by Marta Malyk | Jun 18, 2024 | Cold Calling, Cold Calling Success, Cold Calling Tips, Sales
In the fast-paced world of sales, where every word can make or break a deal, the art of softening statements is important to master. Softening statements are verbal techniques used to lesson potential resistance or objection from clients or prospects. They serve as subtle yet impactful tools that smooth out the sales process, build rapport, and ultimately increase the likelihood of closing a successful deal.
At its core, a softening statement acts as a buffer. It helps to maintain a positive atmosphere in the conversation, ensuring that the client feels heard and respected even in situations where the discussion may be challenging. For example, phrases like “I understand this might be a concern” or “I appreciate your perspective on this” acknowledge the client’s point of view while gently guiding the conversation forward.
One key reason why softening statements are crucial in sales lies in their ability to build trust and rapport. In any sales interaction, trust is paramount. Clients are more likely to engage and feel comfortable with a salesperson who demonstrates empathy and understanding. By using softening statements, sales professionals can convey empathy and show that they are genuinely interested in addressing the client’s needs and concerns.
Softening statements help to manage expectations effectively. There are often moments when compromises or adjustments need to be made in sales. Instead of delivering potentially disappointing news bluntly, a well-crafted softening statement prepares the client for what’s to come while maintaining a positive outlook. This approach not only reduces friction but also allows for a more constructive dialogue where both parties can work towards a mutually beneficial solution.
In conclusion, softening statements play a pivotal role in sales by fostering a supportive and collaborative atmosphere, enhancing communication, and ultimately driving positive outcomes. By mastering the art of softening statements, sales professionals can not only navigate challenges more effectively but also build stronger, long-lasting relationships with clients based on trust, respect, and understanding. As the saying goes, it’s not just what you say but how you say it that makes all the difference in successful sales engagements.
by Marta Malyk | May 28, 2024 | Cold Calling, Cold Calling Success, Cold Calling Tips, Sales, Sales Prospecting, Sales Tips
Understanding human psychology can be a game-changer in sales. Sales is not just about pitching a product or service; it’s about connecting with people on a deeper level and influencing their decisions. By applying principles of psychology to sales techniques, professionals can enhance their effectiveness and build stronger relationships with clients. Let’s explore some important psychological concepts and how they can be applied in sales.
First, establishing rapport is essential in sales. People are likelier to buy from someone they trust and feel comfortable with. Building rapport involves active listening, empathy, and mirroring the client’s behavior and language. Psychologically, this creates a sense of familiarity and likability, making the client more receptive to the sales pitch.
Understanding the psychology of persuasion is crucial. Robert Cialdini’s six principles of influence – reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus – provide valuable insights into how people are persuaded to say “yes.” By aligning sales strategies with these principles, professionals can ethically nudge prospects toward making favorable decisions.
And finally, emotional intelligence is crucial in sales. Empathizing with clients’ needs and concerns allows salespeople to tailor their approach effectively. Recognizing and addressing emotional triggers will create a more meaningful connection and guide the client toward a positive outcome.
Here at One of a Kind Sales, we apply psychology to all of our sales techniques. Our proven methodology leads us to success and great results. To find out more, give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Dec 12, 2023 | Appointment setting services, Best Sales Practices, Cold Calling, Cold Calling Success, Prospecting, Sales, Sales Best Practices, Sales Tips
At a recent Sandler Training Session, I was inspired by a Sandler trainer, Emily Yepes, who spoke about the challenges of prospecting. In this competitive environment, we all need to “up our game” to reach the prospects we believe we can help. Prospecting is often the biggest ‘pain point’ for my clients and to meet this need, I’ve become a student of different prospecting approaches.
What is most attractive about Emily’s approach, which she refers to as “Combo Prospecting,” is her simultaneous use of multiple channels to reach a targeted individual. She uses LinkedIn outreach, phone calls, and email to reach a targeted client. She also leverages video in both email and LinkedIn. What’s important is that the targeted individual is someone who she knows is likely to be interested in her solution at some point. She personalizes her messaging by incorporating a topic that is relevant to the individual – something they’ve posted about recently or even recent media coverage that impacts their business. She attempts to engage by asking a question. She does not start to sell to this person immediately. Her mission is to engage them and stand out. Doing a bit of background research on each person enables her to do this.
