The Real Secret to Qualifying Leads |
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Productivity -
Prospecting
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Written by Mike Brooks
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OK, now I want you to pay very careful attention….
I’m going to give you, right now, the Real Secret to what it takes to really qualify a lead. Before I do, though, let me back up just a minute.
Here’s how all this came about. Right now I’m involved with a company whereby I’m listening to and critiquing cold calls. These are qualifying calls. We’ve written the scripts for these reps, put in all the qualifying questions, and now I’m listening and seeing how good a job they are doing. Here’s what I’m finding (and by the way, this is the same thing that I find with ALL of my other clients as well – i.e., that means I’d find it with you, too!).
#1: The first thing these reps are doing is defaulting back to how they’ve been doing it for the last several months (or years). In other words, they haven’t yet begun using the new scripts and new proven techniques word for word yet. And that’s OK. It’s a process.
The good news is that once they do, they will immediately begin qualifying better, understanding true buying motives, and they’ll begin understanding who isn’t likely to be a buyer. That will save them A LOT of time.
#2: But here’s the real secret: After they begin getting comfortable with the scripts and begin asking the key qualifying questions, what will come next are the REAL SECRETS to qualifying the leads. And here’s what it is:
While I’m listening to these calls, what I’m dying for the reps to ask are the things that I would be asking that would tell me if I’m dealing with a prospect who might actually buy in the future, or if I’m dealing with someone who is likely not to buy on the follow up calls. And here are the things they (and YOU) should be asking of all of your prospects (Not in any particular order):
“How often do you check (prices, rates, suppliers, services, etc.) with other companies like mine?”
“Have you found that you can get better (service, pricing, rates, etc.) from another company?”
If so: “Did you go with that other company (or – “Did you give them a try?”)?”
And if not: “Oh, why was that?”
“What would you need to see from our (company, information, service, etc.) that would motivate you to actually try someone different?”
“What part of the decision process are you involved in?”
“What happens next after I give you a (competitive quote, price, service analysis, etc.)?”
“If you like what you see, what would be our next step?”
And then my favorite – a trail close! You absolutely MUST say this at the end of ALL Qualified calls!
“_________, let me ask you, if you like what (we can offer you, pricing, service, availability, whatever is appropriate for your product or service), can you see anything that might stand in the way of us doing business together?” (Note: You can use many different trial closes here – just pick one that matches your product or service the best).
These are the Real Secrets to qualifying a lead. Yes you need to ask the other important qualifying questions that I list in my blog, books and CDs but after you do, you need to find out if you’re really dealing with a buyer, and asking these types of Real Questions is the way to do just that.
Compare these questions (and the kinds of answers you’ll get from them) with the kinds of questions you or your team is currently asking. If you’re far off from them (in other words, you don’t ask them at all), then you need to incorporate them TODAY. Not tomorrow or next week, but TODAY.
I guarantee that when you do, and when you begin getting the Real Answers to these Real Qualifying Questions, and your sales career will begin to dramatically change (and so will your company). This is how you move from the bottom 80% into the Top 20%.
But like everything I give you, don’t take my word for it. Try it and see for yourself. If it works, all you have to gain is hundreds to thousands of extra dollars a month. How good will that feel?
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3 Tips for Finding New Clients |
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Productivity -
Prospecting
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Written by Stu Schlackman
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It was back many years ago and my first day on the job in my new sales career. Nervous? Absolutely! I was driving up to the Knoxville office of the old Digital Equipment Corporation where I spent 15 years of my career. I had just completed the Internal Sales Development Program and was excited to see what it was like to sell computers to people I have never met.
My first assignment was to prospect. So I asked my sales manager, “what do I do?” He smiles, sits me down at one of the many cubicles in the office and says, “start smiling and dialing”. But what number would I dial? He then hands me the yellow pages, asks me to turn to the letter “C” and look under computers. Then what? Well Stu, start calling the companies and see if they would be interested in carrying our computer line as a reseller – finding resellers was my first assignment. 1st call-hi my name is Stu Schlackman with Digital Equipment Corporation and I wanted to see if you would be interested in carrying our line of computers? Digital who-says the prospect? Click! Next call-same opening-no thanks we carry IBM. Next call was a company by the name of Four Phase Computer Systems- hello my name is….. Response? Son, do you realize we compete against Digital? No sir, but thank you that’s good to know. How embarrassing and yes that’s what many of us in sales are afraid of, embarrassment, rejection and the final outcome-futility!
