Wendy Weiss ~ The Queen of Cold Calling

Marketing Insensitive 2008

Wendy Weiss — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:25 +0000

I first wrote about “Marketing Insensitives” a few years ago. At the time, I had received a call from a telemarketer offering me some “marketing insensitives” to purchase a product. Yes, she really said this. She was not being clever; she just couldn’t pronounce “incentive.”But, Marketing Insensitives do exist. They are the unfortunate, not-thought-through, ridiculous, dumb things that businesses do that drive customers away. Here are two new Marketing Insensitives-both from the same company. Read on:

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I’ve never had much interest in cooking. I’m one of those odd people who’s not that interested in food. I don’t think about it till I’m hungry and then I want something to eat. Living in NYC there are restaurants, take out, and delivery-all readily available. I have no need to cook.

Last fall I decided I wanted to lose a few pounds so I hired one of those “personal chef” food delivery services. You know the ones that are advertised on television, three meals and two snacks delivered to your door every day. I loved it. The food was good and I didn’t have to think about it.

In just a few weeks I lost the weight I wanted to lose but I was enjoying the convenience of the service so much I decided I wanted to keep it. I called and spoke with the owner, asking if I could sign up for several months, or six months, or even a year. He said, “no,” I could only sign up for 40 days at a time.

Marketing Insensitive #1: Making customers make buying decisions more frequently than they have to.

When you are selling, the status quo works against you. The prospect is used to whatever it is they already have in place. As a sales professional you have to work to get your prospect to take action to change. That can be difficult.

Once you have that customer, however, the status quo works in your favor. People tend to continue doing what they’ve been doing. So, if you have a customer who is happy, and you keep that customer happy, you’ll probably keep the customer. This is how continuity programs work. Once someone has signed up for a program, unless something changes, people tend to stay signed up.

This food delivery service forced a change every 40 days. By limiting the program to a 40-day maximum this business was forcing existing satisfied customers like me, who had no reason to make a change, to review, think about the program and the associated expense every 40 days. This probably cost them many customers.

Bottom line: Forcing a customer, every 40 days, to reconsider their buying decision increases the chances of losing that customer.

I continued with the food delivery service for almost eight months. Then one day I saw an ad in a magazine. My food delivery service was offering new customers five full free days of food when they enrolled. Once again I got on the phone and called the owner. I told him I’d seen the ad and as a good customer for the past eight months I felt that I should also be getting the five free days. He said, “no,” the free days were only for new customers. So I quit.

Marketing Insensitive #2: Taking better care of new customers than of existing customers.

It is far easier and more cost effective to keep existing customers and to sell more to them than it is to go out and find new ones. This is a mistake business owners make all of the time. They focus all of their time, energy and promotions on new customers while ignoring existing customers who are already generating revenue for them.

Bottom line: Ignoring existing customers can negatively impact your bottom line.

This is a sad story, as are all Marketing Insensitives. Generally they happen out of carelessness and/or simply not thinking things through. Marketing Insensitives are, however, easy to overcome - simply put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Ask yourself how you would react to your own policies and procedures if you were the customer, and act accordingly.

Join The Queen Tonight For An Online Coaching Event!

Wendy Weiss — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:14:52 +0000

Cold Calling in the 21st Century - The New Rules
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Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, is an author, speaker, sales trainer, and sales coach.
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The Cold Calling Tips Podcast with The Queen of Cold Calling - Cold Call Delivery: Matching, Pacing and Rhythm

Wendy Weiss — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:57 +0000

In this Cold Calling Tips Podcast, Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, shares how to build rapport and have successful conversations with prospects when you cold call them.

Sales Superstars Close More Deals and Ramp Up Business for Their Companies

Wendy Weiss — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:22 +0000

Do you know one?

AllBusiness and Top Sales Experts want to honor the top-performing salespeople who deliver results in today’s competitive market. You can help make that happen.

We need your nomination. I am honored to be a member of the panel of top sales coaches and experts who will select one salesperson each month from among the nominees.

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n      Be offered the opportunity to receive a free sales profile (Value $195)

One annual winner will receive a package of sales training and coaching programs (Value $3000), life VIP membership in Top Sales Experts, a selection of signed books from the panel, plus of course the AllBusiness Sales Star trophy.

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PS: There is no deadline for entries each month; all nominations received are carried forward.

8 Strategies for Bypassing Voice Mail

Wendy Weiss — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:41 +0000

1. Ask the gatekeeper: “When is the best time to reach (prospect’s name)?” Call back then.

2. Vary your calling times. If you are only reaching voice mail you have no way of ascertaining when your prospect will be available. If you always make your calls at the same time of day, vary your routine. Call at different times throughout the day and throughout the week

3. Ask for alternate phone numbers for your prospect. Ten years ago prospects generally only had one office line. Today there are a myriad of ways to reach prospects: cell phones, home office phones. Your prospect might have another office location and of course, there is always email.