As an example, on day one, a targeted prospect might receive a phone call, an email, and a LinkedIn message. While this may seem like overkill, remember that your prospect is not 100% focused on any one of these channels. Some people don’t go to LinkedIn often, others never pick up the phone, and email is easily overlooked. From consumer research, we know that it takes multiple exposures to get a consumer to recognize a new brand or name. Likely, the message a targeted prospect takes away from this type of outreach is that you have prioritized reaching them. Over 30 days, you can alternate between using one or two methods every two to three days. By day 30 if there is no response you can send them a final goodbye email. Like other outreach methods, you develop a routine that you should stick to, and over time the number of responses should accumulate.
I’m trialing this approach by targeting 20 prospects. I reached out with an initial phone call, followed by an email and a LinkedIn message. In none of these contacts did I attempt to sell. My subsequent contacts will alternate between two of the three channels and will incorporate personalized videos. What was striking to me was that in just 47 minutes I was able to make an initial outreach to 20 individuals through multiple channels. Think about how long would it have taken for me to visit 20 prospects in person! And, if I only used one method to reach out to 20 people, imagine how much lower my chances of generating a response would be.
Ultimately, I believe this approach will yield great results. As I have just initiated this process, I don’t have the final numbers, but I am impressed with the productivity. (Stay tuned for a follow-up in 2024.) And what we do know is that sales is a numbers game and the more outreach you do, the greater the opportunity for a sale.
If you’d like to learn more about this approach or if you have an organization that needs help generating leads, please reach out to One of a Kind Sales – we are experts at cold calling and we can help your team generate the sales you need. Give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Nov 7, 2022 | Best Sales Practices, Cold Calling, Cold Calling Success, Cold Calling Tips, Sales, Sales process, Sales Prospecting
A quiz for you:
Communicating your expertise and product knowledge to your prospect leads to a successful sale:
1/ True
2/ False
I came across this question in a session with a world-class expert in the Sandler selling method. This is one that can spark a lot of debate.
I’m aware that many salespeople are trained to be product experts. In fact, product or service training may be the lion’s share of the formal training that they receive from their company. Often, salespeople are coached to share their knowledge in order to establish their expertise with a prospect. This might be because the business perceives that the offering is so differentiated that once a prospect fully understands it they will jump at the opportunity. So, an encyclopedic knowledge of the offering and the ability to communicate it is often perceived as a major sales success factor for a salesperson.
However, consider the problems that could arise with this approach. What if we miss something critical because we are so busy “communicating” about our offering? When we first meet with a prospect, I believe it’s important to let the prospect communicate with us. What are their current issues? Why are they even talking to us about our offering? What problems are they trying to solve? If we move into “presentation mode” without knowing the answers to these questions, we risk losing the prospect’s attention by not addressing their core concerns. In order to get at these concerns, we need to take the time to ask the right questions and then engage in active listening so that the prospect can communicate with us and so that we can internalize what they are saying. We need a two-way conversation and, particularly early in the discussion, it’s ideal if the prospect does most of the talking. This is where we learn what we need to know in order to confirm if they are a good fit for our solution and then close the sale.
So what’s my answer to this question?
False: I’ve concluded that product knowledge and expertise aren’t enough to close the sale.
My recommendations:
- Avoid getting into the “nuts and bolts” of a product presentation immediately with a prospect.
- Slow down and take the time to get to know prospects in order to learn what motivates them.
When you truly understand their situation, you can then start to use your understanding of your offering to highlight how your solution will make a real difference for them. In my experience, taking this approach will improve the likelihood of a successful outcome.
