Telephone Sales Tactics: Do They Still Work?

My telephone rang the other day, and on the other end was a voice telling me how I was at risk for something. The problem is that what the person was claiming was a “risk” for me was something I couldn’t care less about. Just another stupid telephone sales tactic that has not worked in years. The number of old-school telephone sales tactics that people still try to use never ceases to amaze me. Unfortunately, when people try to use … Continue reading →

The Critical Mistake You’ve Made On-Line

Well, maybe all of you haven’t made this mistake. I know plenty of salespeople who have made it, though. What is it? The mistake of not being thorough in your on-line presence. I realize some people are nervous about intentionally putting information on the internet about themselves. The reality is, though, that many potential buyers will use the internet to do research. Wouldn’t you prefer that the information they find about you is accurate and positive? What is key step … Continue reading →

Are People Buying Your Credibility?

Every few months, it seems there is news of another failure of credibility by somebody in business. Most recently it has been the resignation of the Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson. What’s amazing is how and why it occurred. Call it hubris, or just plain stupidity — either way, it was a failure of individual responsibility. It’s easy to point fingers and talk about somebody who is at the top of the business food-chain taking a nosedive due to their own … Continue reading →

Sales Prospecting: Are You Even Focused?

Prospecting for sales is hard enough, but it’s made even harder when the strategy being used is either based on hope — or worse yet something like spraying and praying. I talk a lot about the need to have a very clear sales prospecting process. Just as important the need to be focused in following it. Too many salespeople at the first sign of something not going right get scared and change direction. No wonder so many salespeople cave to … Continue reading →

Prospecting Emails that Suck

It happened earlier again today. Among the hundreds of emails I receive each day — both solicited and unsolicited — came what I’ll call the “stupid email of the day.” If you’re going to prospect via email, don’t go putting out an email that says “just checking in.” Come on, get real and quit being stupid, thinking something like this is going to catch anyone’s attention. “Just checking in” is not the way you address any email to someone you … Continue reading →

Voicemail as a Prospecting Tool

Let’s not kid ourselves. The vast majority of phone calls go to voicemail. Because of this reality, if you intend to use the telephone to develop sales prospects, then you have to be able to use voicemail effectively. The biggest mistake people make when leaving a voicemail message as part of their prospecting strategy is they leave a message that has zero value to the person receiving it. The prospect doesn’t want to know how wonderful you are and a … Continue reading →

Your Attitude Drives Your Sales Prospecting Results

It’s time for me to once again talk about the importance of you attitude. Sales prospecting can be very difficult, but why make it any harder on yourself by having a bad attitude? Too many salespeople fail to realize how much they’re destroying their sales prospecting results due to their attitude. It starts by not letting stuff you can’t control to control you. There will always be people who will reject your phone calls or make quick off-the-cuff statements about … Continue reading →

Validate Information… Or Pay the Price Later

Any piece of information you receive from or about a customer needs to be validated. No matter how long you have been in sales, you know that bad information can steer you horribly wrong and maybe even cost you sales and professional relationships. If you receive information about one of your customers or about something happening in their company or industry, don’t automatically take the information at face value. For one, the information could be flat out wrong. Or, it … Continue reading →

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