July 11th, 2010
Remember, people will trust you and reveal what they’re thinking only if they feel like you’re on their side. So you need to be clear in your own mind that the breakdown in communication is likely to be something that you unknowingly triggered during your cold call.
You probably did something that made them feel uncomfortable about calling you back. Otherwise they’d feel safe saying, “Thanks a lot, but we’re not going to go with you.” So somewhere along the way the ball got dropped.
Once you’ve taken all this in and are feeling clear and comfortable, you can pick up the phone. Always start with a phone call. The last thing you want to do is send an e-mail, because it’s inherently impersonal and one-way.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 10th, 2010
The number one reason potential clients begin avoiding us is that they’re afraid we’re going to pressure them. They’ve had negative experiences with other people trying to sell them something – maybe even with you, although you might not be aware of it.
The solution here is to let go of your sales agenda. Focus on the truth, not on the sale. If you switch your focus to finding out the truth, then your perspective changes. It’s not a situation where you might be losing a sale. It’s just that you don’t know the truth yet.
Read this last paragraph a few more times and let it sink in. As you absorb it, you’ll start to feel a powerful shift. You’ll start feeling less anxious and desperate, because you haven’t “lost a sale.” You just don’t know the truth yet.
The only way to discover the truth is to make sure they’re comfortable enough to tell you the truth. You must approach your potential client in a way that doesn’t threaten them when you cold call. What you don’t want is for them to think you’re calling just to make the sale.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 9th, 2010
The sales gurus teach a “questioning technique” in cold calling that’s designed to get potential clients interested in your solution. It seems like a good idea. But to your prospects it can feel staged. I’ve seen countless cold calls shut down by people saying, “Enough already! What have you got?”
Potential clients just don’t have time for long discussions that eventually reveal their problems. And if we’re relating to them in their world, we already know this. So it’s a good idea to uncover your potential clients’ problems before you make your cold call. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with problem-centered ways to talk about your products and services without veering off into a sales pitch. It sounds as if it should be easy, but sometimes it isn’t.
That’s because we’ve all been trained in pitches and presentations for so long that it’s difficult to make the switch. We don’t quite know what to do instead. Well, the idea here is to take your “benefits” and turn them into actual problems that potential clients can relate to from their perspective.
At first this may feel awkward because you’ve never been taught to think from their perspective first. But you need to do your homework. Keep working on this until their problems become clear, and you’ll relate to them very well.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 8th, 2010
So let yourself become a problem-solver instead of a “salesperson.” Speak to the problems that your solution solves, rather than pitching your solution. This is the most powerful shift that you can make when you cold call.
As you focus on problems within their world, you attract people’s attention. You’re addressing a specific issue that’s of concern to them. You come across as relaxed and natural. And you don’t carry that negative “salesperson” edge. You’ll find potential clients won’t look at you as just another “salesperson.” You’ll stand out because most people who sell are trained to just promote their service or product.
Focusing on the problems that your product solves makes it easy to move into cold calling conversations. When you set aside your own needs and focus 100 percent on your potential clients, trust grows and truth emerges.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 7th, 2010
The less focused on the sale you are, the more natural you can be. And the more you’re able to convey that you’re genuinely honest and are not calling to make a sale that would improve your gain, but to help the other person.
So the conversation is completely focused on the prospects’ world and the problems they may be looking to solve. If someone asks, “What are you selling?” the answer really is, “Nothing. I’m not here to sell you anything because I don’t know if I can help you in any way. I’m only calling to find out if you have any issues tied to improving the sales performance of your company.”
By adopting this approach, you’ll be able to enjoy your job again. For the first time, you’ll see other benefits to cold calling besides the actual idea of closing the sale. Once you begin to enjoy the idea of conversing and building trust with people, you’ll have a whole new frame of reference.
As the idea of making the sale becomes less important, you’ll feel more comfortable cold calling because you’ll be helping people. So in a way, it’s almost like the sale itself is anticlimactic. We, as people, enjoy other people. As we help them, we get amazing feedback like, “Thank you for helping us with our solution.” And perhaps for the first time, you’ll find yourself really enjoying your work again.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 6th, 2010
The key behind this new cold calling approach is to not to have any sales assumptions at all. Don’t assume that you can help this person with your product, because you don’t know their issues yet. You don’t know their budget or their needs in any way. When you’re not presuming anything, others feel that’s safe to talk with you in an open, honest way.
So if you don’t have “making the sale” as your goal in cold calling, then what replaces it? Well, your goal is really to overcome the other person’s fear of you and build trust. That’s the goal of the conversation, because you’re battling the negative stereotype held around most sales calls. You’re not battling anything else.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 5th, 2010
Why does this new cold calling approach work so well? You see, when you’re not aggressive about making a sale, then others don’t tense up as soon as they hear your voice presenting a sales pitch that puts pressure on them.
Old traditional cold calling techniques try to coax people into buying something. I don’t know about you, but when I feel pressure, my immediate response is to resist. So it just makes sense that your prospects feel a similar resistance.
Whenever you make a cold call while holding a sales agenda in your mind, you’re triggering this resistance, no matter how low-key you try to present yourself.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 4th, 2010
When you release your sales agenda, you’ll also stop using the pitches and strategies designed to move things in the direction of a sale. You can become a real person again. You’ll be natural. And others naturally will respond to you during your cold calls.
When you’re being natural, you won’t find yourself trying to force a sale. And on some level, others will sense this. They’ll sense that it’s safe to be less defensive and that they can be much more open to talking with you about whether your product can help them.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 3rd, 2010
When you release your sales agenda, your cold calling conversations become completely focused on your prospects’ world and the problems they may be looking to solve. And for the first time, you’ll see other benefits to cold calling besides the actual idea of closing the sale.
Once you begin to enjoy the idea of building trust with people, your perspective will shift into a new frame of reference. You’re not just wanting to make a sale. You’re interested in finding out whether your product or service can help someone. And if your product isn’t a fit for them, perhaps you can recommend something else to them.
So you see, it’s no longer a win-lose scenario focused around whether you can “win” a sale. It’s more about people, and about being human. And this means that, as a person, you can enjoy cold calling again.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
July 2nd, 2010
If you have an agenda, it will always show up in a variety of ways during your cold calling conversations. Even if you’re trying to be low-key, others always recognize the underlying goal of making a sale – and they almost always respond with resistance.
So what’s the best way to approach your cold calling conversations? By seeing if you can help someone solve a problem. When you do this, you’re not interested in maneuvering anyone into buying anything. Your goal is to identify a problem they’re having, and then explore whether your product can help them.
It’s really very simple. When you’re truly interested in helping the other person, it’s easier for the other person to want to talk more with you.
Until next time,
Keep calling and keep it conversational…
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
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