It is vital that you capitalise on and maximise all your marketing activity from Social Media Marketing, Public Relations and your Website. A couple of "old school" ways to do this is to actually speak to potential clients face to face or on the telephone. Yes, I know that sounds like a scary concept and it was for me when I first started in this business. But with the help of some of concepts that I share below I have found myself loving that part of working in marketing and sales!
Having worked in media advertising sales for over 20 years I have learned a thing or two about selling. Including selling a product to someone who does not want to buy it! When I first started selling media advertising I felt I was not tough enough for a career in this type of sales; Trying to speak with someone who did not want to speak with you, trying to sell them something they did not want, something that they could not afford, something that they felt didn't work and that I could not guarantee would work. It all seemed impossible. And then you had to deal with all that rejection; All those "no's"!!! And they were the polite refusals lol!
Yet over 20 years down the line here I am still selling and working in the media to promote my clients, develop their online presence and help grow their business as well as delivering sales training to many different sectors.
Telesales is a great way to make contact with prospects in a quick and cost effective manner.
Door knocking is not as cost effective but is a brilliant way to source new prospects and gain much more visual information about the business, the people and how they are reacting to your sales pitch. But it takes a certain mind-set to walk into a business uninvited or dial a number and speak to someone you have never met before and try to sell them your product they don't want.
In this piece I just wanted to pass on some motivational mind-set techniques I use that help me make those cold calls or get out and door knock.
So how does one get into that mind-set?
Have a simple confidence building call structure: Have a loose idea of what you need to ask to get the information you need. Keep it simple so it is not daunting. Put it in some logical order so it follows reasonably smoothly and is thus easier to deliver.
Stand up when you make your phone calls: It can help you make the call initially and give you more confidence whilst making it. Try it and see how you feel. Your voice will project with more resonance, authority and passion and inspire the person on the other end. You can sit down once you are into the call. And maybe stand up again when you are “sticking to your guns” and negotiating about the price of your product/service, when asking for the business or closing the deal.
To quote Nike’s old strap line “Just Do It”. Step out of your comfort zone and into the ‘Brown Zone’. Simple. Don’t be afraid. Think of it this way:
You are no worse off than you were before the call. You might even be better off!
If anything, you have gained more experience/calls under your belt and can learn from it.
It is part of the learning curve and most of us still love to learn.
The more you do it the less intimidating it can become. You may even start to relish the challenge. And remember, for every “No” you get, you are one step closer to your “Yes”.
Get that first call out of the way, first thing: It is about starting the day as you mean to go on. Otherwise it can hang over you affecting everything else in your day. The longer you leave it the more it will build up and the harder to embark upon. You will feel so much better once you have done it. And you will want to do it again and again especially when you start generating leads.
Making mistakes helps you develop your pitch: Remember they can’t see you if you lose your way in your spiel. Just take your time and breathe in maybe say ‘Just bear with me’ as you regroup. Spend some time working on a loose introduction so that it does not sound scripted. Have the vital questions written down in a logical order and write down/type the answers. But don’t be too rigid. Sometimes ‘go with the flow’ a little to get to know your prospect. People buy from people – not robots. Ensure you use open and closed questions that help you see the “goalposts” and help establish the need for your product and service. Speak slowly too.
Have a good opening statement and question: On a totally cold call I like to open with: “Hi, I wonder if you could help me? Who do I need to speak to that deals with…?” Don’t even give your name or say where you are from if you feel comfortable with that. Only introduce yourself when you are speaking to the decision maker. The asking for ‘help’ helps soften the call and lower the defences of many a ‘gatekeeper’. Many are keep to help – it’s a natural human instinct.
Visual motivators:
Prompt Cards: When I worked in Radio I used to have a prompt card above my desk that said “ Am I doing the most productive thing at this moment?” This helped keep me focused, assess my priorities and basically get me back on the phone to make appointments and close deals, as opposed to shuffling papers on my desk. It was a constant visual reminder.
Have dream images: This is the same as a dream board but on the other side of your car visor. This one helps with my door knocking and I stole it from the film “Collateral” with Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox. Jamie Fox’s character is a taxi driver and he has a picture postcard of an idyllic island beach attached to the visor. He uses it as a motivator when he starts his shift. It is a visual reminder of why he is doing this particular job. It is his ‘end game’. I too have one in my car and images all around my office. It is a constant reminder of why I am doing what I do. It also drives positive mental attitude and has been suggested by some to help with prophetic karma. This has helped me focus on getting a new home, new car, new guitar or holiday. Currently I have images of Orange guitar amps and Rickenbacker bass guitars.
Finally, the sales game is a numbers game: The more calls / door knocks you make the greater the chances are of finding hot leads even allowing for the same % conversion rate – “it’s logical” as Mr Spock would say. Plus you will also find more warm leads to diarise call backs and cold leads to add to your database for future potential sales. The more leads you find the more you will be motivated to continue.
There is so much more on the subject of sales motivators but I hope these simple pointers help some of you who need just a little push to make those sales calls.
For an in-house sales training consultation for you and/or your sales team email me jason.chinnian@york-marketing.com
or give me a call on 01904 632120 or 07884 367177.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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