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Inside Sales, Scripts & Cold Call Techniques from Michael Pedone

What Your SALES “Message” Says About You!

by MichaelPedone 19. February 2013 03:58
Hearing: “No, thanks”, “Not interested” or “We’re all set (click)” responses way too often? Your message may be the cause of it all!

By Michael Pedone:

So I’m in the process of looking for new office space (Expanding… woohoo!) and as I pull into this office complex, there are a few stand-alone doctors offices and one of them has a sign draped outside that says:

“NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS!”

It took me a second to read their message. It took me less to formulate an opinion:

  • What’s wrong with them that they have to beg for new patients?
  • Where did the old patients go?
  • Are they so bad that they can’t keep patients? I wonder why they don’t have enough business from referrals of their existing patients?
Their sales message is having the exact opposite effect of what they are trying to accomplish and that got me thinking about all the sales calls I get from salespeople who within the first 15 seconds (usually 5 seconds, actually) turn me off, create resistance or have me perceive them as an annoyance rather than a value added resource.

One can blame the leads, economy or even management all they want, but if you are getting shut down with “No, thanks”, “Not interested” or “We’re all set (click)” responses way too often, you may want to start with looking at your “message” (otherwise known as your OVS – Opening Value Statement) with an objective eye and determine if what you are saying is causing your prospects to respond the way they are. And if it is, here’s the good news… You control what you say. Therefore, you can change it.

Well, doesn’t this just prove that “cold calling” isn’t effective?

Nope, not at all. Remember that office complex I was telling you about? The one I was interested in? So after looking at the building and visiting the inside of it, I called the leasing office (this means I’m a warm inbound lead, right!?!) and the sales person who answered the phone immediately started asking “probing questions” that were more geared towards his benefit and not mine, which creates DISTRUST.

The message I received was he is only caring about his needs and not mine!

And when a prospect feels distrust, even warm leads, they start to wonder if they are making a mistake. So doubt sets in. Next thing you know, other considerations (competitors) that were not on the table a few moments ago are now being pondered by your prospect. Ever get a warm lead and hear the prospects tone noticeably change from interest to guarded?

Bottom line, if you aren’t getting the results you want, it just may be your “message” that’s causing the problem.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)
888-264-0562 ext. 1

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How to Respond When a Prospects Says “I Got Your Message, I’m Not Interested”

by MichaelPedone 29. January 2013 08:37
Sales Question:

"What do I do when I finally get ahold of a prospect I’ve been chasing and they respond with – “I got your message, I’m not interested”?"

Answer:

If you hear this response from prospects regularly, you have a bigger problem at hand because it means your original message is missing the mark.

Missing the mark once in a while is OK and only natural. But if this response is happening on a weekly (or worse, daily) basis, that’s an indicator that your OVS (Opening Value Statement) is off. And that usually only happens when you are following the wrong sales process / strategy to begin with (think about it… if you are repeatedly missing the mark on the very first step of the sales process, how can you argue you are on the right path?)

So if that’s the situation you are in, its time to re-tool your sales process.

If on the other hand you just want to be prepared on how to handle this type of response when it OCCASIONALLY comes up, that is a different story.

The best response I’ve found to the “I got your message, I’m not interested” response is to simply reply:

“Well, (PROSPECTS NAME) I’m not asking you to make a decision. I’m only calling because we recently helped (Competitor 1, 2 & 3) avoid/cut/reduce/lower (MAJOR HOT BUTTON) while at the same time gain/produce/generate/streamline (MAJOR BENEFIT / HOT BUTTON) and wanted to ask you a few questions just to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you as well, would that be OK?”

EXAMPLE #1:

“Mr/Mrs (PROSPECTS NAME) I’m not asking you to make a decision [ever so slight pause] I’m only calling because we recently helped (Competitor 1, 2 & 3) avoid making OVERPAYMENTS on their property taxes & insurance premiums while streamlining their fixed asset management process and wanted to ask you a few questions just to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you as well, would that be OK?”

EXAMPLE #2:

“Mr/Mrs (PROSPECTS NAME) I’m not asking you to make a decision [ever so slight pause] All I know is, (Competitor 1, 2 & 3) gave us a shot at their business over _____ months/years ago and they say they are happy. I tend to believe them cause they keep sending us a check every month and so I just wanted to ask you a few quick questions just to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you as well, would that be OK?”

GREAT! BUT WHAT IF THEY STILL SAY “NO”?

BFD! Big. Freaking. Deal. I’ve lost more business chasing prospects that never wanted to be caught than I care to admit and realized a long time ago its much better to move on to the next call then it is to stew about why a particular prospect doesn’t want the best solution out there.

