Stop Selling Like You’re Walking On Egg Shells!
Doyle Slayton | Oct 21, 2009 | Comments 24
Do you want to know why some sales people are struggling? Because they are believing all the whiners, sales snipers, and so called gurus who like to “talk” sales instead of “make” sales. These “big talkers” are filling everybody’s head with junk!
I’ve had enough of hearing people talk about how “prospects like to buy, they don’t want to be sold”. I’m tired of hearing that sales is “all about building relationships”. I’m sick of hearing that “cold calling is dead,” intrusive, and whatever else!
The reason people say these things is simple… in a lazy kind of way. Why do they say it? Because it’s work. Hard work. That’s it. They don’t want to work. They want it to come easy, but sales isn’t that kind of job. Selling is a job for mentally tough, strong-willed, highly motivated “workers.”
We are professional sales people. We make big things happen! We don’t have time, in fact, we can’t afford to wait for somebody to walk through our front door and place an order. We weren’t built that way. We were born to sell!
Now, I’m not talking about being some kind of punk, pushy, sales jerk. I’m talking about professional persistence, making yourself a priority, and having the confidence to get out there and win deals!
Prospects Like to Buy, They Don’t Want to Be Sold. What does that mean?!!! This is a perfect example of sales people walking on egg shells. Hey, if I know you are interested in my product, I’m going to aggressively pursue you! By aggressive, I mean I’m going to be on the ball… schedule an appointment right away… do a needs analysis… follow-up, follow-up, follow-up with answers, updates, and compelling reasons to buy from me!
Selling is All About Relationships. One of my teammates was talking to a prospect today. She told him straight up, “I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m looking for a vendor who is going to live up to their promises and do the job I’m paying them to do.” I’ve said it before, relationships begin after the sale, not before! Let’s stop tip toeing around talking about relationships. The reason we engage a prospect is because we want them to buy our product. There’s no need to sugar coat it. Our prospects are too smart for that.
Cold Calling is Dead. I heard a sales manager say, “I don’t buy from people who cold call.” (Can you believe a SALES MANAGER said that?) Oh really? Well, I guess that means we won’t be doing business. We’ll focus on the thousands of other prospects who will. If we don’t cold call, prospects won’t know we exist. At least 95% of my business comes from cold calling!
The worst sales people I’ve seen, failed because they suffered from call reluctance. They weren’t bad people, they were just bad about not picking up the phone. These folks looked sharp, they acted like they were big time, but they didn’t sell much.
The best sales people I know are cold calling machines. They are hunters! Like anyone else, they go through dry spells where they can’t seem to buy an appointment, but they power through it. In the end, their name always sits at the top of the stack rankings.
Stop selling like you’re walking on egg shells. Be professionally persistent and aggressive. You have the skills to handle it the right way… like a pro. Let’s go win!
You wouldn’t, by chance, be quoting Jeffery Gittomer, would you? I read the article that said all those things — agreed with some of it, didn’t agree with the rest of it.
The main problem salespeople really face is – TA DA – there are few hard & fast rules. What works with one prospect/client doesn’t work with others. For example, I prefer to work with prospects/clients who have a sense of humor, but early in my career I learned that not everyone has one. Does that mean I can’t sell to these people — absolutely not. It means I have to change my tone, my presentation, and my exchanges with these people to meet THEIR needs, not mine.
I agree with you that anyone who doesn’t know how to prospect hard isn’t going to succeed, but I agree with Gittomer when he says that referrals are far more effective for getting in the door. I do my very best to use both.
When reading articles by sales “experts”, every sales professional needs to keep in mind that these are individuals with different styles, and that what works for them may or may not work for you.
I agree that you have to change your style to match that or possibly complement that of your target.
I deliver Negotiation Skills classes globally and of course for my delegates, cultural differences play a part, but their target’s personality profile is key and if the sales person has a clue to the person’s DiSC profile, it should give them a good idea where to start.
First stop is the role the person has, which although not set in stone, can give a good idea of where they are coming from, what style they warm to, what irritates them, etc.
If you have communication from them, look at the style. Are they formal, do they include reams of detail, or are they laid back and informal – more clues!
The importance of selling is ensuring you are sending the right message in the right format.
As Helen stated, she ‘enjoyed’ selling to people with a sense of humour, and she felt more comfortable and less stressed. Of course she could change her style, but she would proably have felt mentally tired at the end of the day.
Remember, just because you think a presentation, a pitch or a communication is compelling, it DOES NOT mean the target will. As a general rule, sales people love pictures and very little detail, whereas purchasing and commerical people prefer lots of detail and NO PICTURES.
The first rule of successful selling is therefore: “Know Your Target and structure your approach accordingly”, you’ll be surprised how successful you can be. Happy selling?
Thought provoking post,
Typically we are on the same page, however this time we may have two different views.
Let me ask you…do you like to be sold? I have studied this for over 25 years and the answer is “no”. If you ask if people like to buy…the answer is “yes”.
