I read a review in the Globe and Mail on a book from an author named Seth Godin called Small is the New Big. I wanted to share a quote with you from the book:

Hard work is about risk. It begins when you deal with the things you would rather not deal with: fear of failure, fear of standing out, fear of rejection. Hard work is about training yourself to leap over this barrier, tunnel under that barrier, drive through the other barrier and after you’ve done that, to do it again the next day.

What rang true for me in the quote is how relevant it is to the everyday life of successful sales professional. Four hours of focused, proactive prospecting is much harder work than ten hours of reactive selling!

Our?success as sales professionals is dependant on Godin’s definition of hard work; personal risk taking and constantly stretching outside your comfort level.

Check out Seth’s blog:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/06/small_is_the_ne.html

I’m a firm believer that activity is the key driver behind sales results. There is never a bad time to reach out to clients you haven’t talked to in a while to ask ‘what’s up’. In our sold accounts, sales people can become complacent, not realizing that our end users have short memories.

End users and buyers get in buried in their business, running projects, attending multiple meetings and a short email can secure the opportunity to bid on a good sized project that will drive your numbers up.

I encourage my sales team to have some short, easy email templates set up in their CRM software that simply ask a client ‘hows it going?’. The idea is that every week they take an hour, use an email template, and touch 30 dormant accounts to see if they can scratch up some interest. Where as a call will most likely get screened and go to voicemail and ultimately deleted, a soft email touch will put the reps contact info at hand and easily accessible if something comes along.

It is critical that as a team someone is watching and monitering neglected accounts on an ongoing basis and keeping your businesses’ contact info fresh in your client’s minds. In a lot of cases clients buy based on convenience, and will often send a job to the last person that puts a call into them. Make sure that you are that last person!

Sometimes I see a sales guru in print suggesting a technique so unrealistic and outrageous I don’t even bother to get upset. I know most sane people would dismiss it.However, here’s one I’ve seen at least three times within the past month, each attributed to a different person, each time in a different publication or on-line source. I must address it.

The tip is always aimed at outside reps setting appointments by phone. These goofball “authorities” suggest when you’re having a difficult time reaching a buyer and getting screened, or they’re not returning calls . . . leave a message on voice mail saying,

“I’m having a difficult time reaching you. I would like to meet with you to show you what we can do for you. I’ll be in your area, and unless I hear from you otherwise, I’ll interpret that as a sign of interest, and I’ll stop by at 9:00 a.m. on Friday.”

You’ve got to be kiddin’ me! Heck, why stop with the appointment? Why not say,

“Since you haven’t returned my messages, I assume you want to buy from me. I’ll ship 30 cases right out to you unless I hear from you before Friday.”

How pompous. How idiotic. When I read nonsense like this, everything else the author says has no credibility with me, since I must assume he’s not speaking from experience.

Recommendation

So why does any salesperson not get calls returned, or get screened out? Simple. Their listeners do not perceive returning the call (or, putting the call through in the screener’s case) as worthwhile, containing anything of value to them.

Many sales people create errors of omission (not saying anything of value to persuade the listener otherwise, or being evasive with a screener) or commission (leaving messages that are salesperson-oriented and product-centered, which scream out, “I only care about selling something!”

As we’ve talked about so many times here, when attempting to reach a buyer be certain that you have a results-oriented statement that will pique curiosity. You don’t need to sell them; just get them curious enough to want to spend a little time with you by phone. You can and should use the same ideas you’d present in an opening statement.

For example,

“Mike, the reason I’m calling is that I understand you’re now considering upgrading your office network. Depending on how far you are in the process, I might have a few ways to streamline that upgrade as well as make sure you don’t overspend on hardware. I’d like to ask a few questions to determine if it would be worth our while to spend some time together. My number is . . .”

Trickery and outrageous tactics only contribute to the stereotype of the typical “salesperson.” Articulate the value you can potentially deliver, and you’ll earn the right to speak with more people who can and will buy from you.

About the Author

Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone, is a highly respected author and trainer who specializes in one area only: providing business-to-business salespeople–both inside and outside–with the very best tools, tips and techniques they need in order to effectively use the phone to prospect, sell and service. To see what he can do for your business and sign up for FREE weekly TelE-Sales Tips, go to: http://www.BusinessByPhone.com