I love to share the story of Colonel Sanders when he was struggling and trying to get what would later become “KFC” on the map.

The long and the short of it, is that he took over 1000 “Nos” before his first “Yes”.

Pretty amazing when you think about it but who really cares about him!

Seriously, this is a great motivational story but . . .

What does it have to do with you?

Unless you’re selling fried chicken!

But, it actually has everything to do with you when you answer this simple question . . .

How many “Nos” do you have in you?

If you’re like most sales reps, you might be giving up after only 3 attempts with a potential customer.

Heck, there was even this self appointed Cold Calling guru who attempted to contact me in my former position and gave up after 2 attempts.

And just to be clear . . .

This wasn’t after 2 conversations . . .

This was after 2 (really bad) voicemails within 3 weeks.

And this dude is teaching people to cold call!

So, why do we give up?

1) In many cases it’s a fear that we might be pestering the other person. Unless you’re calling them everyday (and immediately emailing them after every voicemail) I’d say you haven’t been at it long enough to pester them.

I did a consulting project for a very successful entrepreneur recently who asks his team “If you knew someone was bleeding and you had a way to stop the bleeding, would you worry about pestering them?”

2) Sometimes we give up because we haven’t mapped the communication properly. That basically means we just aren’t creative enough to think of a quality message in that split second between when the alert in our CRM goes off and when we reach for the phone.

My suggestion would be to create a generic map of what your typical communication will look like with your potential customers.

Example:

Touch #1: Intro email. If no response then 2 two days later

Touch #2: Intro call #1 or Intro Voicemail #1 If I connect but they turn me down, then handwritten thank you. If I leave a voicemail and no return call then 1 day later

Touch #3 Fed Ex or snail mail. If no reply 1 week later

Touch #4 Email link to a private 60 second YouTube video. At the end of the video tell them a specific day and time you will call them.

Touch #5 Call them. If voicemail then  Voicemail #2 then wait 3 days

Touch #6 Send a useful resource to them

Get the idea?

Taking an approach like this keeps it interesting for them and you too. It makes you less predictable.  It also acknowledges that everyone has a preferred venue for communication. When we limit our efforts to just the phone, we limit our opportunities. It embraces a concept I teach my clients called “communication mapping”

3) We’re too busy looking for instant gratification. I do believe it’s important to focus on your highest probability prospects but that doesn’t mean you should come to that conclusion in the first 3 attempts.

4) Our ego. Sometimes we get so caught up in some “Callback Entitlement” thing we say “Screw them if they can’t see how awesome I am” and we move on. And how dare they not return your call and buy from you? After all, you’ve busted your ass and spent all of about 90 seconds leaving them voice mails. Right?

Here’s my crazy philosophy . . .

You will buy from me. It may not be today or tomorrow but if I’ve set my sights on you, you will buy from me someday between now and my retirement dinner.

And Uncle Paul has a long way to go before the retirement dinner (especially with 3 kids in college)

Taking a longer term “courtship” approach helps put it all into a bigger picture.

You sort of need the patience to court with the urgency to keep showing up!

Time Out: This doesn’t mean that I focus only on those long term courtships, it means that I don’t exclude them from my overall efforts.

Well enough about me, this isn’t about me.

It’s about you

It’s about your team and . . .

How willing and how quickly you’re giving up.

WARM Up Your Cold Calls

Next to emails, the phone is easily THE noisiest channel when it comes to reaching out to a potential client!

And since they are overwhelmed with the high volume of calls . . .

They have assistants filtering them (the topic of today’s post)

Voicemails stopping them and if you’re lucky enough to get through . . .

You’re dealing with a person who will make a really quick judgment as to whether or not you’re worthy of being heard, let alone being granted an appointment.

Sadly, less than 3% of cold calls result in an appointment!

According to a report from IBM, only about 3% of all the calls you’re making result in the appointment. If you’re like most people, you think that the old “Sales is a numbers game” philosophy fixes that when all you’re really doing is more of something that was ineffective! That’s why I thought it might be time to ROCK your phone calls with a special 90 minute webinar!

Here’s what I’m going to share . . .

• 30 ways to find potential clients who have a higher probability of needing what you sell, TODAY. Can you say “URGENCY”?
• How to craft an objection resistant dialogue that gets their attention in the first 10 seconds. I’m also going to send you a few templates to help you along.
• How to proactively prevent skepticism, doubt, resistance and, I might as well say it, OBJECTIONS.
• How to respond to typical objections like “Not interested/No need” “Have a supplier/Under contract” “Too busy”.
• How to respond to typical stalls, like “Call me back next month, next year, after the holidays, next millennium etc” “Send me your information” etc.
• How to generate, at least 3 additional phone appointment, each week.
• How to ask for access to a higher level decision maker without insulting your contact.
• 4 types of voice mails that will set you apart from your competition. I’m also going to send you the templates for these. You’re welcome!

When?

September 22nd at 11:30 am EST. Can’t make it that day? Sign up anyway and I’ll send you the recording later that day. View any time you’d like during the next 30 days.

Where?

Your computer screen. Join us from your favorite chair!

Here’s What You’ll Get . . .

(1) 90 minute workshop with over 30 ideas to dramatically improve the phone calls you’re making! A 10 page downloadable workbook A reinforcement email after the workshop complete with a special bonus PDF and a recording of the workshop. Oh, and I’m also going to send you a few templates to help you craft a better opening statement and leave better voice mails.

What’s The Investment?

$99 and the best part is that you don’t have to sell off a kidney or rush to the store to cash in your deposit bottles to join us!

You don’t have to have a PayPal account to pay with PayPal. Simply select “Pay with a debit or credit card or Bill Me Later” after hitting the “Buy Now” button!