Face the facts. The vast majority of Sales Professionals despise and hate cold calling in all of it’s various forms: telephone, knocking on doors, direct mail, email, etc… Why?
That answer is easy: Cold Calling comes with a ton of rejection and rejection sucks! We are not supposed to take it personally but, despite all of the gurus and sales trainers who tell us not to take rejection in sales personally, most of us do. Then, we do what ever we can to avoid Cold Calling which for many of us has a negative impact on our career and income.
You can run but you can’t hide. At some point in your career you will be required to cold call. When you are new in your sales career Cold Calling will be your main mechanism for reaching out to potential customers and prospects. However, as you spend more time in your territory, over the years, Cold Calling will become a smaller part of your overall efforts to keep your sales pipeline full.
New Rep in New Territory = Lots of Cold Calling
Tenured Rep in New Territory = Lots of Cold Calling
Tenured Rep in Established Territory = Minimal Cold Calling
Regarless of your situation the one thing to remember is that Prospecting is about balance. If all you do is Cold Call or all you do is Network with Referrals you sub-optimize your sales funnel. A balanced approach in prospecting, utilizing several methodologies, is kind of like having a diversified investment portfolio. It keeps you from putting all of your prospecting eggs in one basket which optimizes your effectiveness in keeping your pipeline full and your commission checks huge.
Recently I ran across this series of Podcasts on Cold Calling that I found interesting:
http://coldcallingpodcast.com/MP3/CCP001_Introduction.mp3
http://coldcallingpodcast.com/MP3/CCP002_Direct_Numbers.mp3
http://coldcallingpodcast.com/MP3/CCP003_Working_Practices.mp3
http://coldcallingpodcast.com/MP3/CCP004_Dealing_With_Rejection.mp3
http://coldcallingpodcast.com/MP3/CCP005_Voicemail_and_Email.mp3
http://coldcallingpodcast.com/MP3/CCP006_Your_Opening_Pitch.mp3
Here are a few more resources your may want to check out:
Cold Calling Techniques: (That Really Work!) (Cold Calling Techniques)
Selling to Big Companies
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling (The Complete Idiot’s Guide)
Never Cold Call Again: Achieve Sales Greatness Without Cold Calling
Lead Generation for the Complex Sale: Boost the Quality and Quantity of Leads to Increase Your ROI
I’d Rather Have a Root Canal Than Do Cold Calling
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Traits of Highly Effective Sales Professionals
By Jeb Blount and Mary "B" Battaglia GRI, CRS
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to live a charmed life and others seem to have a dark cloud over their head all the time? I think we all know people like that. It has amazed me how those who think their life is tough, usually do have a continual series of bad circumstances or bad luck....but is it "bad luck" or are they creating the life they have? Of course, it works both ways; if you anticipate good things, they seem to happen.
This goes back to principles that I have heard throughout my life:
What you can conceive and believe, you can achieve.
Whether you think you can, or think you can't... either way, you are right.
What goes around comes around!
If you work hard, it will pay off.
Ask and you shall receive.
You will attract to you the things you identify yourself with.
I'm sure you can think of others, but here's my point. All the productive salespeople I have known have used beliefs like the ones above to form the foundation on which they build success.
Hard Choices
In the current real estate market agents are faced with a choice. Believe that they control their own destiny or believe that they have no control. For most it is easier to do the later. Everyday, faced with more bad news, many agents take the easy way out and just pack up and go home believing that they are the victims of bad luck and bad timing.
Top agents understand and believe that they control the future with the activity they do today. In their mind they can see success and they believe in themselves. And by the way, even in a down market they are still getting listings and still closing deals.
The choice to take control of your own destiny requires, faith, fortitude, and discipline. It will mean stepping beyond your comfort zone. However, the rewards are great and soon, your small leaps of faith turn into huge strides towards success.
Four PowerPrincples of High Performing Sales Professionals
Visualize Your Success: Top Sales Professional can visualize their success; they see it taste it, and touch it as if it were already there. They expect great things to happen and they believe that they will succeed, even in the face of set backs.
No Excuses: Top Sales Professionals consistently do the activities necessary to win. They are willing to do what less successful salespeople refuse to do.
See The Big Picture: High performing Sales Professionals know that they won't close every deal. They don't get side-tracked by small set-backs. Instead they stay focused on the big picture and have resolute belief that consistent activity over time leads to success.
Fanatical Prospecting: Highly successful Sales Professionals prospect relentlessly, and regularly. They never stop! They understand that prospecting excellence makes 90% of their problems disappear. With a fanatical focus on prospecting they've learned that competitors don't matter, timing doesn't matter and market down turns don't matter because they are complete control of their own future.
Jeb Blount is the award winning author of PowerPrinciples: Do you have the winning edge? and CEO of SalesGravy.com, The #1 Resource on the Web for Sales Professionals.
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to live a charmed life and others seem to have a dark cloud over their head all the time? I think we all know people like that. It has amazed me how those who think their life is tough, usually do have a continual series of bad circumstances or bad luck....but is it "bad luck" or are they creating the life they have? Of course, it works both ways; if you anticipate good things, they seem to happen.
This goes back to principles that I have heard throughout my life:
What you can conceive and believe, you can achieve.
Whether you think you can, or think you can't... either way, you are right.
What goes around comes around!
If you work hard, it will pay off.
Ask and you shall receive.
You will attract to you the things you identify yourself with.
I'm sure you can think of others, but here's my point. All the productive salespeople I have known have used beliefs like the ones above to form the foundation on which they build success.
Hard Choices
In the current real estate market agents are faced with a choice. Believe that they control their own destiny or believe that they have no control. For most it is easier to do the later. Everyday, faced with more bad news, many agents take the easy way out and just pack up and go home believing that they are the victims of bad luck and bad timing.
Top agents understand and believe that they control the future with the activity they do today. In their mind they can see success and they believe in themselves. And by the way, even in a down market they are still getting listings and still closing deals.
The choice to take control of your own destiny requires, faith, fortitude, and discipline. It will mean stepping beyond your comfort zone. However, the rewards are great and soon, your small leaps of faith turn into huge strides towards success.
Four PowerPrincples of High Performing Sales Professionals
Visualize Your Success: Top Sales Professional can visualize their success; they see it taste it, and touch it as if it were already there. They expect great things to happen and they believe that they will succeed, even in the face of set backs.
No Excuses: Top Sales Professionals consistently do the activities necessary to win. They are willing to do what less successful salespeople refuse to do.
See The Big Picture: High performing Sales Professionals know that they won't close every deal. They don't get side-tracked by small set-backs. Instead they stay focused on the big picture and have resolute belief that consistent activity over time leads to success.
Fanatical Prospecting: Highly successful Sales Professionals prospect relentlessly, and regularly. They never stop! They understand that prospecting excellence makes 90% of their problems disappear. With a fanatical focus on prospecting they've learned that competitors don't matter, timing doesn't matter and market down turns don't matter because they are complete control of their own future.
Jeb Blount is the award winning author of PowerPrinciples: Do you have the winning edge? and CEO of SalesGravy.com, The #1 Resource on the Web for Sales Professionals.
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