Not selling but beginning a relationship.

Major success in cold calling is to take an approach of not selling but beginning a relationship that adds value to that company or person to whom you are targeting. Open with a statement that allows for them to begin sharing information with you. Do not over power the conversation with your own ideas or thoughts. Be natural and genuinely interested in their business. Selling is about relationships and the value to which you bring. Not how good you can close from a call script. And always know when to move on to the next prospect and not waste time trying to force something that is not worthwhile.
Advice for the day by Charlie Rudd.

Know What Your Customers Believe

Beliefs drive behavior; this is has been proven true time and time again and I believe it is one of the great laws of the universe. So it makes sense if you are in sales it is probably pretty important to learn what your customer believes. Yet I will be willing to bet that learning your customer’s beliefs is not at the top of most sales rep’s priority lists. Maybe it should be.

Your goal in selling is to have a business conversation with another person and to hopefully change their mind and then their behavior so that they use your product (or perhaps use more of your product). I don’t know how you can attempt to do that unless you know what that person really believes. If you are not able to adequately explain what your customer believes and thinks about your product or service, then you need to learn what these beliefs are. The very best way I have ever discovered to do that is to ask — that’s the best way to find out the information you seek. It makes sense to construct a well crafted question that doesn’t sound threatening, creates a safe environment and sets the tone that you are truly interested in learning about your customer. You may say something like this: “It occurred to me that I am really not 100% certain how you currently view my product. I would love to ask you to share with me how you currently view my product and have it positioned in your mind, if at all? Could you take a moment to help me understand this so I can make certain what I share with you is most relevant?”

Being able to identify a belief is a great starting point, but you still want to learn more. You want to learn where that belief originated from, if at all possible. It could be based on experience, or what this customer was taught in training, or a recommendation from a colleague. Why is it significant to learn how that belief was shaped? The obvious reason is that your customer describing their beliefs either confirms that you truly understand them or that you need to ask some clarifying questions to learn more.

By asking this type of question, you gain extra insight: It enables you to get a glimpse of the thought processes that your customer employs to arrive at the decision as to the best option/product/solution for them. It will also help you identify different factors that will likely influence this customer. For example, you may learn that a colleague recommended a competitor’s product based on his experiences. Now you know not only that your competitor is already being used within that organization but that your customer values this colleague’s input. It makes sense to talk to that person of influence and gain an understanding of that individual. (And you may influence more potential customers by engaging this one influential person).

The quest for customer knowledge and insight for top performing sales people is never ending. By focusing your efforts to learn more about your customer, such as their beliefs, you’ll find it is easier not only to tailor your product discussion but to develop a business relationship with that person. You’ll notice that your customer responds differently to you once you gain this understanding — and you’ll very likely see the results in your sales numbers.

15 Voicemail tips to get you past the gatekeeper

1. If your goal is to get the phone call returned, don’t leave information that would allow the person to make up their mind. Add a call-to-action to your message by providing a key date or something of interest that will encourage the person to return the call. You have to create a reason for them to call you back.

2. Repeat your phone number twice. If the person can’t quickly write your number down, you’ve given them a perfect reason to not call back.

3. Avoid asking the person to call you back at a certain time. This provides them with an excuse not to call you.

4. Never state in the message that you plan to call them back. Again, this only gives the person an excuse to ignore your message.

5. Messages left on a Friday afternoon are the least likely to be returned. For most people, Monday mornings are very busy and, as a result, only high–priority activities will get their immediate attention.

6. Do not leave voicemail messages at odd hours of the night. Most voicemail systems offer a time stamp and the person hearing the message will immediately suspect you really did not want to talk to them.

7. The best hours to leave voicemail messages are from 6:45 AM to 8:00 AM and from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Aggressive people are usually working during these time periods, and the person receiving your message could potentially view you as one.

8. Wisely use time zone changes to make as many calls as possible during the optimal voicemail periods listed in the previous tip.

9. Voicemail messages are an excellent way to introduce yourself to a person. Be personable, yet professional, and link your message to something of interest to the person you are calling (such as another person or event). The recipient may view your message as a waste of time if you have no purpose other than getting your name in front of them.

10. When leaving a message with multiple points, be sure to immediately disclose how many you will be making. This will prevent the recipient from accidentally fast-forwarding or deleting it before it is completely heard.

11. If you can’t say it briefly, don’t say it at all. Voicemail is not “story time”. Leaving a long message is an invitation to have the entire message skipped. The optimal voicemail message is between 8 and 14 seconds.

12. When leaving your phone number, do not leave your website address as well. This will give the person an opportunity to make a decision about you without calling you back.

13. Leave a “PS” at the end of your message. A “PS” is a very quick, additional piece of information that will connect with the person.

14. Mention the person’s first name at least twice in the message, but don’t use their last name. Doing so comes across as very impersonal.

15. Refer to a mutual acquaintance in your message as a way of connecting with the recipient. (Caution: Make sure they think positively of that person!).