The JF Guest Author Spot

Kendra Lee

Cold calling.

Just the phrase sends shivers up many sellers’ spines.

Prospects don’t respond. Gatekeepers padlock their gates shut. Sellers shut down.

It doesn’t have to be that hard. This year has changed the face of prospecting and opened up a whole new set of tactics to help you grab the attention of your contacts. As I’ve tested them myself I’ve discovered that cold calling is now actually FUN!

I know you’re doubting me. I see that look on your face across the wire, but really, with a few tweaks to your technique, you can have fun too. 

Consider these.

Shake up your message. We all know that what we say can make or break our ability to get noticed. Yes, your value proposition must focus on a business need you uncovered in your triggering event research, or on a breakthrough idea you have to share. Now go further. Bring it to life in your email by adding a bit of your personality. Help prospects imagine the real person that wants to speak with them.

For example, “I’m looking forward to our conversation. I noticed you’re based in Hartford, Connecticut. I used to ski nearby when I lived in Danbury. Can’t wait to hear how it’s changed!” 

In a voicemail or an email, that bit of individualization distinguishes you from other sellers also calling with strong value propositions. You sound friendly and engaging. They’re going to want to speak with you.

Shout your message. Today you have many more opportunities to get your message out in front of your target market, from Twitter and Facebook, to LinkedIn, email prospecting and cold calling.

The secret is to be sure you’re using every avenue, including social media, to be heard. Comment about projects you’re doing, vendors you’re working with, and results your clients have seen. Mention clients by first name and geographical location to add credibility but retain anonymity. If you’re not worried about competitive eyes, mention contacts and companies by name. These little comments don’t just create awareness; they generate interest in learning more about you. I’ve actually had prospects contact me from similar ones!

Enjoy the gatekeeper. If a real person is stopping you, revisit your value proposition. The bottom line is, your message isn’t compelling enough.

If your gatekeeper is silent, engage the new tools to entice a response.

Check for your contact in LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. Get connected and send a direct message using the internal mail systems. For LinkedIn, use the same message from your cold call, even the personalization.

On Twitter, with only 140 characters your message might be something like, “Wanted to connect by phone. Had some ideas on IT security I wanted to get your opinion on. When’s a good time?” Here there isn’t much space, so your objective is only to start a quick conversation, then set an appointment.

Don’t forget about referrals and introductions. It’s the people you know who can get you to the people you want to know. Use your social media network connections and reach out.

Embrace recession objections. There are two primary objectives most companies have as they make changes today: make more money or save more money. Use these to break past the “no budget” objections. Eventually you may find there really isn’t an opportunity because they can’t spend, but I’m seeing some pretty creative deals happening in situations of no money. Don’t let it stop you or the prospect from exploring a valuable idea that can help their business.

Switch up your cold calling techniques and you’ll soon find you’re getting in the door despite any economic situation!

Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert and author of the award winning book “Selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. To find out more about the author, read her latest articles, or to subscribe to her newsletter visit www.klagroup.com or call  +1 303.773.1285   

KLA publishes an industry-leading online newsletter. To subscribe and get a free Quota Gap Calculator ($18.95 value) visit www.klagroup.com . For information on sales training, call  303-741-6636        

Finally, Kendra is a member of the Top Sales Experts executive board, and you can read more about her HERE

Today’s News: Is brief. After some very obvious skullduggery, which has really disappointed me, we have a winner over at Top 10 Sales Articles, and I’ll share the news with you tomorrow.

 
 The Human Capital Development Model, created by Krauthammer International is a logical process that can take top management concepts, and translate them into a context that has real meaning for staff at all levels. The key to bringing this model to life is to answer the following questions:

• Does my team understand the organization’s vision and how their role moves the organization closer to achieving it?

• How can my sales team translate the organization’s mission into one that is relevant to them?

• How does the organization’s guiding principles impact on the day-to-day responsibilities of sales people?

• Which of the organization’s values does my sales team relate to?

• How can we interpret these values so they become compelling for each sales person?

An effective sales team understands the big picture and the context of their team’s work to the greatest degree possible. That includes understanding the relevance of their job and how it impacts the effectiveness of others and the overall team effort.

 Too often, sales people are asked to work on an activity without being told how their role contributes to organization’s vision, much less how their efforts are impacting the ability of others to do their work. Understanding the organization’s vision promotes collaboration, increases commitment and improves quality.

An effective team works collaboratively and with a keen awareness of interdependency. Collaboration and a solid sense of interdependency in a team will defuse blaming behavior and stimulate opportunities for learning and improvement.

Without this sense of interdependency in responsibility and reward, blaming behaviors can occur which will quickly erode team effectiveness and morale.

