Remote Selling

cold call tips

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Top Cold Call Tips and Techniques

People love to ask, “Is Cold Calling Dead?” It’s probably for the controversy effect more than anything, right? My answer (like all great consultants) is, “It depends.” Marketing has come a long way indeed to ensure our brand is recognized before the call. Maybe content has been consumed, landing pages visited, social posts engaged. But if they’ve never talked to us before, is it still cold? Nah, let’s call that warm.

Not all companies are as fortunate. Start-up sellers may not have marketing support and the customer’s first impression is the first call. Even if they may recognize a little something from LinkedIn, it’s not enough to call it warm. Marketing tells us it takes at least 4 touches to actually leave an impression, and 6-8 to get to the point of purchasing (some companies even require 20+ touches!) 

But can we be honest for a second? Sellers don’t give a darn. An outbound call to someone who isn’t expecting the call feels cold. Frigid below-zero kind of cold to today’s sellers. Why? Most of them haven’t grown up using the phone. My kid was shocked to learn his phone dialed out. “What!? It’s not just for texting!?”

Your millennial sales force wants to email and send LinkedIn messages. I know this because I get 30 a day. Want to differentiate? Immediately… 

Ban the spam and get on the phone! 

New to phone sales? Here are some cold call tips to help the water feel a bit warmer:

  1. You’re immediately differentiating yourself by calling vs. emailing. This is a very good thing. I get 30 messages a day and about one voicemail per week. 
  2. It will take about six calls for you to get a hold of most of your prospects and most sellers give up after two. This is the game, my friends, do NOT give up. Do NOT take it personally. Cheerfully make your tally mark and know you are one call closer to a sale. Remember from above that it takes 6-8 touches to buy? Each time you leave a message it’s a touch. Sales is math.
  3. Yes, leave a voicemail! About every two days is great. No voicemail = no touch. You’ve made the dial but forgotten the return. Read more about voicemails that actually get returned here.
  4. Intersperse written messages. Use your outreach tool to help you send a series of voicemails, emails, and social messages over a period of 2-6 weeks. Close enough to be recognized from the last touch but not so close to being considered a stalker. You and your sales leaders can determine this.
  5. Design your outreach cadence based on client potential. If you’re doing account-based marketing and this is a top prospect, you’re going to touch more often and for longer. We recommend A, B, C, D lead qualifications. Read more on that here.

OK, now let’s move from strategy to psychology.

How do I beat cold call rejection? Rejection sucks. Be very clear that cold call dodging is not rejection! Imagine a stranger calling you just to tell you that they don’t want to talk with you anymore. Um, OK. I’m cool with that. Feels different if it’s your best friend or your brother, right? Now THAT is rejection. They know you. They don’t like you. Ouch.

A stranger saying they have no time, they’re not interested, or simply launching a call is not rejection. It’s a busy life. They don’t know your name, your company, your face, or your annoying habits yet. 🙂 It’s called call dodging, not YOU dodging.

Let’s also focus on sales as a helping profession. I recommend you spend a good four hours immersed in customer testimonials and case studies before picking up the phone for the first time. Learn why people love your product and your company. Learn about the problems you’ve solved and the situations you’ve bailed them out of at work! Your job is to find people struggling with these situations and save them. Your job is to educate them on a solution. What would they do without you? What if they don’t even know a solution exists!? What if they’re searching for a solution right now and are about to make a big mistake!? I want you to really dig in and picture this scenario and then picture this stranger thanking you for helping them. See it clearly and then see it every time before you pick up the phone.

In a cold call rut? Try picturing your best friend next time you hit “send.” Get a smile on your face and really imagine it. Your entire energy will change and you’ll be shocked how you’ll come off better.

Need more cold call inspiration? I want you to imagine that this outbound calling job is actually your business degree. Hell, your MBA program. Your job on every single call is to learn something about their business, their industry, their company, and their job role. It’s called genuine curiosity my friends, and nobody displays it in sales anymore. Be fascinated. Be inspired. Seek to truly learn and grow. Your prospect will be so flattered and surprised, you’ll learn everything you need to know to qualify or uncover a need. You may even find your future perfect job situation!

