I recently ran across an extremely active discussion on LinkedIn. The topic was What's the #1 Voice Mail Mistake Average Sales People Make?

At last tally, the thread had 65+ comments & I thought I'd do some analysis of the sentiments in this hot debate. The first debate point broke down around:

Which is the bigger mistake, leaving or not leaving voice mail?

There were certainly strong opinions on both sides, but the vast majority favored using voicemail as a tool in the sales process.

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The second debate centered around:

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I wanted to share 3 comments that stuck out for me:

 
I would love to hear your thoughts.

• Should sales people be leaving voicemails? 
• What mistakes do see you Reps making?

Recently I ran across a discussion on LinkedIn "What advice would you give this sales manager about customer contact?" (note: the discussion is behind a LinkedIn group gate). In it, an email is shared that a Manager sent to their team. It reads:

Subject: Call your customers 
Team, 

This is a great time to call back your customers. Many of you have not called all your customers for a while. 

Just call and check with them how they are doing. It goes a long way in helping you get additional business.

 One of the commenters offered the following advice:

This advice reminded me of a truly excellent whitepaper follow-up email I received a few weeks back. The email so impressed me that I immediately shared it with my team as an example of what to do.

Since Trish recently shared The Worst Sales Email EVER, I wanted to put up this email as its direct antithesis.
 

What I liked

So what's the takeaway?

I ran across this article from Ardath Albee Staying Top of Mind is Not the Goal for Email Marketing. To re-work her conclusion (bold being my words):

I am very interested in your thoughts. Please feel free to share.

Craig Elias, the creator of Trigger Event Selling is today's guest blogger.
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In your team's efforts to keep their prospect list clean, does a bounced email, or a returned piece of direct mail, trigger them to delete this person from their lists? If so, you are missing one of the biggest opportunities to increase sales.

Here's why...

One of the three keys to sales success is timing - getting to right person at EXACTLY the right time.

When you have the right timing the sale almost happens by itself - no challenges getting to the Decision Maker, understanding their dissatisfaction, presenting a solution, or closing the sale.

So how is a bounced email relevant to timing? Because it's a sign there has been a change in people at the organization. A change in people is the #2 Trigger Event to create timing.

When you harness a bounced email you can:

• Increase close ratios
• Shorten sales cycles
• Sell at higher prices

So how does Sales harness this trigger event? Read on...

Timing and the Window of Dissatisfaction

The best timing is after a Decision Maker realizes that the Status Quo is no longer sufficient but before they start the process of Searching for Alternatives.

During this powerful selling window - the Window of Dissatisfaction - the Decision Maker wants to solve this problem but they are so busy that they haven't gotten to this problem, YET!

According to my research, the average sales person is 5x more likely to make a sale simply by getting to Decision Makers who are in the Window of Dissatisfaction, before the competition.

The Window of Dissatisfaction and Trigger Events

The Trigger Events that shift a Decision Maker from the buying mode of Status Quo into the Window of Dissatisfaction typically fall into one of three categories:

1. Bad Experience: A decision maker has a bad experience with a product/service, with people, or with a provider.
2. Change or Transition: There has been a change or transition in people, places, or priorities within an organization.
3. Awareness: A decision maker becomes aware of the need to change for legal, risk-avoidance, or economic reasons.

I'm willing to bet that any Inside Sales person (with 3+ years selling) already has had several prospects become customers when a buyer, or decision maker, changed.

This change in people is the 2nd most powerful Trigger Event that creates sales opportunities for savvy Inside Sales teams.

The unfortunate thing is that the vast, vast, majority of Inside Sales Reps miss the Trigger Event of a bounced email to get in front of Decision Makers who recently entered the Window of Dissatisfaction.

Harnessing the Trigger Events That Create a Window of Dissatisfaction

Don't miss one of the biggest opportunities to create new customers or generate additional revenue from existing customers.

Know that the Trigger Event of a change in people creates a minimum of three opportunities for a savvy Inside Sales Rep to follow up on.

The next time you get a bounced email, don`t let this trigger you to take people off your direct mail or email newsletter list AND doing nothing else, have your finger on the #2 Trigger Event and follow up on:

1. The person who left - where did they go?
2. The person who left - who took their place?
3. The person who took their place - where did they come from?

You can read more about Trigger Events by visiting http://www.triggereventselling.com/

There are most certainly very strong opinions on the status and future outlook of the Cold Call. Trish's post on Cold Calling 2.0 garnered the most comments this blog has seen in quite some time.

Coincidentally another Brit (I wish I was smart enough to orchestrate this), started an extremely active LinkedIn discussion on the topic.

Jay Powell from Business Intelligence Direct asked:

Jay received 19 answers in 21 hours. This shows me one thing: Cold Calling is as hot a topic for Buyers as for Sellers.

I ran a quick cloud analysis on the keywords used in the 19 answers. Click the image to see the larger version.