Today’s News: Yes, I will be posting at the w/e!So if you genuinely do not have anything better to do, come and join me.

I just discovered a chat I did with Kevin Eikenberry as part of his 16th Birthday Celebration Party on You Tube – you can catch it here

Oh, and here is some news from the Queen of Cold Calling….

Are you laying awake at night worrying about finding customers?

Are you anxiety-ridden about how to generate sales revenue in this economic downturn?

Would you like your sales revenue to grow and flourish even as others struggle in this recession?
 
The answer – 101 Tips For Building New Customers In A Down Economy by Wendy Weiss. Details HERE

Today, I am taking part in a “Blog Tour” to announce the launch of a superb book from my friend and colleague, Diane Helbig…. 

So many people start a business, buy a franchise or an existing business with no previous sales experience. Add to that the fact that they don’t realize they’ll have to sell and you have a situation where they struggle to succeed.

Lemonade Stand Simple, Accelerate Your Business Growth by business development coach Diane Helbig is a straightforward, common sense guide through the sales process. Diane’s goal was to write a book that provided the reader with actionable information about sales.

We live in a time when more and more people are starting businesses. In order to be successful they must be able to sell their product or service. “People pour their heart, soul and life savings into their business. Then they struggle, or fail, because they simply do not understand the sales process. They don’t sell effectively, and therefore don’t succeed. It’s really hard to watch and completely unnecessary,” says Helbig.

“The message in the book is that simple,” Helbig explains. “Lemonade Stand Simple provides the clarity that business owners need to be more successful without trying so hard. It breaks down common scenarios, step by step, into techniques just about anyone can employ.

Think back to your own lemonade stand days and the simple pleasure of selling refreshing drinks to family, friends and neighbors. You were certain of your product and you knew your client base, Helbig reminds us. You didn’t get bogged down in the process, and you weren’t afraid to be yourself. You knew what you were selling and who you wanted to do business with.

Lemonade Stand Simple resonates with business and sales professionals as well, who praise Helbig for her straightforward, back-to-basics method to selling.

“Diane provides the reader with a no nonsense approach to the sales process that is based in common sense. This book is essential for every small business owner who has to sell and provides a workable sales plan that gets results simply by reading these pages,” said nationally-read author Hal Becker, one of the top sales speakers and consultants in the country.

The book works because Helbig understands those salespeople and small business owners who think they need to fit their sales strategy into a methodology that is not authentic. She’s here to remind us that we’ve all known how to sell since we were about five years old. It’s simple—lemonade stand simple.

Diane is a business and leadership development coach, speaker and author who provides a matter of fact, basic understanding of the sales process to her clients and workshop attendees.

Lemonade Stand Simple, Accelerate Your Business Growth is available on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Order yours today!

About Diane

Diane is an internationally recognized business and leadership development coach, speaker, and author. As a certified, professional coach and president of Seize This Day Coaching, Diane works with people starting their own business, salespeople who need and want to improve their skills, and business owners who want to master challenges and realize greater success. She is also co-founder of Seize True Success, a coaching practice dedicated to helping franchisees grow and prosper.

Diane helps businesses and organizations operate more constructively and profitably. She evaluates, encourages, and guides her clients. Working with as few as one person to as many as 100+, Diane creates an environment that is cooperative and interactive.

Diane is a COSE Mindspring editor and a member of the Top Sales Experts panel at www.topsalesexperts.com. She offers workshops, speeches and seminars on the subjects of sales, business development, and leadership. Diane is the author of Lemonade Stand Simple, a sales book for small business owners and is also a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms. To learn more about her coaching practices please visit www.seizethisdaycoaching.com or www.seizetruesuccess.com

Today’s News:

Over at Salesopedia today, Clayton Shold (Birthday Boy) is in conversation with Kendra Lee…

“Kendra Lee bills herself as a “prospect attraction expert” and has the experience and sales track record to back it up. She shares her thoughts on power prospecting and says there are two fundamental components you need to stand out. One is the mix of approaches you use to catch peoples attention, and how you effectively use these techniques to create campaigns to get yourself noticed. Kendra points out all best sellers are doing pretty much the same thing so you need to distinguish yourself, to help prospects imagine who you are and make them feel like they can relate to you. Listen in for ideas on how to do this.

Kendra is the author of the award wining book “Selling Against the Goal”; she was a top IT seller before becoming a coach and consultant and is widely recognized as a Prospect Attraction Expert.”

You can listen in HERE

Together involvement and empowerment create an environment in which sales people can have responsibility for their own actions. Responsibility cannot be given – it can only be taken; therefore a Sales Leader can only give sales people the opportunity to take responsibility for their work demands.

