by Nancy Calabrese | Jul 30, 2019 | Sales Prospecting
It’s summer in the Northern hemisphere and hopefully, the living is easy. But that does NOT mean that you should stop cold calling! I actually believe that it is CRUCIAL that you keep making those sales calls.
Here are 3 reasons why you SHOULD be prospecting this summer:
- The absolute, NUMBER ONE reason why you should be prospecting this summer is because it is a good bet that your competition isn’t! They are out at the beach and are NOT making calls. This helps you stand out and gives you time to make a positive impression on your prospects (wow, this guy is really dedicated!) and to stand out.
- Many companies are cutting costs and manpower by using robocalls and auto-generated emails. Those tactics are not only ineffective but easily ignored. Prospects will be surprised to hear a REAL person on the line and that surprise can work in your favor – work it!
- With offices a bit less busy for the summer, the people who ARE at work and picking up calls may have more time to talk. Commiserate with them about having to be at work when everyone is out – this will give you a chance to bond! Take this opportunity to actively LISTEN and LEARN. Relax and give your prospect time to fully explain their needs and then reflect back their needs while outlining your solutions.
Summer can be an IDEAL time to make the connections and appointments that lead to a strong Q4 so, take your well-rehearsed script, pick up that phone and start dialing!
Are your team members making calls but NOT setting qualified appointments? Give us a call at 908.879.2911 or CLICK HERE to learn more about our Call Center in a Box Program where we train and manage YOUR team so their time and efforts produce more effective results!
by Nancy Calabrese | Jul 16, 2019 | Case Studies, Sales Training
This, our second Call Center in a Box Case Study, outlines the ways in which we have helped our clients. This post discusses the ways that our Call Center in a Box services helped a Sales Franchise client empower a struggling sales associate.
The Problems:
The Sales Franchise had an associate who, after ten months, still had no business connections in the community. She had been out networking but was struggling to set appointments.
Rather than ask us to set appointments for them (which IS a service we provide, click here to learn more about that) they opted to have us train and monitor her.
The Plan:
Using our Call Center in a Box Services, we:
- Helped her develop her skills
- Worked on her messaging
- Helped her regain her confidence which had been bruised by ten months of low and poor performance
- Monitored her progress
- Met with her weekly to discuss and resolve any issues or challenges she faced
The Results:
We started in December, a month notorious for its’ difficulties in setting appointments due to the holidays. Despite this, she set TEN appointments which was more than she had set in the past ten months she had been working with them!
To date in 2019 (Q1), she has set TWENTY FIVE QUALIFIED first time appointments which has exceeded even the owner’s expectation!
Take-Aways:
Here was someone who clearly had some sales talent but needed training and structure to take her to the next level. The Call Center in a Box Program provided her with the instruction, support and the sounding board she needed to succeed!
One of the number one reasons that people leave sales is a lack of training and/or feeling unprepared. Sales is a “NO” job – you hear ‘NO’ and deal with rejection over and over on a daily basis. Call Center in a Box provides not only training but also the support and encouragement your salespeople need to deliver results and THRIVE!
Are YOU having a hard time monitoring or managing YOUR sales team? Know they need training but just don’t have the time, energy or patience to train them yourself? Are your producers delivering poor quality leads that just won’t close?
GIVE US A CALL AT 908.879.2911 to see how our Call Center in a Box services can help YOU!
Click HERE to learn more and HERE to see another Call Center in a Box Case Study
by Nancy Calabrese | Jul 2, 2019 | Best Sales Practices, Sales Prospecting
You are making cold calls. You have picked up the phone and have reached a decision maker – NOW WHAT? What do you say to set an appointment?
Here are four important things you need to say and do on a call with a prospect in order to actually set an appointment that will convert to a sale:
- Build trust
- Build credibility
- Clarify and re-state their needs
- ASK for their business
Build Trust
Let’s be honest, salespeople can get a bad rap. Past experiences with Snakeoil salesmen and people with less than virtuous intentions can make prospects reluctant to take calls from people they don’t know. Your first task, on any call, is to put them at ease and get them to TRUST you.