Now I’m not saying to give up totally if they truly are a potential whale of a client. Just be smart about it. If landing them really is a B.F.D. to you, and signing them really is worth it, BE DIFFERENT TO GET THEIR ATTENTION (You should be doing that anyway)

Caution: Don’t just be creative for the sake of being creative. Brand / position yourself as a value added resource to your prospect (Note: this takes time, so be patient and have your time management skills in check)

One simple solution is to have 10 pre-written “problem-solving” articles queued up in an automated drip email campaign that focuses on solving a problem for your prospect. This way you can move on to less resistant prospects while auto branding yourself as a valuable resource to your hard-to-crack prospect without lifting a finger. Do it right and before you know it, that original cold call of yours will blossom into a nice hot lead.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)
888-264-0562 ext. 1

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Appointment Setting Woes: Decision Maker Giving You the Brush-Off?

by MichaelPedone 20. November 2012 04:51
Sales Question:

"I'm trying to meet with the decision maker (set up a lunch/learn about our other capabilities etc) but keep getting the brush off (tried to meet with her in May, then August, and now she's pushed me off until after the first of the year) My question is, since I'm not getting anywhere with her, should I reach out to someone else in the company?"

Answer:

OK so the real question is this:

"Why is she giving you the brush off?"

The answer is this:

"Because she doesn't see any value in meeting with you."

What Went Wrong?

Here are a couple probabilities:
  • Your first interaction didn't have an opening value statement that piqued interest. Instead, it gave more reasons to avoid than it did to engage.
  • Your follow up calls to set the appointment are also failing because you're trying to get the appointment instead of getting a commitment to have a few minutes on the phone to first determine if it makes sense for both parties to meet. There's a huge difference in one message over the other.
  • You aren't (to my knowledge) using the power of marketing to constantly stay on her radar and build a "BrandYOU" image... In other words, we aren't getting her to view you as an SME (Subject Matter Expert)... Instead, you are branding yourself as a pesky salesperson.

So What Do You Do Now?

Possible solutions could be:
  • Re-create an opening value statement that piques interest and resets the table if you will. This opener could mention the fact that "I know until now you haven't seen a reason to meet with me but here's why I think we should (and now lay it down with specifics that will hit hot buttons)
  • Be prepared ahead of time for voicemail in case you get that and lay your message down with precision.
  • If you get voicemail, make sure you already have an email ready to go as well that you send right after you leave the voicemail message (if you need to know what to say on your voicemail message, watch this on-demand voicemail scripts webinar)
  • No matter if you set the appointment, get another stall or leave a voicemail message, make sure you have some sort of marketing strategy in place that at minimum, once a month gets sent out (via email, linkedin, facebook, twitter etc) that builds you and or your company's credibility up as an SME (SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT) in the area that you are trying to help them in.
This way, even if timing isn't right, right now, eventually a trigger event will happen and when it does, and they have a problem that you can help them solve comes up, it will be you they call and not a competitor.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)
888-264-0562 ext. 1

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What NOT to Say in Your Opening Value Statement

by MichaelPedone 17. January 2012 02:49

What NOT to Say in Your Opening Value Statement

Here's a common example of an opening value statement that often leads to failure:

"Hi, this is (YOUR NAME), with XYZ LOGISTICS. Could I speak to the person in charge of the freight division and could you tell me their name?"

"Hi CHUCK, this is (YOUR NAME) here with XYZ LOGISTICS. As I prepared for this call, I noticed you have shipped with us a couple times before... So tell me, how many shipments off the top of your head do you think you did last month?… (ANSWER) I'd love to talk with you more about that if you have time now,... or if I email you over some information, I can call back by let's say a few days from now and we can talk then."

Why This Fails & What to Say Instead

1) "Hi, this is (YOUR NAME) with XYZ LOGISTICS. Could I speak to the person in charge of the freight division and could you tell me their name?"

  • This screams COLD CALL to the gatekeeper. You aren't the only person trying to reach their decision maker and it's quite possible the gatekeeper has been instructed to not let anymore of these types of calls to go through... so running this play will increase the likelihood of you having to tangle with the receptionist... and it's above his/her pay-grade to determine if what you have to offer is in the best interest of the company he/she works for... let's not give the gatekeeper power that isn't theirs.
  • 99% of the time you should already know with whom you are calling to speak with. There are only so many "titles" that will have the authority to make a purchasing decision on what it is that you offer. A simple search on their website, LinkedIn or Google search ("title" + company name) and you can often find the person you need to speak with in less than 60 seconds! (Not minutes or hours, but seconds... too much time is also wasted on "research" when really it's a blind excuse to not cowboy up and make the call... but I digress)

Sure, there may be multiple people involved in the decision making process, and each company will have their own approval process to follow (these are things we will cover as we get deeper into the 8-week course) however, at this stage of the game when we are making that first call, a little "pre-call" research needs to be done.