Finally, a few skills to help. The most important skills to turn dials into actual leads or opportunities are:

  1. Voicemails. Yeah, we covered this before. If you leave 10-15 voicemails a day using our techniques, you’ll get at least 2 returned. That’s 10 conversations a week. Folks, that’s like a bonus day of the week. You get 6 days to hit your goal while everyone else gets five. 
  2. Call Introductions. 90% of them suck. Yeah, sorry about that. If you’ve not spent a few hours training and perfecting your intro, it probably sounds like your value prop and is about 10 seconds too long. Learn the SWIIFT℠ Intro that perks their ear and gets them talking. You’ll be shocked at how many conversations happen instead of rejections.
  3. Overcoming the Brush-Off. Even with a better intro, you’ll get some brush-offs. Remember, this isn’t rejection – they don’t even know you! Most of us either hang up or answer it like an objection, and that’s wrong. How do you overcome “I don’t have time” or overcome “I’m not interested?” By moving around it. 
  4. A Better Value Prop. If marketing wrote it for you, it won’t work in phone sales. Sorry marketing. Value props need to answer who you are and why they care in a way that your grandmother could understand. The best ones use “The rule of three” to get their brain accidentally picturing your services. 

In summary, no matter the temperature of your outbound calls, when you make them a game, adjust your mindset, and layer in some skills, then you and your team can harness the incredible power that most of your competition has left behind. Sure, it’s easier to pop an email but remember:

“Nobody ever bought anything over email.”

Choose to be in sales instead of marketing. Pick up the phone and have some fun!

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improve buyer engagement

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How to Improve Buyer Engagement in Video Sales Meetings

There’s no denying that “something’s missing” when we move from in-person meetings to video. It’s true of team meetings, training, and especially sales calls. If video is part of your every day, how do you stand out from the crowd? 

The baseline of video acumen has risen since the early days of remote work. You’ve got to go beyond the basics and use video as a tool in your arsenal. Thanks to technology, we can actually measure the effectiveness of our video meetings with AI tools.

How would you rate on a scale of 1 to 10 if we asked your prospects how engaging your sales call is?

What is Engagement vs. Sentiment?

When measuring the effectiveness of your sales calls, you’ve got to watch two things: engagement and sentiment.

For quick reference, here’s how we break down the two:

  • Engagement = buyer’s attention or presence on the sales call 
  • Sentiment = buyer’s attitude or emotion towards the seller

According to Q for Sales, Uniphore’s AI-powered Sales Assistant, an engaged customer has an 83% higher propensity to buy than a non-engaged customer. When both engagement and sentiment are high, you’ve got an 89% greater chance of closing the sale. 

DOWNLOAD: THE IMPACT OF BUYER ENGAGEMENT AND SENTIMENT ON DEAL OUTCOMES

TL;DR – Get them leaning in quickly, make sure they like you, and you’ve got nearly double the chances of closing the deal.

(Take a peek at Uniphore’s AI tool, Q for Sales, below to see how it tracks sentiment on video meetings.)

Q for Sales by Uniphore

How Do You Engage Buyers (Faster)?

Nearly 29% of buyers admit to multitasking during video calls. That means that roughly one-third of buyers aren’t paying attention to you. It’s a lot harder to re-engage someone after they’ve already tuned out, so starting the call with a high level of engagement is key. 

Follow these 8 steps to ensure engagement is high from the beginning of your call:

  1. Stop sharing your screen. Engagement goes down when sellers share their screens. Why? Because sellers ask fewer questions when they’re screen-sharing. We tend to go into a monologue and talk AT the buyer, vs. carry a conversation and ask questions. It’s not about the screen, but rather our behavior while the screen is up.
  2. Share personal information. Create a quick bond with a buyer by sharing something personal about yourself. It helps you find commonality and build quick rapport with the buyer. 
  3. Review goals and the agenda. Start the call by outlining the goals and topics of discussion before diving in. Make sure you check in to see if the buyer wants to cover any other topics or has any other questions. This is especially important when selling to the C-suite. Give them the opportunity to drive the conversation by gauging what they want to cover on the call.
  4. Ask questions. As a general rule, the seller’s goal of the call should be to uncover as much important information as possible from the buyer. You do this by talking less and asking more questions. 
  5. Ask them to recap their challenges. Even if they’ve told you what their challenges are before, you don’t want to put words in their mouth – it’s a surefire way to disengage them. Ask them to share their current situation and challenges.
  6. Match their energy. Imagine showing up to a sales call on a Monday morning after your 5th cup of coffee. The buyer shows up yawning and barely even awake. You want to lower your energy level to match theirs. If they’re pumped up and high-energy, match it. If they’re relaxed and calm, match it. It’s a form of empathy when you’re able to connect with buyer by matching their energy level to build trust and rapport.
  7. Say it with a smile. Positivity is contagious. Smiling automatically has a positive effect on your buyer’s sentiment. If you want to be easier to connect to, watch your facial expressions. Do you find yourself scowling without realizing it (read: RBF!)? Then practice smiling on all calls. 
  8. Give them eye contact. It’s tough when you’ve got multiple screens with Slack, email, a presentation, and Zoom all open at the same time, but you’ve got to make sure you’re looking AT the camera and giving buyers eye contact. Tip: Put your notes underneath your camera so you can read from them while making eye contact.
How Do You Encourage A Buyer To Turn On Their Camera?