Using positive words like “Good”, “Great”, “Wow” and “YES!” helps set the tone of the call and encourages them to trust you. But you MUST be GENUINE when using these or you will come off as insincere and salesy.
Conversely, negative words can lead to mistrust. Always use the affirmative, stay upbeat and frame statements positively. Use “What would relieve some of the pressure you are under?” vs “What pressures are you under?”
Salesy talk and high pressure selling tactics usually turn people off. You are there to HELP – make sure they know it!
Build Credibility
Include ‘Credibility Statements’ in your messaging. Establish your expertise and abilities in this area.
What to say to get an appointment? Use phrases like:
“Yes, we can definitely help you with that.”
And “Yes, we have helped others with this type of issue.”
“Yes, we have years of experience with this.”
Keep in mind that it is better to UNDER sell and OVER perform than to disappoint so be sure to set REALISTIC expectations. Over promising will set you up for failure.
Saying “Yes, we are experts in such and such.” when you are not, MAY lead to an appointment but it may NOT lead to a sale.
And needless to say, don’t use the words, ‘such and such’ – insert THEIR problem there! Which takes us to the next step…
Clarify and re-state their needs
Make sure you have been LISTENING so you understand their issue and their needs!
Make sure you are ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS so you get the info you need to clarify their needs, their pain points and their timelines.
Re-stating their issue and needs lets them know you are LISTENING to them – that you hear them and understand. Studies show conversion rates rise 80% when you restate needs!
What to say to set an appointment? Incorporate phrases such as:
“Please tell me more”
“What I hear you saying is…”
“You said XYZ, right?”
Don’t worry about getting it wrong. As long as you are listening, are basically on the right track and you are in a conversation – not giving a soliloquy – they will most likely correct you and give you the opportunity to rectify your statement. Take that chance and use that opportunity to build a relationship with the prospect!
And, most importantly,
Ask for the Appointment!
The next step is to ASK for the appointment! Ask the prospect to commit to the next step in the process. Only 13% of callers actually do this. Yes, it is scary – if they say no, the call could be over – but ASKING is the only way to move forward to get an appointment. Take the chance and make the ask!
And if they say no, remember, a ‘no’ is a ‘no for now’. Put them in your hold file for a set period of time and move on. New prospects await and this one may be ready next time to you reach out to them!
by Nancy Calabrese | Jun 18, 2019 | Case Studies, Lead Generation, Sales Prospecting
This is the first in a series of Case Studies that outline the ways in which we have helped our clients. This post is a Call Center in a Box case study.
About a year ago, I met a Senior Vice President of Sales from a premier insurance, risk management and financial services firm, at an industry event.
The Problems:
He had three Sales Producers who weren’t ‘producing’ enough first-time appointments. They were still growing their books of business, had been trained and were responsible for cold call prospecting but it was not getting done. While they claimed to be making the calls, there were very few qualified, first-time appointments in their schedules. Management had no tools to monitor their activity. He knew they needed to be managed in prospecting but didn’t have the time or bandwidth to do it himself.
He also had a full-time appointment setter with over 8 years of experience who set appointments but at least 50% were cancelled or no-shows.
The rest of his team was comprised of senior sales Producers who had established books of business but didn’t do cold calling.
The Plan:
They retained us to implement our Call Center in a Box Services where we:
- Assessed the team’s skill levels
- Provided their Sales Producers and Appointment Setter with new scripting
- Set the company up on our recommended CRM
- Monitored their progress
- Met with them weekly to train, role play and discuss challenges and successes.
The Experience:
We started working with them at the end of the Summer of 2018 and it was immediately apparent, based on the new monitoring system, that the salespeople were NOT calling when they were supposed to. As part of the training, we established schedules to follow and through our ongoing monitoring, we were able to ensure that the calls were made during the desired timeframes.