Words the buyers used frequently:

• cold
• company
• sales
• vendor

Words the buyers used infrequently:

• information
• listen
• research
• success
• talking

To those that might argue that the Cold Calling 2.0 discussion is being made in a vacuum, I hope this data adds some credibility to the argument. In closing here are few highlights from comments in the LinkedIn discussion.

Thanks for listening and please let me know your thoughts!

(Photo credit: Graham_B)

So what do we mean by elevator pitch? And what makes a great one? A quick show & tell.

We have received a ton of entries to our March Madness ‘Elevator Pitch' Contest. Some good, some great & some just plain weird.

I thought I might share what makes a great elevator pitch in my humble opinion.

So what is an elevator pitch from Wikipedia

Also, from the Startup Nation 2009 Contest

While much too long for a traditional elevator pitch, I couldn't resist sharing this with the group. From Salesforce.com an answer to "What is Cloud Computing?"

Would you consider that clear & concise how about compelling? I'd say so.

So please get your team together and enter the contest. There are some great prizes and it will be fun & quite rewarding.  Plus, wouldn't it be interesting to see what your team has been using for an elevator pitch?

Just for fun here is mine:

Thanks for listening & best of luck!

Who doesn't love inbound leads?

Requests for Quotes, White Papers, Webinars, Contact Us forms, Demo requests, Newsletters responses....and the list goes on.

Sales Teams might be thinking to themselves,

"Wow!  With all of these inbound leads I'm golden.  I'm sure to make my quota.  (Especially since I hate to cold call.) Right?"

Wrong.

Marketing departments are working overtime to generate a specific number of inbound leads each month.  They do their job, so why isn't the sun shining, the birds singing and everyone slam dunking their quotas? 

There are many factors impacting why inbound leads are not always the sales panacea everyone hopes they will be. 

First, who is doing all of this downloading, webinar attending and demo requesting?   Are they the technically curious?  Are they the evaluators?  Are they students working on a paper? 

My point is, chances are the person going to your web site, downloading a white paper, etc. is not the decision maker with an active project, an approved budget and they are not patiently waiting for your sales call.

Has this ever happened to you?  An inbound lead is assigned to you, you have your well crafted, value proposition messaging ready to go.  Over a period of time, you leave your messages, send your emails and nothing.............nada, no return call.

"Hey wait a minute, he contacted us.  He is the one who is interested in how we did such a good job with ABC Company.  Why no call back?"

Don't feel rejected; he's just not that into you. 

So, how do you maximize your return on inbound leads? Here are 3 tips:

1. Define your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
   What level person in the organization is your target? CIO, CEO, VP of widgets? What size company buys your stuff? What verticals have the highest probability to purchase? Net/net - stay focused! Good follow up is always recommended but don't invest too much time in a lead if it doesn't meet your target qualifications. 
   
   
2. Call High
   Lucky you; you got the low level contact on the phone because he was the one that filled out the form.  Ask the contact to champion you up the food chain.  If he won't, call higher up yourself.  Remember the "company" is the lead not the "contact".
   
   
3. Don't One & Done
   If the company fits your ICP but you just can't get them to respond, put them in your "remarket" plan. Contact them again in 6 months. Lots will have changed by then and it might be a better time.
   
   

With inbound leads, you may find that diamond in the rough that is a real prospect.  You may indeed find yourself in an actual sales process or with the promise of a project in the future. 

But then there are those that just wanted information and have no immediate need. You have to sort the wheat from the chaff and you have to do it quickly because your time is valuable and you have a quota to make.

That is the double edged sword of inbound leads. 

Feel free to share any ideas you have on how to more effectively convert inbound leads!

What can I do to increase the productivity of my Inside Sales team? 

In the current selling climate, this question is being asked more and more often by Sales Managers at technology companies.  You can scan LinkedIn to find it asked dozens of times with hundreds of responses. 

Many responses involve ramping new hires, territory reshuffles, training programs, implementing new technologies, etc.  You know, big decisions that will not have an immediate impact on productivity but will over time.

I'd like to share some effective strategies you can put in place today to help you increase the productivity of your team. 

Number 1: The 4x4 Approach

Put "4" contacts from x number of target companies through a "4" touch process - all within 10 business days.  Hey, if you don't have a sense of urgency why should your prospect?

Here is how to best execute the "4" touch process for each contact:

• Day 1:  1^st compelling voicemail.
  Notice the word "compelling"! Your message should not be about you but should reference the issues your buyer is trying to address.

• Day 4:  2^nd compelling voicemail.
  Have the core of your message be a different pain point.  You don't want to repeat yourself; you want to find a new benefit to share with the prospect.

• Day 7:  "Call to Action" email. 
  What do you have to offer?  Time with an "expert"?  A recent study? 

• Day 10:  Final voicemail. 
  Final as in you tell the prospect it is your final message. 

If you don't connect, set a reminder to put them through the process again in 6 months. In the meantime, make sure their status is set to "Remarket" so that Marketing can continue to nurture them - hopefully keeping you "top of mind".