High performing sales teams require clear objectives so they know exactly what they must do and why, good communication and trust so that having created such a situation, a Sales Leader will let sales people get on with things. These elements build higher motivation because sales teams enjoy having the authority to make decisions and get the job done.

A sales person’s willingness to participate collaboratively as a team member does not guarantee that the team will create their desired outcome. If sales people are thrown into a collaborative situation and simply told to work as a team, they will lack the structure to make this happen. After all, why should a sales person care about their sales team?

Promoting understanding of why sales people need to be a team is vital. The team needs to understand its shared goals and what each team member brings to the team that is relevant and crucial to its overall successes. Therefore, to optimize the talent capability within a sales team it’s important to identify what each sales person’s unique ability is, and how their unique ability can be shared for the betterment of the team.

For example; sales people have their own unique sets of beliefs, some of which limit their potential in sales. For instance, during a recession, some members of a sales force may believe that strong sales are impossible. But if one person increases their sales, what seemed an inevitable fact will suddenly appear more like a thin excuse for poor performance.

Within every sales team there are individuals who hold a number of empowering beliefs. Giving them an opportunity to share those beliefs along with the evidence that supports them can be a very transformational experience for the entire team.

Some members of a sales team may be extremely competent and if they are not stretched there is a danger they could become complacent. Therefore, utilizing these sales people as coaches and mentors for less capable sales people produces an all round win.

Maximizing a sales team around one common goal that creates value for the customer, the organization, and the individual sales person is the only way to focus the activities of a sales team.
It is critical that each individual is able to measure the value of each activity undertaken during the day and can make the connection to the overarching goals of the organization. If there is no clear line of sight between what they are doing and the value to the customer, clearly they are doing the wrong thing.

When a sales team views mistakes as opportunities for improving their team’s process and results, it’s a sign that the Sales Leader has successfully created an environment that promotes problem-solving.

People are problem solvers by nature. When they are allowed to create their own solutions (rather than having expert solutions imposed upon them) sales people are more proactive and engaged. Sales teams also have greater ownership of solutions they discover for themselves. Creating an environment that promotes problem-solving is part of creating an effective sales team structure.

Poor sales team structure can have a negative impact on individual performance, and the cause of poor performance can usually be attributed to a function of the sales team structure rather than individual incompetence. If sales people are encouraged to be overly competitive with their peers to compete for rewards and recognition, they will withhold information that might be useful to the greater team.

When a sales team has problems, the effective Sales Leader will focus first on the team’s structure before focusing on individuals.

Today’s News: Fellow TSE team member and good all round egg, Danita Bye, just sent me a copy of a press release promoting her new book:

Attention:  All CEO’s and Business Leaders looking to grow their businesses – Announcement of New Book

TARGET SALES FOCUS by Danita Bye

“Danita Bye, founder and principal of Minneapolis-based Sales Growth Specialists, today announced the availability of her new e book, Target Sales Focus. Target Sales Focus, a 23-page market strategy guide to beating bad economies and thriving in boom times is Bye’s response to often-heard claims that businesses profit most when they chase every market available to them and other marketing myths.”

Download a complimentary copy Target Sales Focus (To the value of $19.95) today at Target Sales Focus  .  For more information on Danita Bye and Sales Growth Specialists, please visit http://www.salesgrowthspecialists.com or call 800.256.2799

We have an inbuilt tendency to conform to the other person’s behaviours and if we instinctively feel that conforming is possible, then we will start the process of building rapport.

As people, this process happens instinctively and can be evidenced by sharing the same mannerisms, voice qualities and gestures. This means that when two people are in rapport they show a tendency towards a behavioral compromise.

It’s easy to spot two close friends who share similar gestures, facial expressions, verbal expressions and postures, to such a degree that they could be mistaken as being closely related. This is due to the fact that the long-term mutual rapport creates a strong behavioral bond. Even when these two friends disagree on something, they manage to keep rapport alive.

The process we use unconsciously to build rapport can be replicated with conscious awareness, a useful skill for a Sales person to learn. This process can be likened to matching and mirroring a person’s behavior to create a perceived likeness. When we match a person’s mood, their gestures, facial expressions, we are better equipped to start experiencing how they feel at any given moment.

Doing so, we obtain that the person observing us will find mirrored in us their emotional state, their way of living at that moment, and all this will increase the chances that they will see in us someone that they can trust.

If we have built sufficient rapport it then becomes possible to lead a person towards where we would like them to go, or what we would like them to do. At an unconscious level they will know that by refusing it (shown by not matching or mirroring you) they will be refusing to build rapport with themselves.

Through unconscious identification they are already convinced that you are experiencing what they are experiencing, therefore anything you will manage to do they will feel that it’s something they can do as well.