According to recent research, “Finding New Clients” is the 2nd biggest challenge life insurance agents face. This is also true of many other industries. Why? Is it because of the rate of change? That’s part of it. Less demand and more supply, yes again. Many already are doing business with one of your competitors. It can also be a lack of focus in your marketing efforts. Let’s explore 3 ways to target new clients.
 1. First, you have to know what your target market looks like. What is your company known for and what does the ideal prospect look like? Where have you had the best success where the client saw the value and the sales cycle was minimal? If you’ve had repeat business in this market, most likely this would be a good target market to pursue. Define the characteristics of your market and use your existing clients as references and to ask for referrals. This turns a cold call into a warm call. If you have happy clients they are normally willing to help open a few doors with their network of business colleagues. It’s much easier to focus on a target than to have a shot gun approach where you can’t send the same consistent message.
2. Second, you have to offer a compelling reason to meet. What would the client/prospect gain from meeting with you? Can you communicate that message? Again, one of the best approaches is to let them know how you’ve helped other clients, which demonstrates the value you deliver. Can you articulate your value in a brief amount of time? That’s what they need to hear in the first 20 seconds.
3. Third, you have to overcome their objection to meet. As my good friend and Cold Calling 101 expert Barry Caponi would say, prospects will lie to get you off the phone. The best way to handle their objection is to ask them a question that will reveal an issue they are having. It’s the perfect time to say, “Stu that’s exactly why I think it would be worth our time to meet”.
If you want to find new clients – and who doesn’t, you need to do 3 things:
• Intimately understand your target market
• Articulate the benefits that you provide
• Overcome meeting rejection with a well-crafted question
Using and mastering these techniques will fill your pipeline with new prospects and clients.
Good Selling!
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I Hope You Don't Open Your Calls This Way |
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Productivity -
Prospecting
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Written by Mike Brooks
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Because you only have a few precious seconds to make a connection and establish interest, you'd better have a good opening prepared in advance.
Besides being very busy, your prospects probably get a lot of sales calls every week, and many of them from your direct competition. So why would they want to talk to you? What can you do to separate yourself from all the other calls they get?
The answer is that you have to establish a real connection with your prospect and stop sounding like all the other sales reps who call them.
Here is what your competition usually sounds like (I hope you're not doing this!):
"Oh hi Mr. __________, this is _______ _______ with the MLT Group.
__________, we are an industry supply manufacturer and we help companies streamline their production process. We work with many companies in your field and save them between 10 to 15% on the cost of their storage and delivery process. What I'd like to do is ask you some questions to see how our process may save you that kind of money as well. Where are you currently getting your..."
 Do you see how this opening makes no connection with the prospect? Do you see how it just starts pitching at the prospect and doesn't acknowledge that the prospect might be busy, or not interested? Do you see how there is no rapport built here and how it's a one sided conversation?
How do you feel when someone barges in on your day and starts in with a pitch like this? You're probably thinking what most prospects are thinking: "How do I get this sales rep off the phone?!"
Now let's look at the right way to open your call. Your goal in the first few seconds is to make a connection and get them to interact. You have to acknowledge that they may be busy or that you respect their time and you need to establish some rapport and separate yourself from all the other sales reps calling them.
Try this:
"Hi ________ this is _______ _______ with (your company), how's your Tuesday going? Great. Listen, _______, I know you probably get a ton of calls so I'll make this brief.
Let me ask you, if I could show you a better way of tracking and shipping and save you money doing it, would it be worth spending five minutes with me next week to show you how?"
Or,
"What is the one thing you could change that would have a dramatic impact on your productivity and that would save your company money?"
Or,
"If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about how you currently do (their business), what would it be?"
Can you see how this quick questioning approach is more effective than what you may currently be using now? Eighty percent of your competition still barge in on their prospects and open their calls up with a long explanation about what they do and what they offer, and pitch their products and services without checking in with their prospects or establishing any kind of connection. No wonder most people brush them off the phone!