You ask them to turn it on. Easy, right? Yet 83% of sellers don’t do it. And, it’s so much harder to connect with someone when you can’t see them. 

Need more of an incentive to ask? Let’s break it down with stats…

  • Less than 10% of the message in a conversation is verbal
  • Between 30-35% is in the tone, speed, or pitch
  • But a whopping 50% of the conversation is visual (hello, body language)

So if you don’t ask them to turn on their camera, you’re missing more than half of the conversation.

If you need a little help asking them, try any of these out on your next sales call:

“Hey, if it’s not too forward, are you OK sharing your camera so we can talk face-to-face?”

“OK, camera bullying time! No hiding! Unless you’re literally naked, please pop it on. Thank you so so much. It’s hard talking to myself.”

“I promise I didn’t get dressed up for this meeting and there’s zero judgment! Would you mind terribly going on video so we can have some eye contact?”

How Can You Tell If A Buyer Is Engaged?

They’re showing signs of active listening and attentiveness by:

  1. Smiling
  2. Leaning forward
  3. Nodding
  4. Looking at their screen
  5. Showing their hands 
  6. Chatting, clapping, sharing emojis, etc.
How Can You Tell When A Buyer Is Disengaged?

They’re actively not paying attention and are distracted by something else. If someone is disengaged, they might be:

  1. Looking away 
  2. Leaning back 
  3. Showing a negative facial expression 
  4. Visibly reading their emails
  5. Playing on their phone
  6. Off camera
How Do You Quickly Reengage A Buyer?
  1. Notice or mention something that could be common ground – “I see that gorgeous picture in your background.”
  2. Share something first – “I am an avid sunrise photographer. Although, I don’t see them enough lately!”
  3. Ask a closed & follow-up question – “Did you take that yourself? It’s so beautiful! Where is it?”
  4. Ask an open question – “Tell me about it?”

TIP: TAKE OUR CLASS “AUTHENTIC (AND QUICK!) RAPPORT BUILDING”

You’ve got to master the art of active listening in order to effectively engage (or reengage) buyers.

Here’s how to be a great listener:

  1. Listen actively – No interrupting, look at the camera, nod your head
  2. Acknowledge – “Yes”, “Okay, got it”, “Mm-hmm”
  3. Restate (with empathy) – “OK, what I heard was that you’ve tried this many times already and it may be a little frustrating now.”
  4. Check-in – “Did I get that right?”

TIP: TAKE OUR CLASS “EXPERT AND EMPATHETIC LISTENING”

What Do You Do When A Buyer Disengages?

The first thing is to stop screen sharing. That way you can talk and pivot the conversation. Try some of these scripts to get your call back on track:

“I’ve been talking like 5 straight minutes, and I think I lost ya’ll. My bad. NAME, what’s the next most important thing we can cover for you?”

“Hey, I think I went off track. My bad. Let’s go back to the agenda. Is this still what you want to accomplish? Quick show of hands if you’d like to move on to XYZ item?”

“Let’s take a beat here to check-in. Could you please give me a thumbs up if you’re tracking with me 100% or a hand raise if you have a question? If I lost you completely, sit very still…”

TIP: TAKE OUR CLASS “DEMOS THAT DON’T SUCK”

How Do You Build Trust With Buyers?

Let’s talk about trust. According to Hubspot, only 3% of people trust salespeople. 

“Trust is not something you can ask for, you need to earn trust. It takes hours, weeks, and years to build it, but seconds to lose it.” Sylvain Tremblay, CRO, Uniphore

Since trust is earned, that means we all start at the bottom of the trust scale, at mistrust. Luckily, we don’t start at distrust, that’s when someone knows us and has actively lost trust in us.

