The “Butterflies” Cold Call
“I get really, really nervous every time I have to pick up the phone and make a cold call. How do I solve that?” This is a great question. I’ve made over 100,000 cold calls in my sales career and I have a little secret for you… I still get the “butterflies” every time I […]
How to Build Trust Over the Phone
How to Build Trust Over the Phone “I make cold calls and sell our services over the phone. One of the top objections I get is – I’VE NEVER HEARD OF YOUR COMPANY BEFORE – How can I build trust and overcome this objection?” This was a familiar objection when I started selling by phone. […]
What’s the Difference Between Cold Calls, Warm Calls and Social Calls?
Cold Calls, Warm Calls, and Social Calls What’s the Difference? As a member of several sales-related LinkedIn Groups, I’ve noticed a common misconception within the sales community concerning cold calling, warm calls, social calls, and even referrals. What is cold calling? For the record, “cold calling” isn’t blindly picking up the phone, dialing random numbers, and pitching your […]
Sales Call Reluctance – Why it Happens & How to Get Rid of It!
“I have a group of 10 sales reps, all with varying degrees of experience. At any time, it seems one or more will be suffering from call reluctance. How does that happen, and more importantly, how do we get rid of it for good!?” Overcoming Call Reluctance As a straight commission salesperson for about 20 […]
Sales Voicemail Statistics – Is leaving a message worth it?
“Can you PROVE that leaving voicemails are worth it? What have you found to be the average % of returned calls? What are the statistics?” Here’s my concern with your question… Are you looking for stats to defend your stance to not leave voicemail messages? Or are you truly looking for data to determine if […]
Cold Calling: Better Price. Still No Sale. Here’s Why…
“How do you respond to a prospect that uses your company for pricing leverage against a current supplier? Company’s that I prospect (cold call) and have quoted 10-15% lower than their current supplier agree to buy from our company but then later tell me their current vendor matched or beat my quote.” If this is […]
Have I Caught You at a Good Time – Cold Calling Debate
Should inside sales reps ask “Have I caught you at a good time?” or “Is now a good time?” when the contact first picks up the phone? This was a recent question on a LinkedIn sales group. I was quite surprised at some of the answers/responses given by other sales reps/experts. Here’s the correct answer […]
Rapport Building Tips When Cold Calling
“My hardest part of cold calling is rapport building. I try to learn something personal about them before the call so I can connect with them without sounding fake. Any tips on how to sound sincere?” Hmmm… So you want to do something fake but not sound fake? Let’s call a spade a spade. Trying to […]
When the Gatekeeper Says…
What do you do when the gatekeeper says: “I will forward this to the appropriate person. They will be back in touch with you directly if there is interest.” “I will forward this to the appropriate person” leads me to believe you either sent a blind email OR you called and asked the gatekeeper something […]
Sales Blow-off or Bad Timing?
Sales Blow-off or Bad Timing? How to Know the Difference “I’m an SDR making outbound sales calls (cold and warm), and there are times when I get the prospect on the phone, and after I introduce myself and give the reason for my call, they reply back with something along the lines of it not […]