Today’s News:

Regular visitors will recall my total IT blackout recently due to a lightening strike. Those of you with “super recall” powers may even remember me moaning about the appalling standards of French customer service?

Well just in case you may have thought I was exaggerating, let me relate the sorry tale, which after yesterday’s experience, I now feel compelled to do.

Finding reliable IT support in France is almost impossible, so we tend to work on an “as needs” basis. As a consequence, when we got hit, I immediately contacted FNAC, France’s largest IT retailer and registered for their “SOS” service. I took the Platinum option – three hours on site consultancy for 200 Euros (about $300). That’s when my problems really began…

It was only after registering, and paying my 200 Euros that I discovered it would take them up to five days to confirm when they would come out, and up to another three days to actually arrive!! Thank goodness I didn’t opt for the Bronze SOS service…”we will be with you sometime in 2010?”

Obviously I cancelled.

The most incredible part of this story? So here we are almost four weeks on, and they still have my money, so yesterday I phoned them. After being transferred around nine different departments, I eventually spoke to a “Refunds Supervisor” who informed me that the person with the responsibility for re-ordering cheque books had forgotten, so they had no cheques – can you believe it? And… they will not have the new cheque books for another three weeks.

So, the next time I complain about French customer care, you will understand why.

FFF (Frustrated Francophile Farrington)

There are two distinct levels of self-sufficiency in how sales people work:

Involvement 

This can be created in various ways such as: consultation, giving information, making it clear that suggestions are welcome, and that experiment and change in how things are done are good. This provides the opportunity to contribute beyond the base job. Sales meetings provide a regular platform to encourage ideas from the field and can help a Sales Leader to keep their ‘finger on the pulse’.

Empowerment

This adds the authority to be self-sufficient because you encourage your sales people to make their own decisions within clearly defined parameters. Empowerment creates a culture of involvement and gives it performance POWER because it embodies:

Participation towards sales strategy and approaches. Facilitating effective interaction in such as way as to ensure good problem solving, decision making and coordination of effort.

Open communication so that sales people have a clear understanding of what’s going on. Sales people will become de-motivated if they believe that there is something being hidden from them.

Feedback is a form of constructive communication, another necessary tool in the effective Sales Leader’s tool chest. Timely and appropriately delivered feedback can make the difference between a team that hides mistakes and a team that sees mistakes as opportunities.

Consistent and constructive communication throughout the sales team is essential. The act of constructive communication can do more than anything else to improve quality and productivity.

Willingness to ‘let go’ by the Sales Leader of all the decisions that could be made more quickly by sales people. Often sales people are closer to a situation giving them better insights to the best courses of action.

Enabling performance by allocating appropriate resources, for example computer-based pipeline reporting and sales information relevant to each sales person. Ensuring the sales team has adequate knowledge to accomplish its team targets.

This includes information relevant to the team’s goals and individual job competencies. In order to encourage this level of collaboration and interdependency, the Sales Leader must provide the necessary support and structure for the team, starting with putting together the right people.

Sales people should be selected and their roles assigned with their natural skills in mind. Not every sales person is capable of being a ‘Hunter’ and the skills for a ‘Farmer’ are different. The sales team must also have the resources and training required to develop the skills needed to do their jobs. This includes cross-training that gives sales people a greater awareness of how their jobs are interdependent, increasing the sales team’s flexibility and improving response time.

Results focused so that ultimately they are driven on what they achieve and are given a certain amount of freedom with how they achieve those results. An effective sales team has common goals that go beyond sales team targets. Each goal includes key measurable metrics (that are available to everyone on the team), which can be used to determine the sales team effectiveness and improvement.

Understanding and working toward these common goals as a unit is crucial to the team’s performance.

Today’s News: If you scroll down, you will find Saturday’s post by my guest Paul McCord, which generated some interesting feedback. It also, to a degree, ties in with an upcoming TSE Masterclass on Thursday:

B2B BUYERS: HOW NEW GENERATIONS ARE CHANGING THE WAY WE SELL
Thursday October 29th 2009 13:00:00

We are at an unprecedented time in the sales process with three generations of sales professionals selling to three generations of customers. As a result of these inherent generational differences, friction points or incongruent preferences exist between the sales professional and buyer.  Understanding your buyer’s needs, wants, goals, and preferences will help you improve your selling effectiveness and close more deals.
Dave Brookmire will share and discuss some of the key findings from a recently completed research study about how the different generations of customers prefer to participate in the sales process.

Learn about the implications for sales professionals for the different generations of your customers.

I will have some complimentary places for you later in the week

The JF Guest Author Spot

The pathway to sales success is strewn with lost opportunities, embarrassing moments and downright stupid mistakes. In my opinion, one major difference between top sellers and average ones is their ability to turn these disasters into growth opportunities.