You can separate yourself from this group instantly, starting today, by using the opening technique above. Once again, adapt it to fit your product or service, and then practice it until it's natural and easy for you to use. As you do, you'll begin to notice yourself struggling less, making more connections with interested and qualified buyers, and you'll have more confidence and feel better about yourself. Just like the top 20% do!
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3 Lead Generation Myths That Will Clog Your Sales Funnel & Keep You From Closing More Sales |
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Productivity -
Prospecting
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Written by Joanne Black
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We’ve been told that getting more sales is all about your “activity,” but is it?
Our job as salespeople is to move as many qualified prospects through the sales funnel as quickly as possible—leading to more sales, better clients, and more income.
The traditional sales funnel to attract new business has maintained the same structure for years. There’s a wide opening at the top and a skinny tube at the bottom. The traditional prospecting method crams as many prospects into the top of the funnel as possible, hoping that new clients will magically pop out of the other end. The only thing that mattered was sheer activity.
Today, I’m going to debunk the myth that sheer activity is the ONLY thing that matters along with two other myths that are holding you back from getting more clients now.
3 Sales Lead Generation Myths That Will Hold You Back From Closing More Sales
Myth #1 Sheer Activity is the Only Thing That Matters in Sales
Wrong! Of course, activity is still important, but what really matters is that you feed the right people into the funnel in the first place and nurture those prospects who have been referred to you. Then hasten their passage through the sales funnel. This will decrease the amount of time it takes to you close your sale.
Picture the funnel from the traditional “olden” days. If you just stuff as much as you can into the top of the funnel, it’s more likely that weeds, rocks, sand, and other debris will clog the opening and prevent the steady entry and flow of good business. Try pouring water in a funnel that is filled with debris. The water backs up and nothing moves through. Not a pleasing picture, and not functional business model. It’s certainly not one that fosters an environment for attracting new business.
Myth #2 Sales 2.0 Leads are Qualified
There’s so much that’s wrong about the traditional sales funnel, and it’s gotten worse in the Sales 2.0 world. It’s not a referral-marketing funnel. In the past, we were schooled to throw as many prospects in the funnel as we could find. For example, we were taught to get so-called leads from mailings, trade shows, advertising, networking, newsletters, and speaking. Now in the 2.0 world, we are taught to get so-called leads from blogging, videos, eBooks, free reports, press releases, eZines, affiliate traffic, RSS feeds, and email lists. We can now choose to waste our time by following up on these so-called leads.
I call the leads above “So-called leads” because these aren’t really leads.
They’re inquiries, possibly names—or people just interested in free stuff. Everyone likes free stuff. If we take the time to weed through all this trash, we might actually find a prospect. These people are just prospects. They’re not business referrals. And, they’re still not leads.
Myth #3 It’s Important to Sort “Leads”
We have to change how we talk about leads. Inquiries are not leads. People wanting free stuff are not leads. Neither are those “coveted” lists or files of names. Calling these “leads” borders on insulting.
Leads are people who:
• Are truly interested in talking directly to you about your products and services to see how you can help them
• Match the profile of your ideal client
• Have a budget
• Have a need that you can fulfill
• Are open to pursuing how you can help them attract new business.
Now that’s a qualified business referral.
The best leads are those you have received through a referral. When you receive a qualified referral, you are pre-sold. You have credibility and trust. Your sales time shortens. And, you ace out the competition. When you’ve been referred, you get a new client more than 50 percent of the time. Get more referrals and get these results.
So stop calling everyone and everything a lead. It’s is a waste of your valuable sales time. I’m not just splitting hairs over terminology. It is downright misrepresentation when companies position themselves as lead-generation experts. It sounds so good (so easy), so we jump. And that’s when we get our sales funnel clogged with trash instead of getting more referrals
In this lagging and volatile economy, it’s easy to be lured by business which clogs our sales funnel. We can’t afford to attract the wrong kind of clients to our business. It’s like dumping trash in our sales funnel. A full funnel is only valuable if it’s filled with the kind of clients that are right for you – clients that are qualified and referred.
Think about it: What’s in your sales funnel?
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4. Ability to make the purchase. Have you reached the decision-maker? How many people are needed to make a purchasing decision? Before going full steam ahead with the sale, ensure that all decision-makers are present so you can close. There are few things more frustrating than giving someone your best sales pitch, only to discover that he doesn’t have the authority to wrap up the deal.