4. If possible, block your phone number. Depending on the state in which you live and of course, your work situation, you may be able to block your phone number from showing up on a prospect’s caller ID. If you can block your number this will allow you to call a prospect more frequently as your prospect will not know it is you calling. Do not over do this.

5. Call the extension with one number up or down from your prospect’s number. The idea here is that you might reach someone who sits near or has an office near your prospect. Ask: “When is the best time to reach (prospect’s name)?” “What time does (prospect’s name) come in?” “What time does (prospect’s name) take lunch?” “How late is (prospect’s name) usually in?”

6. Dial 0 for help. Usually at the end of an outgoing message is a statement like, “If you need additional or immediate help dial…” or “To reach someone else in the company dial…” Take advantage of this. You might have to leave a message so that the system will let you move onto the next step. If you don’t want to leave an actual message you can simply say, “OK” which will be recorded and then allow you to move on. As in #5, ask the person that you reach for help.

7. Send your prospect an e-mail and attach a “read receipt.” Keep your e-mail open. When you receive the read receipt back, try calling your prospect.

8. As a last resort, if you absolutely must reach a particular prospect, ask if she can be paged.

Cold Calling Tips from the Queen of Cold Calling

Wendy Weiss — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:30:01 +0000

1. Definitions for Sales 101: Features–facts, specifics, traits and characteristics. The most important aspect of a Feature is that no one cares. Your prospects are interested in Benefits. Always lead with a customer-centered benefit.

2. Most sales are made, on average, after the seventh contact with a prospect. These contacts can be by phone, e-mail, fax or letter. Most sales people give up after three or four contacts. If you do that, you are leaving cash on the floor behind you.

3. A cold call is not life or death. If someone says ‘no’ to you, no one will die. You will not destroy your life or that of innocent passers by. Your company will not fold; the world as we know it today will not come to an end. It is only a phone call. Loosen up, be creative, and have some fun with it.

4. Never use the word ‘appointment’ when trying to set one. Instead, use the word ‘meeting.’ ‘Meeting,’ sounds more professional and more important. ‘I would like to meet with you…’

5. Be yourself. Be genuine. No one wants to deal with a phony. It is okay to simply be yourself, selling a product or service in which you believe. Prepare, so that nothing will surprise or stop you. Continue being a thinking human being. Listen actively. Focus on the conversation you are having with your prospect and only on that conversation.

Tips for Closing Business (Part II)

Wendy Weiss — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:21 +0000

1. If you are giving a sales presentation, make sure to only give that presentation after you thoroughly understand your prospect’s specific problem and motivation to solve that problem.

2. Ask the Magic Question: “After our conversation (discussion/you see our presentation…) if you see that our product/service is a perfect fit for you, what would happen next?” Any answer other than the prospect would be ready to move forward means that you have more work to do to close the sale.

3. Be relevant. The more relevant you are to your prospect, the greater will be their interest in your product/service. Conversely the less relevant you are, the less will be their interest. There is a direct correlation, so only present those aspects of your products/services that are relevant to your prospect’s specific challenge. Generic does not work.

4. Ask for the sale. One of the biggest reasons that sales professionals do not close sales is that they never ask. Determine how you are going to ask for the sale, practice out loud and when the time is right, ask your prospect for that sale.

5. Closing questions are a great way to ask for the sale. Ask your prospect:

“Are you ready to get started?”

“When would you like to get started?”

“Shall I draw up a contract?”

“Should we go ahead and finalize the details?”

“Which plan do you want to go with?”

“Do you want plan A or plan B?”

6. Shut up. Once you have asked for the business be quiet. Let the prospect think and decide how they want to proceed. Too many sales professionals keep talking and thus blow the opportunity to close their sale.

7. Gain commitment to the next step. If you need to have further meetings or additional phone calls, schedule them now. If you are faxing or emailing a contract or letter of agreement, schedule time either face-to-face or on the telephone, to go over the agreement with your prospect.

8. Summarize what you have discussed. Whether or not you’ve closed the sale, write down the main points of the meeting, what you discussed, what you’ve agreed upon points and any action steps that need to be taken. Email or snail-mail this to your prospect. This document will help the prospect remember what was discussed and what they’ve agreed to. It will also help you if you need to have future meetings or conversations with this prospect.

