Tag: Cold Call

What does a quarterback’s ability to read defenses have in common with appointment setting?

Hint: it’s all about the ability to Counter the no we hear when we ask for an appointment.

I called one of my former students the other day to see how she was doing with her new found appointment-making skills and she said that one the biggest benefits she received from going through our Prospector’s Academy was the ability to quickly read the defense so she can audible to the appropriate play to counter what’s being thrown at her. (You’ve got to love the analogy!) Continue reading “What does a quarterback’s ability to read defenses have in common with appointment setting?”

Asking for a specific time for an appointment does work.

So you still want to ask, “Are mornings or afternoons better for you?”

fear-quoteA sales professionals in one of our Prospector’s Academies told me this story the other day during a role-play session and I thought it was worth passing on to you.

He told me that he had always been afraid to say no when a target would propose a different time for an appointment than he had originally asked for; even when he had something personal scheduled. He told me that he would say yes to almost anything, even if it were inconvenient—just to get the appointment. He told me that for the first time, he countered with a third time and the prospect said yes. He was ecstatic. “It worked, it worked!” he exclaimed.

Continue reading “Asking for a specific time for an appointment does work.”

Just say no!

It’s okay to say no to a time that won’t work for you!

Nope neon imageWe teach to ask for a specific time and date for the appointment you want. Unfortunately, our targets also live by a calendar and sometimes our specific request can’t be met, so they propose something different. When that happens, why do some of us sales professionals seem so reluctant to say no to that request when the target’s suggestion is inconvenient to us?

Continue reading “Just say no!”

Three reasons to ask for a specific day and time on an appointment making call.

Do want more or less stress in your life? How about more sales and commissions?

choice-multipleIf you’re like me, you were taught to ask questions like, “Are mornings or afternoons better for you?” when asking for an appointment. I say ask for a specific day and time. Why? Well, I’m glad you asked! Here are three very good reasons:

Continue reading “Three reasons to ask for a specific day and time on an appointment making call.”

Plan your calendar before making the first appointment making call of the day.

Before we begin calling, we should have already mapped out the times on our calendar we’ll be asking for appointments.

Time fliesRemember, when calling for appointments, we recommend asking for specific dates and times. We’ll cover the reasons for that in another blog. For now, let’s talk about the concept of knowing when we want the appointment, as that will become an issue whether you ask for a specific date and time up front or not.

Continue reading “Plan your calendar before making the first appointment making call of the day.”

Top 10 Mistakes cold callers make on the phone (# 2).

Mistake #2 – Telling the target all about what we can do for them.

D'ohAs we discussed in the first Blog in this series, too few of our targets think they need what we’re selling when we call them, so why do we think telling them all about what we can do for them will work? They are not listening to the message at this point. They are concentrating on how to get rid of us.

Instead, we should offer to share with them the results someone else in their position received from using what we sell.  Why? Because psychologists tell us that most of us (even the most successful) have a basic insecurity, so we think that others know some little secret we don’t—and that is making them more successful than us.) Continue reading “Top 10 Mistakes cold callers make on the phone (# 2).”

Top 10 Mistakes cold callers make on the phone (# 1).

Mistake #1 – Believe the first Negative Response we hear is true and attempt to counter it with logic.

D'ohThere are two ground rules our targets play by when they receive an appointment setting call of any kind.  Discounting this reality simply makes our job more difficult. Ignore them at your peril.

When we place an appointment making call, we must understand that the person we’re calling really doesn’t think they need to talk to us.  Our surveys show that less than 5% of the targets in any sales professional’s universe of potential customers believes they are in the market for what we’re selling when we call them. Continue reading “Top 10 Mistakes cold callers make on the phone (# 1).”

Four rules to govern how much research to do prior to a cold call.

Four easy to answer questions that helps determine whether it is worth doing research prior to calling.

Confused Orangatang PhotoI had a client the other day ask me how much research should be done prior to calling for that Initial Appointment.  (Note that I’m not talking about the research one should do prior to going on the appointment itself.)  He said they had been having a ‘spirited’ discussion within the sales force about it after the CEO got a call from an executive at a company who had been cold called by one of their sales people without any understanding of that CEO’s situation. Here are my rules of thumb.

Continue reading “Four rules to govern how much research to do prior to a cold call.”