Disarm Objections – Don’t Get Dismissed Prematurely

Objections are thrown out through all stages of the selling process, not just at closing time. The prospecting stage is no different. Doing sales training with a bank based in Baltimore their bankers were faced with two common objections when cold calling. One: “We’re doing business with another bank already.” Two: “It’s too much of a hassle to change banks.” They get these objections 75% of the time they told me and they are always at a loss for a response.

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Nailing It - Not Easy

“It’s not always who you reach. It’s what you say.” – Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads Going through my spam filter, here are some subject lines the spammers used to try and draw me in: Save you big bucks! Discount online pharmacy! Finest luxury watches available here Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Codeine. Buy Direct from wholesaler today! Twitter? Similar. “TGIF – what are your weekend plans?” is posted for the general public by a well known person who has 10,000 followers. He sends this same tweet every Friday. Like he could really care or would bother to respond. Another: “How much money would you want and what would you use it for?” Twitter spammer.

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Relationship Selling – How Much Is It Worth to You?

Ever stand in line at the post office waiting to mail a package or buy stamps? At our post office there are five windows. One clerk. No hurry. Oops! Time for another break. Would you continue doing business with them when they treat you as an interruption to their day? Of course. You have no choice. They have a monopoly. Your complaints about their service mean nothing to them. They know it takes an act of Congress to get them fired. At the other end of the spectrum you have stores like Nordstrom’s. They have a loyal customer base. Ask any of their customers why they return, and the first thing they mention is the excellent service. Both the post office and Nordstrom’s are involved in relationship selling. One cares. The other could care less.

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Cold Calling Objection – Bring It Up First to Get Your Foot in the Door

When cold calling, anticipate objections. The first objection you’ll hear is, “I’m not interested.” Steal their thunder.

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Catch! - Removing Indecision

You’re the boss sitting on the invisible side of a two-way mirror observing three people standing in a room. One is your salesperson, Dillon, who has been with you for three years. The other two are candidates for the position of sales manager for your company, Ron and Candace. Each candidate is holding a softball. Their requirement is to get Dillon to catch their toss of the ball they’ll be making to him. For five minutes Ron carefully and patiently explains to Dillon why he’s throwing the ball and how he’ll throw it. He explains how Dillon is to hold his hands to receive the ball, what to look for, and what to do with the ball when he catches it. Ron mentions that he’ll make a soft toss so as not to hurt Dillon’s hands, and that Dillon must focus on the ball as it’s in the air so he’ll make a good grab. Dillon takes a few minutes to ask a couple of questions to make sure he has it right. Ron repeats some of his instructions and adds a couple of more details.

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