In Market leading organizations their marketing team actually did there jobs and got out of the office and understands buyers, buyer processes and buying criteria. With this knowledge they build tools that enable salespeople based on buyers today as I discuss in my blog http://tinyurl.com/nclwne .
When marketing does its job, buyers who have problems find us and they become leads. Because the message is in the buyer’s voice written for that buyer persona, they are “good” leads and you do not need to do cold calling.
If your marketing sucks and is all about how great you’re company is, or about features and benefits… then start dialing for dollars.
The reality is as salespeople we do make it happen. Understand the power you have…who dos the CEO call the night before the board meeting? CFO? CMO? No! He calls the VP Of sales. Use hat influence and if you are not being set up to win, make your needs known.
Top three things we as salespeople must do?
1. Listen
2. Explain how we can solve the problem we heard
3. Follow up
Sales today do not have to be hard, if your marketing is smart…so that means 90% of us must keep working hard.
Mark Allen Roberts
http://www.outbsolutions.com
Right-on Doyle…
What a timely post, Doyle! While I do believe that effective networking, cultivating strategic alliances and leveraging referrals are critical components to a sales professional’s long-term success, if they can not do massive cold-calling, either by phone or knocking on doors to get started, they will fail.
Massive activity pays … and it starts with smilin’ and dialin’ your target market to get those appointments now!
Of course cold calling is important. This doesn’t mean creating a network and relations aren’t just as important.
Having the right relations and network allows you to be the first one with all the right information. By the way in many cultures you won’t sell unless you’ve created a relation first, especialy in the Arab countries this is the case. But yes you will have to call them first.
There’s not just one rule for sales.
Couldn’t agree with you more. If you believe in your products and services and spend time to determine who could really benefit from your offering, then you OWE it to your prospects to be persistent. I’d be remiss if I didn’t call you 20 times and finally get you on the phone. Prospects constantly tell us, “I’m really glad you stuck with me. I had no idea that something like this was out there to help me.”
Cold calling and persistance pays off, especially in this market. Sixty to seventy phone calls a day. I’m getting business from prospects that I have called for 4 – 5 years, once a quarter and maybe spoken to once or twice. I call and email quarterly and send a letter with some marketing materials and business card once a year. Client’s respons “Pat, your persistance has finally paid off, I need your help”. Now the relationship building has started and the goal is to build of this opportunity and develop the account. In my business (staffing and recruitment) it’s a hunter-farmer strategy that works best.
Everyone has an example of what works and what doesn’t in selling, and each “works” in some way. It’s activity that breeds results, not discussions about activities. Like Nike says, just do it! If you’re not seeing results, try something else…tweak your efforts, listen, ask, watch, be in the now. And do it with passion!
Great post Doyle. There are a lot of cliches that get spouted over and over and I hear your frustration. Obviously as others have posted, ultimately a balance of methods to reach and sell to prospects is ideal. But the reality is… as we like to say, “SELL” is NOT a four letter word!
Doyle,
At times all the relationship and “touch-feely” stuff gets on my nerves too. We understand what people mean by building a relationship and research your client, find a problem, offer solution, think quality not quantity and all the other jazz.
I think that we have to realize that there are companies who, rightly in my opinion make lead generation a part of marketing and if they do their job well then the sales people can spend more time doing what they do best, selling and not dialing.
With that said, if you are with a small company or self-employed and/or do not have a separate marketing department, then we have to do it all, which means generating our own leads. I don’t know about you but I’ve never been able to meet quota or goal by working just leads that I’ve been given.
So I agree with you and Pat mostly, as I know that other stuff has a part; However, I think on the whole part, it is just written by folks who want to sell books and seminars and not be super-sellers!
Thanks for the post,
Kory
Just do it!
Try it, change it, tweak it, push on it and make it work for you. If it does not work, don’t bad-mouth it because you should have already found what works for you.
If you don’t cold call, you are a clerk, not a salesperson.
I am in the commercial finance business. In the beginning, all I did was cold call, to let banks, attorneys and accountants that if they had clients who needed financing but were having trouble getting money from a bank, I could help them. At that point, all of my business came form cold calling.
Now 80% of my business is from referrals from the cold calls I made that developed into solid relationships, based on our performance. I love to cold call and do so every chance I get, meeting new people and sharing the Options Lending Group value proposition with new centers of influence.
Success is often the result of doing what most people will not do or are afraid to do. Embrace this concept and success will follow.
As sales professionals we do hear it all, pros & cons of cold calling, features v benefits, importance of relationships, social networking (etc.!) While I see many in sales fall victim to the latest & greatest, we all know that we each have our own personal style that works for us, and target our presentations to our audience.
Bottom line, true “Hunters” need to act “as if” and do so with confidence. I see sales people eaten alive when going in assuming that the answer will be “no”. Of course it will be no if that is what you believe!
Clients do understand the fact that budgets have been scaled down, that they are being asked to do more with less….however, they also understand that it is business as usual and that they still have a need for our goods & services.