Painful though it might be, top performers revisit their gaffes to figure out how they can avoid similar outcomes in the future. Scarred, but not beaten, they gradually learn what it takes to be successful.

I know. I’ve been there. Over the years, I’ve had more than my share of blunders. And just the other day, some of my biggest ones came flooding back to me as I was driving to do a training program for a local printing company.

When I exited the highway onto Como Avenue, I was immediately transported back to my days as a Xerox sales trainee when I covered the 55414 zip code. It’s where I learned many invaluable lessons that I still embrace today.

Lesson #1: How to Get Unstuck

After finishing the Xerox training program, I was assigned to follow Jim Farrell for several weeks to learn the ropes. But finally the day came when I was sent out on my own.

At 9 a.m., I pulled up in front of Quality Products to begin my cold calls. But I couldn’t get out. I was terrified and tongue-tied, convinced that my sales career was over before it even began. After nearly 30 minutes of being paralyzed in my seat, a song wiggled its way into my mind: “I Have Confidence” from the movie, The Sound of Music.

I started singing to myself, quietly at first, then louder and louder. I was particularly enamored with the refrain, “I have confidence in confidence alone, and as you can see, I have confidence in me.”

I really didn’t believe the words, but they got me moving off my “stuckness.” I pulled out my cold call plan that I’d studiously prepared the night before and reviewed it. I practiced my opening lines again and again. Then I got out of the car and went in. By the end of the day, I’d made over 20 cold calls and uncovered some potential prospects.

Over the years, I’ve been confronted with many tough situations that I didn’t know how to handle because I lacked the requisite knowledge or experience. I’ve learned that you can’t know everything before you start. And I’ve also learned that “movement” is key to discovering the answers.

Lesson #2: How to Get to Higher Level Decision Makers

One of the prospects I uncovered while cold-calling was Trussbilt, a company directly across Como Avenue from Quality Products. They’ve been gone for many years, replaced by the printing company where I was doing the training. The deja vu I felt when I walked into their offices was palpable.

Back then, I was working with Tinsey, a very articulate woman who told me she was in charge of the copier decision. Shortly after our first meeting, I read a book that said salespeople should only work with the top dogs – not their underlings.

Since my contact was an administrative assistant, I realized I needed to rectify the situation immediately. I called Mr. Big directly and set up a time to meet. Then I prepared like crazy to ensure I did a great job.

Unfortunately, I never had a chance to capitalize on this opportunity. Tinsey came to the lobby to escort her boss’s visitor to his office. When she saw me, she demanded to know why I was there.

“I’m here to see Mr. Big,” I replied, suddenly not so sure if the tactic I’d taken was appropriate. I was right. She proceeded to yell at me like I’ve never been yelled at before.

I was appalled. Mortified. And suddenly very light-headed and shaky. I fainted dead away right there in the middle of the lobby.

As you can imagine, I never did business with Tinsey or Trussbilt. But I sure did learn that once you’re working with someone it’s never appropriate to go around them without their knowledge. They’ll get mad. Furious. It’s a normal human reaction.

Today, to ensure my ability to work with whomever I want in an account, I always tell prospects, “Usually when I’m working with clients, I need to talk with the VP of Sales, Regional Sales Directors and sometimes even Marketing.” Doing it this way prevents the people problems that can derail your sales efforts.

Lesson #3: How to Cut the Crap & Net it Out

The Kaplan Company was just down the street and around the corner from Trussbilt. When I walked in the front door, there were at least 30 desks filled with women who were busy doing order entry and handling customer service issues.

I told the receptionist that I wanted to speak to the person who made copier decisions. After a quick check with the boss, she escorted me past all those working women into his office.

“Sit down,” he said gruffly. “You’ve got 5 minutes. Talk.”

“If you’re busy, I’ll come back,” I said, trying to be gracious.

“Nope,” he stated. ” 5 minutes. Tell me why I should buy your product. Your 5 minutes is starting now.”

I mumbled. I stumbled. I tried to engage him in conversation. I tried to explain that I needed more time. He wasn’t one bit interested. After 5 minutes, he arose and said, “Your time is up. You can leave now.”

That ticked me off. I told him he was rude and obnoxious. Then I turned and stormed out of his office past all those women, shouting back at him, “I’ll never sell you a Xerox machine. You don’t deserve to work with Xerox.”

I know it’s hard to believe, but I really did lose my cool. And I’m also sure that guy never wanted to work with Xerox again. But he had a point. I couldn’t concisely state why he should listen to me.