Mistrust means that they aren’t sure of our character based on the fact that we’re a salesperson and their fear that we’re going to try to force them to purchase their product.

Our job as salespeople, through empathy, engagement, and rapport building, is to move up the trust scale as fast as possible. Folks, you’ll never make it to the top of the trust scale in a call or two. It takes time to build trust. The goal is to simply move up the scale faster.

trust scale

How Do You Build Rapport Quickly?

We’ve all heard that people buy from people they like, but the truth is that people buy from people that are LIKE them. We’re hard-wired to connect to people that are like us. That’s why small talk was invented; to help us find common ground with others. 

The key to building authentic rapport (and quickly), is to let people get to know you faster.

Here are a few tips on what you can share with buyers to build rapport:

  1. Introduce yourself at the beginning of the call
  2. Get your resume off LinkedIn & share something about your experience
  3. Connect on LinkedIn with a personal message 
  4. Send a personalized video 
  5. Share some (personal) background 
  6. Add something funny 
  7. Make fun of yourself (pratfall effect)

If you want to connect to your buyer, you’ve got to give to get. Give information about yourself and you’ll get an authentic connection to your buyer. 

Want more tips? Watch our 30-minute Sales Shot to learn how to improve buyer engagement in video sales meetings.

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Remote Selling Tips: Using Video During Sales Meetings

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Why You Should Use Video During Sales Meetings

Recently, I shared a panel with Bob Perkins, Morgan Ingram, Shay Keeler, and Dan Breault where we talked about the move to virtual selling.

It was delightful because lately, I’ve mostly been talking with traditional/field sales leaders who are transitioning their teams to virtual selling. We talk about the constraints, the challenges, and the new skills these teams need when they lose face-to-face.

The panel of long-time inside sales leaders had the opposite experience. Our teams are loving the wave of video that is sweeping all industries! We’ve literally been selling blind for 20 years and it’s a whole new Zoom world.

Whether you’re inside or field selling, we’re all virtual now. If your team is struggling to adapt and/or thrive with video selling, here are a few remote selling tips to help.

Why go video?

First, YES, you want to turn cameras on with customers. Some crazy stats were thrown around during the ExecVision Momentum panel discussion (150% increase in close rate?!). I couldn’t substantiate that one, but I did find data from Gong saying webcams are used 40% more in successful (won) vs. unsuccessful (lost) deals.

Zoom and Forbes cite that 62% of executives agree video conferencing significantly improves the quality of communication.

Not convinced? Here’s an oldie but a goodie – only about 45% of a message is content and tone while 55% is body language.

Even if your customer/prospect doesn’t turn on video, you should. 

The last stat alone has been around for decades, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say if you or your team are struggling with adoption, isn’t due to buy-in, it’s due to one of these common resistance points:

  1. I don’t want to be seen / I don’t look good on video
  2. My customers don’t use video
  3. I don’t have the right setup
  4. I’m just not confident / I have my own routine for calls, and video isn’t it!

Let’s attack these, one by one, with the lens of helping leaders coach their teams to adoption. Here are my remote-selling tips using video.

#1 – If your team doesn’t feel camera ready, share a few tips:

  • Put your webcam/laptop up six to ten inches so the camera is toward the top of your head. Everyone looks better when shot from above!
  • Put an adjustable light by your camera or a window w/ natural light behind it. Side lighting, low lighting, bright lighting – none of these help us love how we look!
  • It’s time to talk about a new ‘get ready for work’ routine! Listen, I loved the era of no video because it meant sweatpants and a hair bun all day. It’s over. Get ready for work as you used to. Do your hair, iron your shirt, and be grateful you don’t have to wear socks and shoes.

Leaders, it’s OK to go here. It’s your job to go here. Don’t let your team show up in a ballcap and torn T-shirt with backlighting and a webcam that looks up their nose. It’s on you.

#2 – If your customer doesn’t use video, it’s OK to ask them to do so. Here’s what I say:

“Hey, if you’re comfortable, I’d love to meet you face-to-face via video! Don’t worry, I’ve got on yoga pants and flip flops too – and it definitely isn’t a great hair day. No judgment!”

Video is a chance to connect face-to-face and asking for it is another opportunity to get human and connect at this level. I openly share that my kids may interrupt wearing their underoos and thereby make it OK for them to be human too.

You may also try setting it up ahead of time. When booking/sending the meeting request, let them know you’ll send it with video and you hope they’ll come on camera and meet face-to-face.