Sales is not for the “faint of heart”; it takes guts, tenacity, patience and a whole lot of grit to make it happen. So what are we waiting for??
Half of what you say is complete rubbish and half is brilliant. I’ll leave it at that.
Cold calling is nowhere near dead. It’s just hard work that takes tenacity, patience, and skill. Making 65-100 dials per day can be exhausting and discouraging when ten of those people are rude. However, you have to remember the value of a yes.
Not only am I a WORKING cold caller but I’m also a former gatekeeper. I do lead generation work where my initial cold calling, qualifying, and appointment setting leads to sales valued at $100,000 or more per contract. That’s $1 million to $2 million dollars of revenue annually minus salaries and expenses. So how is that a waste of time?
I discuss the psychology of cold calling in detail in my new e-book “Six-Figure Cold Calling.” It’s available for immediate download on my website (a full three months before the release of the paperback version). The book is perfect for anyone who sells products or services valued at six figures or more or for anyone who earns or wants to earn six figures or more doing cold calling work. This blog is mentioned as an educational resource too.
Best regards,
Emanuel (E.R.) Carpenter
Author of “Six-Figure Cold Calling”
I agree with some points and disagree with others. Yep we all can point to a client who does not want a relatoionship one example does not make the whole. Nine out of ten of my clients want a relationship.Understanding and knowing your client is a steadfast rule.
While I don’t like cold calling, I ‘get,’ that it’s effective for those who do enough of it to get positive responses, and it can even build skills.
Personally, I prefer to put my efforts into developing referral partner relationships with the right members of my contact sphere. These people are actively looking for members of my target market, and when I get these referrals, I know they likely want my service. I do still have to close the sale, though, so objections need to be met, value propositions defined, i.e. selling has to be done.
Mark Storey
Certified Networker of Columbus
Doyle – always find your perspectives of interest.
Clear that they have been forged thru many, years of hard knocks.
Have two perspectives to offer – in society (in certain circles), it has become fashionable to speak of being from a dysfunctional family or have been enabled.
Similar to your viewpoint on the things that limit Sales effectiveness, it has become fashionable for many to “rationalize” all the trappings that are holding them back from achieving greatness.
Secondly – Sales used to be (along with other professional disciplines) a spawning ground for creativity, resourcefulness and innovation – this was primarily derived from the diversity and range of challenges, opportunities and related problem-solutions that professional Sales people encountered (everyday).
There was no end-point and no single challenge ever flat-lined, a Street Warrior.
Feel some of those qualities and characteristics need to be revitalized and put back into practice.
Last Point: It is clear that everyone needs the foundation – the basics – however, that is a starting point.
We all need to keep building and diversifying our skill set and discovering new approaches/techniques that keep pace with a continuously, changing Marketplace.
The same old stuff, gets the same old results.
Good Hunting!
Edmond Hawkeye Hennessy
The Market Warfare Guy
Great debate.
Cold calling is fine but listening to no-answer tones; voice mails and discovering people hiding behind email really sucks!
So … lets get clever. Research prospects; use all the contact media available; network at industry and trade show events etc.
There is no one method that will work except ensuring that one speaks to as many people who can help you, as is possible; and using a combination of all prospecting tools.
Richard Hodgson
Telweb Communications
Great for provoking comment Doyle and thank you for the post. What comes across loud and clear in this post is that this is THE way to do things to get results.
The only area I truly disagree with: You only build relationship after the sale. Frankly, that’s bullshit! We’re building relationships ALL of the time. Ever heard of first impressions being the lasting ones? Everyone with a modicum of intelligence knows that a sale is made when the conditions between two parties are favourable on both sides. Agreement on the deliverables that satisfy both the external logic and internal politics in other words.
Activity produces results, it’s true. People like both to buy and be sold (who hasn’t witnessed great salesmanship at expo’s and been impressed by it?). There are others who like neither!
Bottom line is if we buy from people we know like and trust, or at least one of those categories, then relationship building skills are paramount, otherwise the hard work that you talk about in the beginning of your post can be done by the product or service being offered, rendering the salesperson obsolete
BRAVO!!!! I agree with you 100%. I read that cold call is dead b.s. and lets be real he wrote that just to get attention from all the sales people. It was a very catchy title. Aside from that it offered nothing new to the game, or further more any reasons to stop cold calling.
[...] Doyle Slayton has had enough of hearing people talk about how “prospects like to buy, they don’t want to be sold”. He’s tired of hearing that sales is “all about building relationships”. He’s sick of hearing that “cold calling is dead,” intrusive, and whatever else! The reason people say these things is simple… in a lazy kind of way. Why do they say it? Because it’s work. Hard work. That’s it. They don’t want to work. They want it to come easy, but sales isn’t that kind of job. Selling is a job for mentally tough, strong-willed, highly motivated “workers.” [...]
http://gaming.goeszen.com/nintendods-emulation-and-games-list.html