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Prevent & Preempt initial contact objections Tired of getting common initial contact objections such as, " Not interested, We already have someone, Just send me your literature, No time, Not a priority," and on and on. 90+% of cold call contacting is shut down immediately with these types of initial contact objections. That's extremely inefficient and, for many, a self-esteem damaging activity. It's time to reverse that number and make it 90+% getting to interview the prospect, and less than 10% rejection responses that will require a different approach. I'm not too fond of these objections either, and I will do whatever I can to prevent them from entering my prospect's mind. Recall from an earlier blog, " Why You Get the Objections You Get " that the core Buyer Beliefs have not yet been established. As such, the prospect doesn't recognize you're calling to help them with a need they may or may not be consciously aware of at the mome...

Million-dollar major account selling Before you say, what you sell is different and can’t be sold over the phone, consider these possible scenarios. The person calling was previously a buyer with another company and is now with a different company. The person calling has already done their research and has chosen what you sell and now needs to work out the details and place the order. Your value proposition is so obvious, your company so credible, and the customer’s need is so strong that it’s just a matter of working out the logistics. All of these scenarios are true, and I’ve personally experienced all of them and many more. So yes, you can sell anything and everything by telephone – even million-dollar sales are possible. My personal best was a $6 million sale of engineer products. Our Major Account Call Center (MACC) made sales ranging from $25K to $250K and three over a million during our first year. They sold fueling services, mobile maintenance, software, medical devices, af...

Coaching made easy In the previous post, you learned how to determine if work planning, training, or coaching is necessary to improve the proficiency of a targeted behavior.  Let's assume that at the end of the questions, the answer to improving the behavior is coaching.  So, let's explore how to use a quick three step method that follows a modified  Tell, Ask, Tell  sandwich method. The three core steps: Tell the person something you like about what they did or how they did it. Ask them how they could improve the targeted behavior to achieve the desired proficiency. Tell them something specific about what you like about how they will go about improving their behavior. Start by connecting on a positive note. No one likes to be called out. "Constructive criticism" still stings.  Notice in this technique, you never told the person that they did something wrong. Your focus is on incremental improvement until they achieve the desired level of proficiency. Th...

Coaching Diagnostic with the Triad of Performance When you are not getting the level performance you expect, then you must determine what’s causing it and take the appropriate action. Ask the questions, document how you know your answers are correct, then take the right action. 1. Does the person know “what” to do? If you can demonstrate how you know they know “what” to do, then move on to the next question. If not, then it’s time to sit down with them to do work planning, so it is clear what they are to be doing and at what level of proficiency. 2. Does the person know “how” to do it? How do you know? Have they demonstrated proficiency doing it in the past? If not, get the person training. 3. Is the person doing it at the required level of proficiency? After you’ve answered the first two questions in the affirmative, and performance is still not there, now it’s time to coach. A part of coaching is to explore obstacles blocking optimal performance and work with them to resolve tho...