Be prepared to walk a customer through the video process – we all use different technology and they may feel unprepared and uncomfortable as well. Helping them through this further connects you.

When they do get on screen, take a moment to stay in this human space. Comment on background, pictures, window scenes – anything BUT the pile of laundry and dishes that might embarrass them.

#3  If the setup is the issue, find the budget to help. Get a good camera, upgrade to get the virtual background, buy a divider screen, and buy a $30 light. Help set up the camera so it’s a few feet away (or use the Zoom feature) so their head and shoulders are in the frame down to about chest height.

Partner with your team to make this happen, because virtual and video are NOT going away. Don’t let your customers get out in front of you because you didn’t spend $100 to help your team look good and feel confident. This action is ours, leaders!

#4 – The final objection is ours to own as well. If old habits and resistance to change prevent the cameras, help them build these muscles. Run your 1:1 and team meetings with cameras and do a few joint video customer calls. They’ll see it work, feel the connection, and use these new muscles to help the resistance fade.

In short, we need to set the expectation, partner to help us look and feel good, and work together to build new habits. If we aren’t, we’re simply leaving money on the table.

Hear more of LB’s tips on how to ask your prospects/customers to turn their video on below:

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7 Phone & Video Prospecting Tips for Sales Reps to Crush It

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7 Phone & Video Prospecting Tips for Sales Reps to Crush It

Plenty of sales reps love the convenience of email and LinkedIn prospecting. But rapid-fire, stock messages do little to build rapport and trust with your prospects. 

That’s why, as much as some people despise it, you have to pick up the phone. 

As young reps continue to phase into the sales force, there is a growing challenge for them to get beyond the keyboard. And while the pandemic certainly didn’t help matters, fostering those face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) connections has become more critical than ever.

Suffice it to say that salespeople can’t afford to rest on their laurels. We have to fight harder to build pipeline, persuade prospects, and win deals. 

That means moving from behind the keyboard, picking up the phone, and utilizing videos in prospecting.

If you’re ready to crush it, here are seven tips that can help our reps make the most of phone and video in their prospecting efforts. 

1. Don’t rely on email alone

It’s important to connect with people on social and email, certainly. But think about it: when’s the last time you bought something over email? 

Never mind that people are wary of scammers and phishing attempts. No one buys from text on a screen. 

People buy from other people. More importantly, they buy from people they trust. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use email. But there are ways to make email more engaging and personal. 

For example, emails that use video get a 96% higher click-through rate than those that don’t. It makes sense: video shows off your face, which helps to foster that personal connection.

So if you’re relying on a “spray and pray” approach to email where you’re sending as many as you can hoping for something to stick, just stop. You’ve got way more tools at your disposal. 

2. Make your videos watchable

Just getting started using video in your prospecting efforts is a great first step. But if you really want to maximize your chance of success, then you need to make your videos as watchable as possible.

Most people drop off of videos 70-80% of the way through. So it’s important to structure your video so you get their attention and deliver necessary value as quickly and efficiently as possible—before they click away. 

Here are some tips to make your videos more watchable:

  • Start with empathy. Show the prospect that you truly understand the problem they’re facing. 
    • Lead with value. Catch the prospect’s attention by offering something to help with that problem as early in the video as possible. 
  • Use a list to structure your video. “3 things before our call tomorrow,” or “4 things I noticed on your website.” That will help make the video more scannable and increase the prospect’s likelihood of retaining that information
  • Caption your video. Adding captions to videos can increase the watch rate by up to 80 percent. Captions also help with scannability. 
  • Put your call-to-action in the middle. It logically makes sense to throw the CTA at the end. But by that point, most people have dropped off. Put it in the middle to increase the likelihood that people will actually see it. 

3. Use the prospect’s name off the bat

The first few seconds of a video are key to getting your relationship with the prospect off on the right foot. One great way to do this: use the prospect’s name.

This goes back as far as Dale Carnegie: people perk up when they hear their own name. When you use their name, you set the tone of the relationship as a familiar one, which increases their likelihood to trust you. 

What’s more, when you use a prospect’s name in a video, it’s proof that you aren’t batch-sending messages. You’re taking the time to record a personalized message, which shows that you’re putting effort into building that connection. 

WATCH: 10 Tips for Building Human-to-Human Connections on Sales Calls

4. Don’t just call prospects once

It’s no surprise that phone calls used in tandem with email help to increase the likelihood of a response. 

