1. Go in Prepared
Going into a meeting unprepared is like walking out of your front door stark naked in the middles of a snow storm – you are leaving yourself completely exposed and the chances of you freezing when it comes down to the “important bits” is extremely likely. Going in prepared can be as simple as writing some bullet points down of the topics you want to cover or put some key questions together which spark an emotional reaction. You can go so far as to have the whole conversation planned out in the form of a script, which will lead your prospect down a certain path and anticipate the objections before they arise. It is not limited just to the words you use but also how efficiently you can get the deal signed off and get the job done. Keep the services/products specific to the needs of the customer and package them in that way and you will find that decisions get made easier and quicker. Have your paperwork ready; know your processes and turnaround times to get work completed. It’s about so much more than just knowing your products. When you have all of this prepared and you know it like the back of your hand, you will not only increase your chances of getting the deal signed off, but you will also be more confident in yourself and your work. Your productivity goes up, you are more enthusiastic about your work and you will start to find that signing deals becomes a whole lot easier. Always prepare for the best possible outcome.
2. Objections are opportunities
I’ve seen some of the most talkative and “out there” people completely freeze and go quiet when presented with objections in a cold-calling environment. It stems from a misunderstanding of what an objection actually is: An opportunity to gain real trust and be seen as an advisor. Your prospect is not saying “NO” to you, instead they are saying that they don’t fully understand what you are explaining or don’t trust you fully yet. This is an amazing opportunity because the fact that they are giving you this feedback means that they are fully engaged with you. From here it is as simple as finding out what the real reason they are giving you the objection is and deal with it in a way that gains their trust. This really flows on from going in unprepared. Get real clear on what your product/service can and can’t do. Make it specific to your target market and you will be able to anticipate objections before they even arise. You can even bring up the most common objections that people have with the customer and show them how you deal with them up front. As long as your customer is engaged with you and bringing up their fears/concerns/uncertainties you have a real shot of making the deal happen. How you react to objections is often the breaking point for any interaction, people are not always up front when it comes to money, so most instances there will be an underlying reason why you are getting the objection. If you already accept this and believe it is an opportunity for you to show you can be trusted, new creative ways of dealing with objections start to arise. Some simple examples: “I’ll have to think about it...” – you have not given the customer the information needed to make the decision or have not developed enough trust/confidence to give the go-ahead immediately “Can you send me something in the post/email?” – This can be either you have not captured their attention and they are trying to brush you off or you are not explaining it in a way that makes sense. People generally forget what you tell them but always remember how they felt during the interaction, make yourself stand out and capture attention “I’m happy with what I have” – when customers say this they have not seen the benefit in your product. Think about a time when a cellular company has called you and you hear the person on the other end of the line reading off a script and not engaging you at all. First thing that happens is you switch off and stop listening, then come the famous words… “No thanks, I’m happy with what I have”. Engage, inspire and show how your product/service adds value to their business in monetary terms and how it can better functionality.
3. Pilot shirts and Clip-On Ties
Look the part for your business, better yet be the part. If you went into a BMW dealership that sells cars and has an onsite workshop and you want the best advice for servicing and replacing parts, who’s opinion do you most trust? The salesperson who is dressed in the suit and tie who sits behind the desk all day talking to customers or the mechanic in the golf shirt with greasy hands who actually works on the cars? Think of some stereotypes, we’ve all seen them and whether they are accurate or not, if a certain job is brought up, people expect you to dress a certain way. Plumbers – jeans that are too big and sagging and shirts that are too small Electricians – overalls with a hard safety hat, gloves and a tool belt Handyman – jeans, a t-shirt and a tool belt Car salesman – smart pants and a button up shirt, either short sleeve or long sleeve Investment banker/stock broker – Leonardo di Caprio in “Wolf of Wall Street” These stereotypes can be positive or negative, depending on how you use it and what you do with it. Here is a story to illustrate this: When I was in the UK, we used to sell gas and electric door-to-door, so instead of dressing up like a salesman in pants and a shirt, we were given a uniform; we were dressed as “the gas man”. There was no official uniform, so we made one up that resembled what a “gas man” should look like. We wore safety boots that had to be scuffed at the tip, blue cargo pants, a light blue pilot shirt with lapels on the shoulders, a clip on tie and a fleece jacket with a name badge around our neck. When people opened up the door, they thought we were “the gas man” and would give us a few minutes to talk. If we had not dressed the part, the customers would not have given us the time to talk to them and we would not have been able to show them how good the product was and how they could save money. You will always take advice from someone that is an expert in their field, so if you look like the part of the expert, there is a much greater chance that your advice and your products will be taken over someone that does not look the part.
4. Certainty in Pausing
Pausing can be your greatest ally in many situations, not only when looking to close a deal. But in social interactions, negotiations, dating, public speaking, seminars and any other place where people have conversations. It can be used to get a point across, to buy yourself time to respond to a difficult question or statement, to make sure people are listening and staying interested in your conversation, to add suspense, to be in control, capture funny moments and many more. The biggest mistake most people make when it comes to cold-calling and selling is that they don’t keep quiet after asking questions and after making great points. They talk over the customer instead of letting them respond. It is the difference between the customer saying: “I want to think about it.” and “Ok, So how do we get started?” You don’t necessarily know if the response from the customer will be positive or negative, but if you don’t give the opportunity to respond and engage, you’ll never find out. This happens most often when asking for the money. The moment there is a break or pause in the conversation the salesperson will get anxious and start talking about other benefits of what it can do and completely oversell. A better way to do it would be to ask a simple question after the presentation: “So what excites you the most about this?” keep quiet and let the customer tell you what they love about it. if you are after a new sale and the customer is telling you how excited they are about your product/service and you are just letting them sell themselves, do you think it will be more difficult to close or WAY easier?
5. Ask questions that lead to the end goal
Have you ever had encounters where you land up talking to your prospect for ages and the deal does not get signed or you don’t achieve your goal? You land up talking about friends, family, hobbies, vacations, anything but what you were there to talk about and you can’t seem to get them back on track? Next thing you look and you have not what you went there to do but have been sitting there for over an hour and you’re frustrated. I’ve had many of those encounters and while it is good to build rapport, the tone and manner of the meeting and keep must be established up front, business first and chat thereafter as much as you like or can handle (in some cases). Prepare your questions ahead of time, know where your product benefits their business and how it can move them forward and ask questions that get them answering in a way that leads to your goal. This is not an exercise where you blatantly ignore the customer; rather, you acknowledge what has been said, don’t go into too much detail with your reply and ask your next question. If the customer continues to stray off the path you want them to walk, you can take a more direct approach: “Let’s get business out of the way and then let’s discuss some fun stuff, I’d love to hear your stories and I’ve got some great ones for you, but let’s finish this first, ok?”
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About Author(s)
Matthew Clark
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Matthew started off his professional career in cold-calling going door to door, which for any of you who have gone door to door selling know how challenging that can be. Matthew looked at the...
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