Doomed Before You Dial?
September 4, 2008
Several weeks ago, I conducted a "Mastering the Cold Call" seminar for the Printing Industries of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. At the end of the seminar, a participant came up to me and said, "Thank you! I learned so much! I learned ‘Don’t Take No for an Answer.’" Another participant standing to his side exclaimed, "No! What I learned is, ‘Don’t Make No Your Answer!’"
How often do you do that-especially on an introductory call? How often do you project your fears and insecurities onto the prospect you are calling and decide that you are doomed before you dial?
The definition of a cold call or an introductory call is that you are calling a stranger. This stranger could be having a good day-or a bad day. This stranger could be warm and friendly or brusque and dismissive. There is no way of determining this ahead of time. Beware of doing a mind read of your stranger/prospect and basing your subsequent actions on what you think your prospect is thinking.
"I don’t like calls on Monday morning"-therefore, no one likes calls on Monday mornings. This leaves out all the people who actually like calls on Monday mornings because that’s when they plan their calendars for the week.
Do Your Words Betray You?
August 16, 2008
What do the words that you use say about you? What is your basic message? Do your words support that basic message?
As a business owner, entrepreneur or sales professional, part of your message must be of confidence and authority. You always want your prospect or your customer to see you as an expert in your field, as someone who is credible and someone who is knowledgeable. Sometimes, the words we use or the way we use them get in the way.
Have you ever started a conversation with a prospect or customer with the phrase "I’m just calling?"?
That little word "just" is an apology. It says that your call is not important and that what you have to say is not important. Delete it from your vocabulary immediately! Simply tell your prospects and customers why you are calling. That is enough.
"I believe that?."
"I think that?."
"I know?."
Who would you rather listen to? Someone who believes or thinks she knows something-or someone who just knows it? The phrases "I believe" and "I think" detract from your message. They detract from your power.
"Once we have completed? we will hopefully achieve?"
Forgive All Ebay Sins!
July 24, 2008
Over the years, I have been amazed at the “blinding” greed and reckless approach to commerce that some business owners have employed. Lying to customers, selling inferior merchandise, and not offering refunds, left a firestorm of irate customers in their wake. Without fail, all of this “ill will” led most businesses to bankruptcy, and in some cases, Federal Prison. I realize that not everyone engages in “business criminality” that rises to the level of fraud and incarceration. Most people try to be good stewards, and approach their enterprise in an honest and forthright manner. For those of you who own thriving business concerns you already know that in most cases the customer is always right. You make sure that you communicate effectively, refund monies if the buyer is truly unhappy, and try to meet the needs of the people who buy your goods or services. However, there are more than a handful of Ebay sellers that are of the mind that customer service and effective communication is not something that they need not participate in. Take the case of a woman named Barbara, (Nickname: BobAnn) who recently posted her disappointment on the Ryze Business Network: Barbara Cerda wrote:Greetings Everyone, “When will sellers on Ebay understand that customer service is key? And when will Ebay sellers learn using customer friendly approaches can only make their business grow?” Again today I’ve bought from a less than friendly seller. Thought I was placing a bid and instead bought the item at the buy now price. Of course the seller refused to allow the retraction, nor was I allowed to place a bid. I always pay for my winning bids immediately upon email confirmation.
And did so in this case. But it would have been customer friendlier for this seller to accept my retraction to be replaced with a bid. He would have gotten repeat business from me and my friends. His “Buy Now” price is 30% over the retail price for this item. Lesson learned by me again - that there are way too many sellers on Ebay out to grab a buck and the hell with fair practice.Lesson learned yet again.”
The Art Of Cold Calling
July 3, 2008
I know, don’t groan. You have to do them if you want to get properties and make money. Believe me, I used to hate cold calling. For those of you that have read our book, “Who Makes It Happen: Back On The Road To Success With Creative Real Estate”, remember it used to take me an hour to get on the phone and then after 30 minutes I was ready to hang up.
I’ve learned over time to not think of telephoning as cold calling, but how I can help a seller or buyer. I realize if I make so many calls, I will get so many responses, and I don’t take a no personally. It’s their loss. Let them continue to pay to run their ads and six months from now when I call out of a paper or web list and they are still there, maybe then they will listen. There are too many people I can help. I refuse to worry about the ones that won’t listen.
9 Ways to Keep Clients Coming Back For More
June 12, 2008
A lot of effort is put into getting new clients. We all know our client base will change. Previous clients can move to a new area, sell their business, close down, or change their priorities. So finding new business is always important - but so is keeping your previous clients. Here are nine ways to keep previous clients coming back for more!
