleanliness and good organization.

Quality of Product or Service Utility – 13 percent. The customer is asking the question – “What will this do for me?”

Convenience –12 percent. Customers like easy accessibility to do business with you. That includes your Web site, telephoning you, and the convenience of patronizing your business. 

Price – 8 percent. Price is important, but it’s the least concern among the five value-motivating perceptions.

Once you understand what motivates the customer to buy, there are seven steps you must take for creating a happy buying environment. Yes, the sales process goes a lot easier if you can make buying fun.

The seven steps to higher sales:

1.         FEE. This is an acronym for establishing a common ground for a foundation using the principles of event and empathy. Every purchase is an event in the life of a customer – no matter how big or small. It also helps to show concern about the welfare of the customer.

2.        Research attitudes. By asking open-ended questions, the customer will open up and you will learn what the customer is thinking. If you ask close-ended questions, you will get yes or no answers, and the sales process will end prematurely. In addition to any research I do on a prospect before trying to sell to them, my firm has a three-page questionnaire to get answers I want to provide solutions for maximum profits.

3.        Agreement on Need. Get the customers to agree on their need to buy a product or service. (e.g. “So you need good IT services?”) In other words, don’t ask them to agree they need to buy from you. You have much more ground to cover.

4.        Generic Value Proposition or Benefit Statement. Here’s where you explain your value proposition. Remember the difference between features vs. benefits to answer the basic marketing questions, such as the acronym, WIIFM , “What’s in it for me?” or “So What?”)

5.        Fill Prospect’s Need. If you listened intently in Step 2, you’re now ready to offer specific solutions to the customer’s concerns.

6.        Commitment – Ask for the order using a non-threatening, closed-ended question. For example, “Why don’t we start Monday?”

7.         Seal the Deal. This final step has three components –

• Use the magic words:  “Thank you for your consideration.”  (Avoid: “Have a nice day.”) 
• Prevent buyer’s remorse – remind the customer of benefits they’re receiving. (as a business-performance consultant, mine is “You will be very pleased with the strong results.”)
• Look for an opportunity to provide the person with unexpected, perceived added value without hurting your bottom line.

Another thought: Before the end of the day, write a thank you note. Remind the prospect what a pleasure it was to meet, include your value proposition, fill any specific needs with benefit statements, thank the person and prevent buyer’s remorse. Preferably, use your firm’s A-2 size card, or monarch or executive-size stationery. Make certain you mail your thank you note from a post office or mail box so that your correspondence arrives in the next day’s mail delivery.

From the Coach’s Corner, in order to overcome objections in sales, it’s important to use  empathy.

Here are the three steps to overcoming objections:

 1.     Get the prospect to restate his/her concern. Then repeat the person’s words:  “If I understand you correctly, you feel…?”

 2.     Empathize:  “I can see how you feel that way”…or “You know, someone said the same thing last week.”

 3.     Overcome the objection with facts.  (Then go back to the seven steps.)