I wanted to build a relationship and warm up the call. That made me feel better. He was a busy man who chose to use his time judiciously. I didn’t respect his needs. After that cold-calling disaster, I learned to net it out. That lesson is even more important today than it was years ago.

The School of Hard Knocks can be brutal. If you’re making sales calls, you know how tough it can be. Every time you’re knocked down or out, you have to make a choice about how to react. Are you going to get up again? Will you learn from the situation?

The hardest thing in the world is to look at your own complicity in the situation, yet that where the maximum growth is for you and ultimately, the key to your long-term sales success.

Unless you have been on leave for the last ten years, in a darkened room and starved of contact with the outside world, you wil already know Jill Konrath. But just in case…

Sales strategist Jill Konrath is a frequent speaker at annual sales meetings, professional conferences and association events. She helps sellers crack into accounts, speed up their sales cycle and win more business.

Jill the author of the instant sales classic, Selling to Big Companies, which Fortune magazine selected as a “must read.” Right now, she’s working on a new sales book which will be out in Spring 2010. Her popular eNewsletter and widely-read blog also offer lots of great advice for sellers.

Recently Jill launched the incredibly original Great Sales Give

 The Great Sales Give is for the salesperson, entrepreneur, consultant or business owner who wants quality sales training, relevant selling tips, how to sell advice, and sales motivation to improve their selling skills and increase their sales results. Tap into Jill Konrath’s excellent strategies for sales prospecting, selling on the phone and cold calling.

Today’s News: Really exciting week coming up – do stay tuned!!

The JF Guest Author Spot

Have you received this SPAM email yet that I received recently?

“Do you sell? Do you still waste time and money meeting with prospects face to face?  Are you still cold calling, using snail mail, or off-line advertising looking for business?

If so, you’re already out of business and are just too dumb to recognize it.

Today’s smart salespeople recognize and understand the power of Sales 2.0.  They understand that 20th century selling is dead and if they’re still trying to sell that way, they’re dead too.  They understand that social media is not only the wave of the future; it’s the wave of today.

If you think you can outsmart the market, you can’t.  If you think that because you’ve been successful using outdated prospecting and sales methods in the past you can continue to be successful in today’s market using those same methods, you’re wrong.

Don’t let some ‘guru’ sell you some outdated idea of how to sell that no longer works.

We are one of the premier companies helping independent sellers like you capture the power of the internet.  Formed by a core of three young, visionary, brilliant entrepreneurs, we are not bound by the blinders of what’s worked in the past but are instead in tune with the future.  We’re not trapped by history.”

The email goes on in the same vein, selling the idea that the world has changed and what has worked for sellers in the past will no longer work today—and this company will, of course, help sellers learn how to forget all they’ve been taught and learn the “new” way of selling, the way that’s easier, more productive, that eliminates having to deal with prospects and customers face to face, that uses the tools of social media to prospect, sell, and service.

If you get this or a similar email, delete it immediately.  It’s a deceit.  I don’t mean it’s deceitful in the sense the people connected with the company don’t believe what they’re saying.  They very well may believe every word they write.  But what they believe is wrong.  They misunderstand what’s going on in the marketplace.

I’m sure you are at least somewhat familiar with the idea of social media.  Certainly if you’re reading this article on a blog or off a website, you’re internet active.

The authors of the above email are correct in the sense that social media is here to stay and its influence will continue to grow.  Where they have gone wrong is in believing that social media is capable of changing the nature of our world.  That is, that social media can change human nature.  It can’t.

Certainly if you are selling a commodity, you may find a larger and larger share of your market purchasing off the internet without any interaction with a human being—or just minimal interaction via email or instant messaging.  However, if you are selling anything other than a commodity, the majority of your market is still going to want to deal with real humans.  Yes, a small percentage of your market may be happy making a major purchase without involving a human, but most will not.  It’s human nature to want to deal with a human, to be able to ask questions and get immediate, personal answers, to negotiate face to face or at least earpiece to mouthpiece.

Consequently, those “20th century” prospecting and sales skills will be just as valid in 2030 as they were in 1990.  Our technology may change, our nature won’t.

As buyers, we may take advantage of researching our potential purchase on the internet prior to connecting with a human, but that human connection will remain vital for the majority of us.  We may use social media to help find potential suppliers, but it can’t flesh out the relationship we need with the supplier.

As sellers we may use social media to let prospects know who we are and what our capabilities are, but we must still interact to understand their individual needs, wants, issues, and problems.  We can begin to connect but we can’t analyze or develop a solution based on the shallowness of a virtual relationship. We can use social media to gain attention but it can’t go to the depths we must go to develop the trust and loyalty we must have to sustain a business long-term.  