Number 2: The 10x10 Commitment

Let's face it; we all spend significant time answering emails, attending meetings, talking with colleagues, etc. Then, before you know it mid-day has arrived and no calls have been made. Just read Trish's post on The Cost of Email Insanity to see the scale of the problem.

The 10x10 commitment sets the requirement for each Rep to make "10" calls by "10" AM every day. What better way to remain focused on the most important part of Sales, talking to as many decision makers as possible?

Number 3: Power Hours

Power Hours are a committed 1 hour a day focused on nothing but selling. This approach really works and we do it every day at The Bridge Group.  We shut down email and IM and focus only on outbound calling for that 1 hour. To read more, check out our post on the subject here.

Incorporating some or all of these strategies can have an immediate impact on the productivity of your inside sales team.

As always, if you have any suggestions that have worked for you in the past, please comment!

(Photo by mixergirl)

An "objection" is a reason or argument presented in opposition as defined in Merriam-Webster.  For me, I don't need a fancy definition.  I do objection handling on a daily basis whether it's personal or work related.  

On a personal level, with two kids aged 11 and 8, objection handling is part of my daily routine especially with my "tween".  I've already heard, "You're ruining my life . .  ." which usually occurs when we are having a disagreement.  I never thought I would hear these words until she became a teenager . . . but I was wrong.   Most of the time (not always) she and I will come up with an alternate solution we can agree upon.    Mind you, she is the sweetest girl in the world and I wouldn't change her in the least.  Plus she is learning the art of negotiation or in terms of this blog ... Objection Handling.

As an experienced cold caller, here are a couple general Objection Handling tips to help you on your next call.

"Your product sounds interesting, send me some literature."

Or in today's terms, "send me an email and call me next week and hopefully I won't answer the phone".    Okay, so how many times have you heard this objection?  When I encounter this objection, I always feel the prospect is trying to get me off the phone, especially when it is at the beginning of our conversation.  Do you agree?    

Here's one way to handle this objection especially if you haven't qualified the prospect.    "I would be happy to send you appropriate information about our company, what specifically is your area of interest?" 

What this does is it helps you determine if the person is sincere and allows you to focus on a specific area for qualification.  You may be able to answer their questions immediately and eliminate the need for a stall in your sales process while you are sending information.  If they can't describe their area of interest, it means you haven't identified their pain or they simply aren't interested.  Either way, you have a better idea of where you stand with them.   

"I'm busy right now."

If you've read my other post, Sales Referrals Increase your Pipeline & Credibility, I'm a firm believer in using the Help Me Request.  This request has always helped me in my cold calling efforts.

Here's one approach:  "I won't take up your time but maybe you could help me... would you be the appropriate person to speak with regarding xxx"?

What this does is it allows you to confirm that you are attempting to contact the right person and if not, allows you to ask for a referral.

As always, if you have any suggestions that have worked for you, please post them!   And PS.. if you have a tween and have found something that works with the "you're ruining my life objection" - send that along as well!

If I think about the number of "prospects" I've spoken with over the last ten years: # of years "x" the # of calls per day "x" the # of days per year . . . well . . . it's a lot!

I recently read a post by Michael Kreppein  ("Seth calls it "intangibles" I call it "reputation") that struck a chord with me.   Michael talks about his views on a salesperson's "reputation".  Below is an excerpt:

In my mind, reputation ties in with personality and focus. In sales, having a positive attitude and focusing on the prospect's issues is a must.  I truly believe "People buy from People".  The tone of your voice and your body language convey the passion you have for your solution and solving the prospect's problems.

If cold calling is part of your daily regimen, you are typically the first voice a prospect hears about your organization.  You need to not only understand the product you are selling, but also articulate how it solves a particular problem they are experiencing. 

Let's face it sales is a tough job, but the benefits and feelings of accomplishment are so well worth it; especially when customers reward us with repeat business and referrals.

Please feel free to share thoughts & comments about building a great sales reputation.

I recently read a great posting by Keith Rosen on the Sales and Sales Management Blog. Here are 3 excerpts that got me thinking:

Wow....great stuff.

We spend a lot of time with Inside Sales teams at technology companies and the "show up and throw up" syndrome is just as bad over the phone as it is in person. Companies spend hours crafting the right outbound message and process but do they take the same care with their inbound process? Not always.

Here are 3 quick tips that will ensure you maximize your inbound inquiry conversion.

1. Collect information about each inbound inquiry so you know whether or not they fit your Ideal Customer Profile. This will give you a leg up on your pre-call planning and also create a sense for their probability to purchase.
   
   
2. Your 1st question should be "Was there a compelling event that caused you to visit our site...download our white paper?" Wouldn't it be great if right off the bat you know whether or not they were looking for a solution or just collecting information?
   
   
3. Taking Keith's advice, your 2nd question should be "What do you already know about us and what information are you most interested in?" This sets the direction for the rest of the call.

In summary, an inbound lead is a blessing. Bring your "A" game to the qualification table.

What other great questions do you use to get a prospect talking?