In sales you need to get your point across and also be considerate of your prospect’s time… It’s tempting to email someone who you don’t know and be polite and formal… “Dear Mr. So and So, I’m writing because…” Or “Hi James, Good talking with you the other day…” Leading with a salutation (eg. “Hi James”) often works fine in an initial email… However, if a sales relationship takes shape, with multiple emails, calls, whatever, I think it often makes sense to lose the salutations in subsequent emails. This conveys…
Read MoreCategory: Cold Calling
Feed Your Prospects Occasional Emptiness
When prospecting, feed your prospects occasional periods of emptiness… This way they will not be sick of you when you call them again.
Read More6 Legit Sales Statistics (And Techniques That Work)
For about the past 4 years I’ve had a printout of cold calling sales statistics on the wall of my office… It’s from the “National Sales Executive Association”. You’ve probably seen these before… These sales statistics are a good motivator because they remind me that while cold calling is hard, I should push through the pain because there’s a light at the end of the tunnel if I persevere. The bad news about these stats is that apparently the “National Sales Executive Association” doesn’t exist… So the stats are made…
Read MoreThinking Makes It So
The Waking Up Course is a great way to practice meditation. The course features over a month of guided meditations by Sam Harris… Each day the host of the Waking Up Podcast offers insight into the practice of vipassana, or “insight meditation”. Day 20 of The Waking Up Course contains a powerful lesson or concept… It gave me a new perspective on the experience of meditation. The lesson I learned in Day 20 is that every thing (such as a thought or sensation) experienced in consciousness is experienced in the…
Read MoreA Whole Different Animal…
Sam Harris’s “Waking Up Course” may give you a fresh perspective on how you think. I’m only on Day 12… But one of the things I’ve noticed consistently is that after each session I feel like I have a healthier relationship with my mind and my own thoughts. Since the quality of your entire life is determined by the quality of your mind, it would seem that this course may be priceless in terms of its potential value if it improves my mind even a little. Even though I had…
Read MoreThey’re Insecure Too…
That person you met who you felt a connection with. You have something in common with them, maybe a mutual friend. Maybe an interest. You want to reach out to them but you are afraid… Your fear is telling you a fictional story that this new person you don’t know yet somehow thinks you’re a fraud. You are afraid they don’t want to talk to you… But one of two scenarios is more likely… 1) They’re not thinking about you at all. 2) They want to reach out to you…
Read MoreIt’s Just “Yes” or “No”
Before cold calling… Remember it’s just a “yes” or “no” you’re looking for. That’s a pretty low bar to help you get started.
Read MoreLeading To, Not With
Most salespeople today deliver with sales presentations by leading with information about how great their company is. But this isn’t really the way it should be. And it’s very likely that your sales prospect is merely enduring the beginning portion of your presentation, the part with the slides about your company… Silently wondering when you’re going to get to the point. The point being: Them The book “The Challenger Sale” flips the conventional sales presentation concept on its head. The sales strategy in The Challenger Sale is not leading with…
Read MoreOrvis is the New Brooks Brothers
Orvis is officially the new Brooks Brothers. For years I shopped at Brooks Brothers for shirts, pants, sweaters, ties, etc. But it has been sucking for so long that I think really Orvis is the new default choice for cool, preppie clothing. Why doesn’t Brooks Brothers develop a cool line of casual fleeces with the BB logo…? Why does Orvis sell Barbour jackets and clothing and Brooks Brothers does not…? What genius made that decision…? Why doesn’t Brooks Brothers offer the basic staples like a nice light blue gingham long…
Read MoreIncrease Your Chances of Success
Pick up the phone and call someone who you think you can help. The worst case scenario is not them saying “no”. The worst case scenario is not having that opportunity in the first place. If you don’t ask, the answer is always “no”. Just by asking you have increased your chances of success by 100%. From there, who knows…? Ask sincerely, get your answer, and move on to the next one.
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