At One of a Kind Sales, we love to sell and are lifelong learners when it comes to selling. Cold calling is our specialty. If your business needs help with getting appointments with qualified prospects, give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Oct 11, 2022 | Cold Calling, Cold Calling Success, Cold Calling Tips, Sales Prospecting
A couple of weeks ago, I attended Outbound 2022 in Atlanta. Outbound is self-described as “the biggest, baddest conference in the Sales Profession.” Outbound is unique because it’s the only conference focused exclusively on “sales prospecting, pipeline, and productivity.” I always make it a point to attend.
Continuing Education
Some people are amazed that I would take time away from my business to go to a conference with other salespeople. But in my view, I’m not taking time away from my business, I’m investing time in my business because, as the owner of a business whose primary focus is outbound cold calling, attending Outbound is continuing education for me.
A conference like Outbound gives me the opportunity to be surrounded by and interact with individuals who believe in outbound activities. These are people who strive to be the best professional salespeople every day. While there, I’m able to explore new ideas and develop relationships that have led to growth for my own business. My experience at Outbound allows me to be a better leader of my own organization and inspire my team to do their best job.
I also invest in my own people. We have weekly Sandler training attended not only by my sales specialists but my admin team as well. As a result, my admin team has a deeper understanding of our business and they have become better communicators as a result. This investment pays off with greater efficiency and productivity for my business.
My Love of Learning
If you’ve followed my blog and my social posts for any length of time, you’ll know that I have a strong thirst for learning. Attending Outbound helps satisfy that need. But another way that I address this is through my Conversational Selling podcast. A recent conversation with my colleague Liz Wendling, President of Liz Wendling Business Consulting and Sales Coaching left me considering her wise words: “Selling is the only way to stay in business.” Given the truth of this statement, the need for good sales skills is inexhaustible. One of a Kind Sales will continue to hone these skills to meet the needs of our clients.
At One of a Kind Sales, we love to sell and cold calling is our specialty. If your business needs help with this, give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Aug 1, 2022 | Advice, Best Sales Practices, Cold Call ROI, Cold Calling Success, Cold Calling Tips, Sales Tips, Sales Training
One of the most challenging parts of selling is cold calling. Like all of us, salespeople dislike rejection and don’t want to hear the word “no.” And many have never been trained how to do cold calling. As a result, many salespeople find cold calling intimidating. Aside from the fear of rejection, there is a concern that they are “interrupting” someone to make a pitch. But as professional salespeople, they need to keep in mind that the person on the other end of the call may have a need for the potential solution they offer. If the prospect sees that value in having their problem solved, it is well worth the interruption.
In a recent Zoom Info article, cold calling was deemed “very to extremely effective” by almost 30% of professional salespeople. Also, it was reported that almost 70% of buyers accept cold calls. Given these statistics, it’s clear that cold calling presents a real opportunity to prospect for new business. In our experience as professional cold callers, once our callers reach their targeted prospects, most of them get the opportunity to make their initial case without the call terminating before that point.
What goes into making cold calling more effective? I believe preparation is critical to success. Below are just some of the steps we take to make our cold calling as efficient as it can be.
- The call list should be targeted to the segment you are pursuing. This ensures that your offering is relevant to the prospects you are pursuing.
- Develop a script that lays out what you want to communicate. Don’t repeat the script word for word. Use it to internalize your message. This prepares you to be able to say exactly what you want to say the moment you get the opportunity to connect. You’ll only have seconds to make an impression.
- Check your mindset. Think of yourself as an equal to the prospect you want to connect with. Remember they have a problem, and you have a solution.
- Make sure the purpose of your call is clear to the prospect, so they understand how what you are calling about is relevant to their business.
- Remember this is a dialogue. Let the prospect speak. This is when you’ll learn whether there is an opportunity for your solution now.
- Every time you speak to the prospect remember you are establishing a relationship – one that will earn you the right to speak to them again, whether for a follow up appointment if there is a current opportunity, or for a check-in several months from now if there isn’t a current need.
If your team can incorporate this approach, it can help take cold calling outreach to the next level and bring in new opportunities for growth.
At One of a Kind Sales, we love cold calling! If you need help implementing cold calling within your sales team, give us a call at 908-879-2911 to learn how we can help.