1) Provide exceptional service. Sounds obvious, but is very hard to do consistently. If clients believe they can’t do better elsewhere, they won’t succumb to the temptation of trying another provider.
2) Maintain your database. This can be as simple or complex as you like. Just make sure it meets the needs of your business. You must have suitable contact details, and preferably some measure of sales value. For example, I use email extensively with my clients, so having current email addresses is paramount. But I have clients who must use regular postal mail to communicate with their clients, as their clients do not widely use email. So postal address details are critical in their situation.
3) Use direct mail. This is your pipeline to future sales. Create regular opportunities to communicate directly with your previous clients, especially if your service has a long sales cycle. Keep in touch between purchase decisions.
Your Ad — Who Cares?
May 21, 2008
Junk mail. We all get it. And it goes straight to the trash can. How do you make sure your marketing piece doesn’t end up in the round file?
Give it the ‘who cares’ test. You have approximately five seconds to get your prospect’s attention. Make those five seconds count!
What are your marketing pieces doing for your company?
Denise O’Berry helps small business owners take action to grow their business. To find out more, visit http://www.deniseoberry.com
Five Keys to Make Your Cold Calls Sizzle
May 1, 2008
Do you clam up on the telephone? An advertising rep called the other day to sell some ad space in a local news magazine. After I said, “Hello,” there was nothing but monotone dialog until I interrupted him a minute later. It sounded like he was reading a script… but he wasn’t (I asked).
When you make calls trying to sell your products or services to your prospects, don’t forget to be yourself. Here are five simple tips that will help.
Denise O’Berry helps small business owners take action to grow their business. To find out more, visit http://www.deniseoberry.com
Psychological Tricks in Selling
April 11, 2008
———————————————————-Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and theresource box below is included. ———————————————————-
Psychological Tricks in Selling
By Stephen Bucaro
In this article, I’m revealing six powerful secretpsychological tricks that you can use to increase theeffectiveness of your advertising and marketing. What ifyou don’t sell anything? Should you ignore this information?
You ARE selling something. Whether you are a Real Estateagent selling multi-million dollar homes, or a worker tryingto sell your boss on the idea that you are a valuableemployee, everybody is selling something. So it would bewise to learn these secret tricks and use them to achieveyour own personal success.
The secret psychological tricks that I am going to revealare not really secret. They have been used by shrewedsalesman for millenium. Their existence was revealed backin 1984 by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his book “Influence : ThePsychology of Persuasion”.
You will recognize these tricks being used everywhere inadvertising today. Now you will be able to put them to useto enhance your own personal success.
Selling Services
March 20, 2008
Selling a service isn’t the same as selling a product. Your prospect is buying an intangible. There are no shiny buttons to show off. You and your company are the visible representations of the service. You need to live up to them in your image. (marketing) And in how you “court” the prospect. (sales)
When you’re marketing, you focus on opening your prospect’s door. You’re part of the day-to-day noise, which crowds in on her, every day. Your job is to break through that clutter and produce a good enough impression that she is willing to take the next step and meet with you.
Once you get to meet with a prospect, your goals shift. The two main goals in the sales meeting are to get the prospect to reveal their desires (needs analysis) and to see you as the best solution (positioning).
The sales meeting is your opportunity to take the positive image your marketing has created, and bring the sales/marketing cycle to a fruitful conclusion. In the sales meeting, the prospect must come to feel that you are more than competent, and that you can be trusted with her company, her career and her dreams.
Ten Top Tips for Terminating Telephone Terror
February 28, 2008
1. Make telephone callsFew things are more terrifying than the unknown. The fear you create for yourself is far worse than the reality of cold calling. Once you start making telephone calls and continue making telephone calls, it gets easier. You overcome fear by doing.
2. Make a lot of telephone callsIf you have only one prospect to pursue, that prospect becomes overwhelmingly important. If you have hundreds of leads, no one prospect can make or break you. The more calls you make, the more success you will have.
3. PreparePrepare for cold calling the way you would for any major presentation. Know what you want to say, how you want to say it and how you want to represent yourself, your company, your product or service. And know the goal of your telephone call.
4. PracticeIf you are new to cold calling or uncomfortable with cold calling, practice your pitch out loud. Role-play with friends or colleagues. Practice various sales scenarios. This way, you will not have to worry about what you are going to say. You will be prepared, and you can focus in on your prospect.