2) "Hi Chuck, this is (YOUR NAME), with XYZ LOGISTICS. As I prepared for this call, I noticed you have shipped with us a couple times before... So tell me, how many shipments off the top of your head do you think you did last month?"

The goal of your opening value statement is to pique interest and gain permission to continue the call. It's not a vehicle to launch right into "probing questions".

That is how most salespeople do it and it is why most salespeople fail. Most times, it's not the lead, it's the process the salesperson is following that causes failure.

3) "I'd love to talk with you more about that if you have time now,... or if I email you over some information, I can call back by let's say a few days from now and we can talk then."

I'm willing to bet that "CHUCK" is going to take you up on that "email some information" deal almost every time. And good luck getting him back on the phone next week.

This is prolonging the sales cycle and making your job harder on yourself and it's also costing you money as you will close very few deals trying to sell this way.

Simple Solution / Suggestion:

Look at the difference a well structured opening value (keyword: value) statement brings:

Hi CHUCK this is (YOUR NAME) with XYZ LOGISTICS. The reason for my call is (slight pause) based on past shipments you've done with us, there's a possibility we may be able to (#1 thing your target audience wants to avoid) while at the same time (#1 thing your target audience wants to gain) and if I caught you at a good time, I'd like to ask you just a few quick questions just to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you, would that be OK?

With blanks filled in:

Hi CHUCK this is (YOUR NAME) with XYZ LOGISTICS. The reason for my call is (slight pause) based on past shipments you've done with us, there's a possibility we may be able to cut down on your shipping costs while at the same time improve your customers level of satisfaction and if I caught you at a good time, I'd like to ask you just a few quick questions just to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you, would that be OK?

And now you're in position to smoothly transition into the next step of the SalesBuzz process.

Hope this helps.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)

8-Week B2B SalesBuzz Improvement Program

Learn How To:

  1. Eliminate "No, Thanks", "Not Interested" & "We're All Set" Responses from Cold and Warm Calls
  2. Neutralize Gatekeepers & Get Voicemails Returned
  3. Ask Engaging Questions Instead of Probing
  4. How to Really Qualify (I'll show you a better way)
  5. Give Stellar Presentations & Handle Objections
  6. Close Follow-up Calls and Get Targeted Referrals
  7. How to Set & Achieve Your Toughest Sales Goals
  8. Improve Your Time Management Skills

Duration: 1 hour per week for 8 weeks
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Creating Opening Value Statements that Heat Up Cold Calls Part 1

by MichaelPedone 6. January 2011 05:58
Forget “sales scripts”. To succeed in today’s selling environment, top sales pros will need a complete playbook. This means having multiple “opening value statements” crafted, practiced and memorized for different types of sales calls.

One of the most common sales calls is the “first time” contact, where the call couldn’t be any colder.

Hate making “cold calls”? Fear Not! A well-prepared opening value statement can warm up a cold call in 15 seconds or less. Here’s how to get started…

Start by asking yourself the following question:

"When making previous outbound sales calls to a prospect for the first time, what was it about that prospect / lead specifically that gave you the "green light" to call?"

In other words, what "pre-qualifications" did they meet that let you know they could be a potential opportunity?

Part of your pre-call planning research should be to identify top “suspects”. In order to do that, you need to understand why your best clients are your best clients. What “criteria” qualifies them to have that title?

If your current cold call prospecting strategy is to simply pick up the local phone book (or some other similar non vertical resource) and starting from the letter A start smiling and dialing, sales will be low and frustrations will be high. So step one is identifying what makes a “suspect” a suspect.

Let’s say you sell “promotional products”… in theory every business in the world could be a potential client however maybe you’ve found success in a few niche verticals… say software companies. Or maybe you’ve found the greatest success with companies in the tech industry who participate in at least 3 trade shows per year. Get the picture?

Once you can put pen to paper that clearly describes what your best clients look like, you’ll have great material to start crafting your opening value statement.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

“Hi (Prospect) this is (Your Name) with (Your Company) and the reason for my call is we specialize in working with (vertical) who are looking to separate themselves from their competitors during trade shows. We’ve been able to help generate an average of 23% more leads per trade show for most of our clients and I wanted to ask you a few questions to see if what we have to offer may be of some help to you as well…”

By understanding your top clients unique criteria, you can craft opening value statements that separates you from the rest of the pack while quickly heating up your cold calls. 

Stay tuned for future blog posts about other phone sales tips and techniques to help you create opening value statements that heat up cold calls fast.

Sincerely,

Michael Pedone
President/CEO
SalesBuzz.com
(888) 264-0562 Ext. 1
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