| |
| |
|
Go Back | About | Contact | Web Design News | |
|
|
|
The Email Blow-Off
This week's article is my response to a question by Lisa Boudreau of ePresence. "I cold call into Fortune 1000 companies, often times the admin will tell me to send the CIO, or whoever I'm calling, an email about who we are and what we do. I tend to think of emails as a last ditch effort, but others think they are a good follow up to a live conversation. I'd be interested in what you think! - Lisa Boudreau, Sales Rep, ePresence Inc. Thanks for writing in Lisa. The title I gave this article pretty much sums up what I think. When making cold calls, administrative assistants are instructed to get rid of salespeople as nicely as possible. One of the easiest ways to blow off a sales rep is to ask you to send some information, literature, or an email. Many sales reps then think "I got one!" They believe that they have a prospect, and they put it onto their follow-up list, and they call and call again until they get through, give up, or are told to get lost. The reality is you were just told that your sales pitch didn't work. Your email, or brochure or whatever, goes into a huge pile of other solicitations, that may never get reviewed. It's useful to think of cold-calling as advertising, only one at a time. In advertising, you are "interrupting" people with your message. By delivering it to hundreds, thousands, or millions at the same time, you can persuade a certain percentage of the people who view the ad. The people who are persuaded are those who fit the target profile that the advertiser is looking for. Cold-calling is just like shoving a billboard in one person's face, or running a commercial for one prospect, and then asking them if they want the product. How well you do at this depends on two things. First the quality of the target list of prospects you are calling on is very important (this is akin to which freeway you post your billboard on, or which TV show you run your commercial on). When you have the right target list, the next element under your control is the effectiveness of your message at getting the prospect's attention. The reason why I use the advertising analogy is that when cold-calling we are an interruption, until we have the prospect's attention and the permission to probe further and ask questions. When we fail at this, prospect's nicely ask us to "send info please". To improve the effectiveness of your message, I advise you to focus on using prominent customer references with benefits centered around revenue increases, cost reductions, or efficiency gains in your cold-calling approach. Combine this with effective prospect targeting and some persuasive questioning techniques and you will get through to more decision-makers. © 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved. Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Sales - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
17 Tips for Bringing Your Event to Life Your job as an event planner doesn't stop with the meeting in the company boardroom. You may be called upon to organize an employee appreciate event, an awards dinner, a product launch, the celebration of a company milestone, a gala recognizing a longtime employee's retirement, an incentive event for company's sales force, a fundraising event, a holiday celebration?the list goes on and on. Wholesale Secrets Revealed: The Holy Grail Of Wholesale! Like the legendary search for the Holy Grail, the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, the same "holy crusade" goes on today by veteran and newly anointed business owners for the perfect wholesale, surplus, and drop-shipping resource. They believe that divine intervention will lead them to suppliers that can defeat the economic laws of "supply and demand. Open Your Introduction With A Firecracker Moment The number one requirement, whether you are a business owneror an employee, is to be able to say what you do, and say itwith influencing results. Through testing, I have seen,experienced, and received feedback that an elevator speechno longer works. Web Promotion: 10 Amazing Web Promotion Ways To Jump Start Your Sales Hello, do you have a website and sell something on the internet?If yes, may I offer you 10 amazing web promotion secrets to jump start your salesat your website!1. Find a strategic business partner. Touchdown! Closing Skills for Successful Selling It's early January 2004. The Green Bay Packers are just 72 seconds away from their fourth NFC Championship game. 10 Important Things To Tell Your Prospects Hello everyone, hope your day is going well! I know this one is short but it is very helpful!1. Tell your prospects that you offer free delivery. The "Write" Way to More Sales The sales letter you can't put down?the advertising copy that makes you want the product?the resume that prompts you to call the job candidate this second?all these are examples of exceptional business writing. While you certainly know good writing when you see it, can you write with the same pizzazz the professionals use to hold your attention for pages on end?In today's selling arena, writing skills have taken a backseat to other seemingly more important professional development activities. Selling Services Selling a service isn't the same as selling a product. Your prospect is buying an intangible. 6 Creative Questions To Move From HOW Are You To WHO Are You Imagine you just met someone new. The formalities of names, jobs and the like have been exchanged and you seem to be getting along famously. Voice Mail That Sells As a business owner, I receive my share of sales calls in a given month. More often than not, I'm away from my desk or out of the office which means I end up listening to the messages instead of speaking directly with the sales person. The Answers (1 - 5) Are Here !!! - Challenge Yourself - Evaluate Your Selling Skills "THE ANSWERS (1 - 5) ARE HERE!!!"Question 1) List the top five most important steps in the selling process?Answer: 1. Rapport. Do You Have Enough Prospects To Make Your Numbers? Several years ago I worked with a CPA who wanted 20 new clients. We came up with a great direct marketing campaign that brought in 10 leads per 1,000 letters. How to Build A Steady Stream of Customers--Step One The success of a small business depends upon a steady stream of good customers. To build that stream of customer a business owner must examine five critical points in their business operations. The Allure of Antique Store Fixtures They say if you wait long enough, a style you liked in almost any genre will come back. This is as true for retail store fixtures as it is for clothing or styles of music. To Sell Successfully, You Have to Be Willing to Be Different We are complex. We confidently assert that we are independent thinkers but then we can feel uncomfortable -- even embarrassed - if we break out of "the norm. Picture Yourself a Winner In the work place, the amount of good things that happen to a person during the day far out number the amount of bad things that happen, so why do we spend so much time stressing over the bad things when we should be smiling about the good things.One reason being, when something bad happens, such as being berated by a customer, it shakes us up a little bit, maybe our pride has been touched up a little. Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You? Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy something. A person or a business is motivated to buy when they perceive that a change needs to occur to fix or avoid a problem, or to enable a greater vision for their future. Model Dell: The Art of the Affiliate Coupon Along with having an innovative supply chain, there's another reason Dell is the largest computer company in the world. They always offer great coupon codes to online affiliates that let the buyer "in" on deals that they otherwise wouldn't get. Value Based Pricing, Not Price Cutting Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Paul's name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links.Complete Article with Resource Box at end:Value Based Pricing, Not Price CuttingThe oldest tactic in the world to get a sale moving is to cut the price. Losing the Big-One: Salvaging Lost Accounts After careful consideration, we have chosen our vendor, and it's not you."Hard words to hear.
|
ChicagoAnimation's Acquisitions: Market Polls - 1pennyStock.com
Sponsors: Paving | VTL's | Religious Statues