There have been those who have predicted in the past that technology would fundamentally change the way we sell.  They’ve been wrong time after time.  When the telephone came on the scene there were some who predicted that salespeople would never again have to spend time and money meeting their prospects and clients face to face.  They were wrong.

For some, the fax machine was the key to freeing sellers from having to meet face to face with prospects and clients.  Now they could transact their business over the phone and when it came time to get the contract signed, all they’d have to do was fax it to the client, have them sign it, and then fax it back.  Didn’t happen.

For others it was email and then instant messaging that would be the magic technology to change sales.  We could now carry on a complete conversation while in the middle of doing other things.  We could even send documents, pictures, even audio and video.  Not only could we do everything via technology that we do face to face, we wouldn’t have our ego on the line as in a face to face meeting, so negotiations would go quicker and more smoothly.  Wrong.

For the majority of us who sell in a defined geographic area, meeting face to face will still be the crux of our business.  For those of us who sell on a broader field, the phone may be our primary communication tool, but building a deep relationship will still be the crux of our sales activity.

There are a gazillion social media experts haunting the social media sites looking to pick up new clients.  One of the things I’ve noticed about a great many of them is their age—young, very young.  There is certainly nothing wrong with being young and one might expect younger people to be more attuned to the new technology than someone older.

But there is a serious problem with youth (this is not to dismiss the advantages of youth—I’d like to have a bit more youth than I have)–a lack of experience, or as the email above proudly puts it, “not trapped by history.”

The young are not trapped by history as some of us longer in the tooth may be.  But at the same time youth lacks a grounding that experience gives.  Although I did not live through the expectations that the telephone would free salespeople from having to meet with prospects and clients face to face (I’m not THAT old), I have lived through the introduction of the fax, email, instant messaging, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and the other social media.  I’ve lived through several “revolutions” in sales that never materialized.

In January of 2007 I had written a post encouraging sellers to learn more effective prospecting strategies as preparation for a quickly coming recession.  Of course, at that time the economy was doing well.  I received emails from a couple of young MBA’s claiming that I didn’t understand the “new economy” where there was no longer a fear of recession or a slowing of the economy.  These young MBA’s suffered from the same problem our young authors of the above email suffer from–a lack of historical perspective.  They believed they were experiencing something new, something revolutionary.  They weren’t, of course.

There are some great social media coaches out there—some of them young.  Most social media experts recognize the limits of social media and actively work to help you meld your online and offline business activities.

By all means, take advantage of the opportunities offered by social media, just don’t buy into the hype advanced by a few misguided souls who believe technology will change how humans act.  Our technology may be changing but human nature isn’t.  Technology may help you sell but it isn’t fundamentally changing how you sell.

Paul McCord is the president of McCord and Associates, a Houston, Texas based international sales training, coaching, and consulting company. He is the author of the Amazon and Barnes and Noble best-selling book on referral generation, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, 2008), and SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar.

Paul is also a very good chum, and fellow member of the Top Sales Experts Executive Board.

Finally, I urge you to visit his excellent Sales & Sales Management Blog

Today’s News: With everything else that has ben happening this week, I forgot to highlight the fact that the Top Sales Experts team have just issued their latest EBook, which you can download for FREE by clicking on the incredibly tasteful banner below.

Having a strategy to acquire new customers is vital because customers are lost over time for a variety of reasons. Additionally, if you are serious about sales growth then you’ll want to ensure that your salespeople become competent ‘Hunters’ of new business, as well as ‘Farmers’ with their existing accounts.

This process can become so much easier to exploit if you have a prospect pool that you can encourage your sales people to follow up on. Yet, what do you do if that pool dries up?

Imagine having qualified prospects calling you…no, it’s not a dream, and it’s a real possibility if you use this simple, yet extremely powerful process. You’ll need to invest some time to develop the first step, yet, ultimately you could discover the easiest prospecting approach ever created!

The solution is to produce a white paper that reports on the biggest problems facing the prospects and customers within your industry. Then to position yourself as ‘the credible expert’ you’ll need to write up a range of solutions designed to address these problems. You’ll then be in possession of a compelling document that you can promote for free. If you’ve correctly identified the problems then you’ll discover an avalanche of people (who happen to be great prospects for your sales people) requesting your masterpiece.

This approach is also aligned to the biggest motivational strategy on the planet; people will do anything to avoid pain, and then once they’ve avoided it they’ll want to gain pleasure. Your report can effectively serve to highlight and reinforce your prospects’ pain then tantalise them with the pleasure they can get by implementing your solutions.

The problems you choose to highlight should be those that your organisation can remedy, so that in essence your report can create buying criteria that ideally only your organisation can satisfy. There are three main steps involved in creating this prospecting tool and next week, I will share with you exactly what they are.