9. Once you have closed, do everything that you have agreed to do for this new customer. Make sure they get what they’ve purchased when they expect it, in the manner that they expect it with no problems and/or surprises. Happy customers buy more and give you referrals.

Cold Calling Tips from the Queen of Cold Calling

Wendy Weiss — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:48 +0000

1. Everyone has his or her own personal rhythm, the tempo at which he or she thinks and functions and is most comfortable. People generally have a difficult time with people whose rhythms are different from their own. Think about it–if you speak quickly, do you find yourself getting impatient with someone who speaks at a much slower pace? Do you perceive them as dull, perhaps not too bright? On the other hand, if you have a more laid-back rhythm to your speech, do you find people who speak quickly annoying and difficult to deal with? This is very common. People can grasp your message much more effectively if it is delivered in a rhythm that matches their own. Remember that your goal is communication. Therefore, try to follow your prospect’s rhythm. Match your timing and tempo to theirs. You can even try and match their volume. This will aid in their ability to hear and understand you. If you find this to be difficult, try practicing with a colleague or friend.

2. If you are having difficulty getting into a ‘conversational rhythm’ with your script, try deliberately speeding up at the beginning and end of sentences and slowing down in the middle. This will give your delivery a more conversational feel, along with the added benefit of making it more difficult for your prospect to interrupt you. People will generally interrupt at the end of a sentence. By speeding up at that time, your prospect will not hear a place to jump in.

3. When you get to the really important part of your script, try whispering. This focuses your prospect’s attention, because they will be concentrating on listening, and it also helps to draw them into your performance. It’s enticing. Make sure, however, that you do not whisper so much that they cannot hear you, but just enough to draw your prospect in. Repetition of words can have the same effect. Example: ‘This is a very, very exciting new product.’ The word ‘very,’ repeated twice, spoken slowly and with emphasis, can have an almost hypnotic effect.

When a prospect puts you on a speakerphone, try whispering. They’ll more than likely pick up the receiver, so that they can hear you.

Cold Calling Tips from the Queen of Cold Calling

Wendy Weiss — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:30 +0000

1. Ask for what you want! All your hard work is worth nothing if you do not ask for what you want. Do not expect that your prospect will know what you want, or guess what you want, or offer what you want… It is your job to ask, clearly and precisely.

2. Ask a few friends or colleagues to listen to the tape of your script. Ask them to evaluate it by the following criteria: Listen for warmth and passion in your voice. Do you sound interesting? Convincing? Confident? Is your speech clear, professional and pleasant? How is the rhythm and pacing of your speech? Do you sound angry, tired, tentative or bored? Is your speaking voice nasal, a monotone or singsong? Do you speak too fast or too slow? Do you mumble? Compare your friends’ or colleagues’ evaluations with your own. This way, you will know how others perceive you. It may be different from your self-perception. Work on improving what you may need to improve. Try to work on just one element at a time. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming.

3. When making introductory calls, focus on the “yes’s” and not the “no’s.” If, for example, a prospect tells you that she is not the decision-maker, this is not a “no,” and it is not a rejection. She is not the decision-maker. Most of the time, she will tell you to whom you should be speaking-and that is a “yes.” She’s helping you. If your prospect does not use your type of service, that is not a rejection. She does not use your type of service. All the common objections-”I’m too busy…” “Send me literature…,” etc.-are not necessarily rejections. Looking at introductory calling from this perspective will give you many “yes’s” and very few “no’s.”

4. Next step: Practice your script out loud. You want to get comfortable with the language and what you are going to say. Role-play with a friend or a colleague to make sure that your responses to questions and/or objections are right on the tip of your tongue.

5. After you have done all of the above homework, then (and only then) start making your calls.

Cold Calling Tips from the Queen of Cold Calling - Asking Good Questions

Wendy Weiss — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:06 +0000

1. How many prospects do I need to contact in order to close one sale?
If you haven’t already done it, figure out your average. Then do the math so that you know exactly how many prospects you need to contact in order to reach your sales goals. Bear in mind, the number may be higher than usual because of the recession.

2. How can I better organize my time?
Tighten up your sales cycle. Tighten up the time you spend on nonproductive and nonrevenue-generating tasks. If you’re not selling, you’re not making money.

3. What do I most need to learn to help me sell more? How can I learn it and how soon can I learn it?
Do you need to improve your skills? Will improving your skills help you close more sales? For most sales professionals the answer to this question is “yes.” Identify the skills you need and take steps to acquire those skills. They will help you, in this recession, and beyond.

4. Will one of the sales-enhancing Weiss Communications programs help me achieve my goals?
If you’ve answered “yes” to the above question then order your sales-enhancing program here.