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1.
Rip Up Your Sales Script and Start a Conversation
If you’ve been selling for a while, you’ve probably used
a sales script. Perhaps using a script is the only way you know to
start a cold call.
But people can almost always tell when you're reading from a
script, even if you think you’re pretty good at it. There's just
nothing personal about it, and people pick up on that.
A script isn’t a conversation. It’s a linear process designed to move the other person
toward a sale. You’re not having a real dialogue when you’re
using a script. So nothing is “real” about the whole
encounter.
A conversation, on the other hand, is a living, breathing
relationship. You’re two real people, talking normally and
naturally.
So when you’re just being yourself, the other person’s
walls can come down. Because you’re not coming at them with
one-way sales strategy. So your cold calls typically last longer.
You’ll make fewer calls, and have better results.
2. From “Dreaded Salesperson” to Trusted
Advisor
The old cold calling strategies teach you to polarize the
roles of buyer and seller. You’re trying to coax “prospects”
into buying your product. You’re not thinking about their world
– their budget, problems, or time constraints. You’ve been
taught to think about the sale.
Well, suppose you were to focus instead on the things that
matter to the other person. For example, their problems. What if
you were to become a problem solver?
That’s exactly the place you want to be when making your
cold calls. Imagine approaching someone with the idea of finding
out whether you can help solve a problem.
Imagine the kind of attitude this would convey to the other
person.
You’re no longer trying to persuade. You’re not even
thinking about the sale. You’re thinking about whether you can
help someone solve a problem. You’re relaxed, comfortable, and
authentic.
When you make your cold calls this way, you’ll find that
others will engage you more.
And you’ll also be able to really enjoy what you’re
doing.
3.
Gain the Respect You Deserve – Stop Pushing and Chasing
The old-school sales gurus teach the essentially the same
approach. “Focus on closing the sale. Keep pushing forward.
Overcome objections. Your job is to turn every no
into a yes.”
Persuading and coaxing has always been considered a normal
and necessary part of cold calling. But it’s rooted in a kind of
macho selling image. If you don't keep pushing, it means you're
giving up. So you keep trying to move things forward, and you keep
“chasing” with follow-up calls.
Even when your focus is on solving a problem for the other
person, you can be coaxing and cajoling. But if you do this, how
can you become the trusted advisor I spoke about earlier?
It’s really simple. Just let go of your attachment to the
sale. When you do this, you can relax into being the professional
that you are.
When you stop focusing on getting the sale, you can become a
trusted resource. You’re no longer chasing, pushing, and
cajoling. You’re helping. And that makes a world of difference
in how people respond to you.
Follow these guidelines, and cold calling can become
surprisingly enjoyable. You’ll find yourself spending much more
time with each person. You’ll also see more positive results,
whether or not a sale unfolds. Others will tend to respond to you
more graciously. And your whole cold calling experience can become a pleasant
one. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling 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.Unlock-The-Cold-Calling-Game.com |