Today’s News: Here is some more great news from the ever innovative Nancy Nardin of Smart Selling Tools – I like this a lot!!

 SendOutCards: review and implementation plan

When I was selling, I’d get a frantic phone call every year about this time.  “We’re ordering holiday cards and we need a count of how many cards you need.  Call me back ASAP with your number“ 

Each rep came up with a high number, to be sure we would get enough. Fact is, I didn’t know for sure how many I needed, so I did what all of us did – I asked for more rather than less.  Then when the time came, I was faced once again, with the daunting task of signing each card, and compiling a list of recipients. 

We would hire a temp to get the envelopes addressed, sealed and stamped.

If this sounds familiar to you and you’re dreading the thought of doing it all over again, then do what we’re doing this year. Use SendOutCards.  There’s no need to pay for extra cards you don’t need, No need to hire a temp to help with the process.  You simply upload your contacts, select a greeting card, add a standard or individual message for the inside and schedule the date for sending.

SendOutCards, will print a high quality card, insert it in the envelope, address it, stamp it (with a real stamp) and send it off.   

If you have 5 reps and they each have 100 cards to send, it will cost a total of $761.  That’s $1.52 per card and that includes postage!  So not only will it save you time, but it will actually cost less as well!

Don’t dread this task.  Instead, get signed up, select your cards, upload your address list and be done with it. 

Be proud of the cards your sending, and how quickly you got them done and out the door to customers and prospects.  Then get back to selling.  And use SendOutCards as part of your sales process. 

Send a thank you note after each sales call. Simply log in, enter the contact details, type your message and press send. 

Our newsletter has all the details including step-by-step instructions for signing up and sending your holiday cards.  Go ahead – check it out now while it’s fresh in your mind. http://www.smartsellingtools.com/oct22

The ability to build rapport with customers and prospects is vitally important. Why? Because, if you have rapport with your customers, they are more likely to trust you, listen to you and communicate openly with you.

This in turn enables you to interact more comfortably and work more effectively together.

Rapport dramatically increases your chances of winning a sale. Having rapport means that when there are tough issues to discuss, for example price increases, you can more easily find agreement and solutions, and move on.

Classic research by Robert Birdwhistle looked at how face-to-face communication was received and responded to. His figures suggest that your impact depends on three factors – how you look, how you sound, and what you say.

His research broke it down: 55 percent body language, 38 percent quality of the voice and 7 percent actual words spoken.

Rapport involves being able to see eye-to-eye with other people, connecting on their wavelength. So much (93 percent) of the perception of your sincerity comes not from what you say but how you say it, and how you show an appreciation for the other person’s thoughts and feelings.

When you are in rapport with someone you can disagree with what they say and still relate respectfully with him or her. The important point to remember is to acknowledge other people for the unique individuals that they are.

Rapport can be described as ‘when two people are like each other, they like each other!’

Rapport builds trust and without basic trust communication can become stilted.

When communication between two or more individuals reaches its optimum it’s said that a perfect rapport has been established. On the other hand, when communicating with a customer or prospect is hard the situation becomes rapport-less.

Some people we meet may inspire an instant connection and immediate trust, while another person can be very polite and charming, yet we don’t feel any connection with them and our communication feels unnatural.

When two or more people meet they immediately start an automatic process of comparison with the other. If the outcome of this process is judged that the other person is similar in some way then rapport is established. When people are in a state of rapport they tend to respond easier to our instructions, suggestions and influence.

Is it any wonder that rapport is often seen as the foundation of all good communication?

Today’s News: I am really looking forward to tonight’s TSE Masterclass – infact, I have been looking forward to it for some time. The good news is that I have some FREE places to give away (value $59.50).

Creating Elevator Speeches that SING!
Thursday October 22nd 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN

With the proliferation of networking as a way to grow one’s business, we must constantly be prepared to answer the question, “So, what do you do?”  in about 60 seconds or less. 

More important, we must answer in a way that elicits the response, “I need to talk to you!” or, “May I have your card?” or better yet, “You’re just the person I’ve been looking for.”

Are you equipped with your 60 second pitch?

Do you know how to talk about what you do in a compelling, clear concise way?

Do you feel confident and well prepared?

Do you know your elevator speech cold, or do you ramble, a stream of words coming out of your mouth, unconnected to your brain, until you finish talking, wondering what in the world you just said?

Join us as Debbie Fay, founder of bespeak™ presentation solutions, shows us how to create elevator speeches that SING.  Debbie will:

Walk through the components of a successful 60 second pitch.
Illustrate which words to use and which to avoid.
Offer different templates into which your own material can be placed.

OK, here is my gift to you – Register for your FREE place here.