One-on-one coaching allowed us to work with them individually, giving each the attention and skill training THEY needed to improve.
At the weekly meetings we listened to actual calls and provided role modeling to show them what to say and HOW to say it to achieve better results.
The Results:
Immediately, the quality of call conversations went up markedly and each team member we had worked with was consistently setting QUALIFIED appointments every week!
The number of appointment cancellations was significantly reduced. Feedback from producers who took the appointments became more and more positive and has led to more sales.
By January 2019, the company chose to move ALL their sales team members onto the CRM tool.
The CRM has allowed the SVP of Sales to know and track what is being done, enabling him to better manage the team. And having more competent salespeople setting qualified appointments has freed him up to go out on more of those appointments with producers leading to better closing rates and an opportunity to model successful closing techniques.
Are YOU having a hard time monitoring or managing YOUR sales team? Know they need training but just don’t have the time, energy or patience to train them yourself? Are your producers delivering poor quality leads that just won’t close?
Click here and GIVE US A CALL AT 908.879.2911 to see how our Call Center in a Box services can help YOU!
And click here to check out another Call Center in a Box Case Study
by Nancy Calabrese | Jun 6, 2019 | Best Sales Practices, Sales Prospecting
Are you frustrated by the quantity of appointments set by your Sales Team? Are they delivering poor quality leads that aren’t converting to sales? Are your Reps lacking the skills and management needed to effectively set qualified appointments?
You need Call Center in a Box, our proprietary Prospecting Sales Training and Management program that will provide your team with the skills and management they need to Drive real RESULTS!
Call Center in a Box is a Prospecting Sales Management and Training Program where we train, manage and monitor YOUR Sales Team to improve YOUR bottom line!
Sales Training:
Too often, we see sales teams made up of people who may have a ‘knack’ for sales but no real training. They end up ‘winging it’ when it comes to prospecting, resulting in poor quality leads.
And even the strongest and most senior salespeople need to continuously train to stay at the top of their game. Harold Craxton, a professor at the Royal Academy of Music said, ‘Amateurs practice until they can get it right; professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong’. We agree and train YOUR salespeople to be PROFESSIONALS!
Our sales training covers the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of what your inside sales team needs to do to prospect effectively, including role play and modeling the correct way to make cold calls to set qualified appointments that lead to closed sales.
We provide your team with the tools, support and training needed to hit production goals. Our scripting ensures that messaging is consistent and that sales reps will have meaningful conversations with decision makers to set qualified appointments.
We set you up so your team will work in a CRM that is user friendly, simplifies the prospecting process and provides the tools they need to engage, qualify and set the appointment all in one place. This speeds up the sales cycle, enabling them to contact more leads in less time.
The CRM enables your sales staff and managers to track and record calls and monitor productivity, resulting in more accountability and higher quality leads.
Frequently, we see companies that have installed powerful CRM tools but have no clue how to use all the bells and whistles that enhance productivity. We show your people how to use features like voicemail drop, including the scripting for the messages, to make the most of their call time.
Sales Management:
The CRM allows management to access real time data, seeing what calls are made and when, enables them to listen in on actual calls and track the performance of their team.
We then meet weekly with your salespeople to review their progress, discuss their calls, coach, role play to teach appropriate and more effective responses and help them with any issues that arise.
Results:
This combination of training, monitoring, reviewing and repeating the process has been proven to drive improved sales and increases employee retention!
Our Sales Training program is industry agnostic, working for any team that uses cold calling and appointment setting as a strategy for driving new business.
Click here to learn more or Call us today at 908.879.2911 to set up a time to discuss how this sales training program can help YOU get the best results from YOUR Inside Sales Team or Producers!
Don’t have an inside sales team or producers? Click here to learn more about how we can do your cold calling for you!