The problem, however, is that only 10% of sales reps make more than three attempts to reach a prospect. Calling more than three times may seem like a lot, when you consider that it takes anywhere from seven to fourteen touches to get a conversation with a prospect, then frequent follow-up is key to making that conversion. 

Also remember that while email and social media are powerful tools, they have one purpose: to get you on a call with the prospect. That’s the only way you’ll be able to sell them. 

5. Don’t waste time following up if your data is incorrect

Spray and pray is popular because it’s quick and easy. Even if half the data is incorrect, you’re spending so little time on each prospect that it nets out positive. 

But when you’re taking the time to follow up multiple times, record videos, and build relationships with prospects, investing in the wrong people can be a significant time sink. 

That’s why it’s important to do your homework. One tip we recommend at Factor 8 is if you get a voicemail, hit the 0 button to find the directory or talk to someone else in the company. 

What I tell people is: try to be James Bond for about 10 dials. You’re going to learn something critical that will help you find the right person or provide you with important information that you can then use to land the deal:

  • Who reports to who?
  • What system do they have?
  • How long has your decision maker worked there?
  • Are there any current projects that are a priority?
  • How many employers/locations are there?
  • Other key influencers that you should include in the process?

Use your personality, talk to people, and get some critical account information that can help you become more successful as you build your relationship with them over time. 

READ MORE: How to Use Sales Intelligence to Boost Profits

6. Qualify, qualify, qualify

First of all: sales qualification is not the same as lead qualification. The latter is a marketing indication that a prospect may be ready to buy due to their engagement. Sales qualification is about how much money you can make with a particular account—what’s the potential that they’ll buy from you?

There are a number of factors that go into play here:

  • Size of sales team—more reps means more revenue
  • Is the company B2B or B2C?
  • What tools or platforms does the company already have (especially important if you sell SaaS)?
  • Do salespeople have to acquire their own tools or does the company provide them? 

One great tip for this: don’t blow past the gatekeepers! In your haste to get to the decision maker, you may end up missing the opportunity to gain some vital information on the company that can help you tailor your video and phone communications. 

READ MORE: How to Build an Account and Lead Qualification Strategy

7. You were hired for your personality—use it

If marketing could source leads and close deals on their own, we wouldn’t need sales.

The reason you have a job is because salespeople can do something marketers just can’t. You weren’t hired to send canned messages. Marketing can do that more efficiently than you. 

Salespeople are there because personality makes a huge difference in how prospects feel about potential vendors. For many businesses, it’s the people that are the differentiator between themselves and their closest competitors. 

So let people get to know you. You’ve been hired to be a personality. Use it!

If your sales team struggles to use phone and video effectively, Factor 8 can provide the training and resources needed to get everyone up to speed. Learn more about our training and coaching services here. 

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Quick Sales Call Engagement Strategy Tips

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Quickly Improve Prospect Engagement on Sales Calls

How many of you have been on the receiving end of a sales call, bored to tears while the rep on the other end just keeps rattling away? Probably ALL of us.

So what’s the secret to keeping your customers from slowly falling asleep – whether it’s on the phone or a video call?

Here are some quick and easy tips to boost prospect and customer engagement on your next sales call!

The Best Sales Script To Get A Buyer’s Attention

Get Them Talking

The easiest way to tell if you’ve got them engaged is if THEY’RE the ones talking.

One of the best tools you have in your arsenal as a seller is asking the right questions – NOT spewing your value prop and pitch.

Make sure you know the difference between a closed and an open-ended question. A closed question is going to get you nothing but one-word answers. You can start with them, but make sure you have open-ended questions to keep them talking!

  • “Do you have a current service provider?” (closed) is going to get a yes or no.
  • “What’s your biggest struggle with your current service provider?” (open) – that’s going to get you a LOT more.

And if you get a good hook in one of their answers, don’t be too quick to just move onto your list with the next one! The more you can make it feel like a conversation and show you’re actively listening, the more engaged and natural the flow is going to be. Show them you care by connecting with them.

Here’s an easy summary:

  • Closed questions = get them warmed up.
  • Open questions = get them expanding.
  • Follow-up questions = take them to the next level of expansion.

Read Body Language

If you’re using video on your sales call (HIGHLY suggest this, folks), then you’ve got to focus on their body language. This one might seem like a no-brainer, but here are a couple things to watch for.

  • Are they muted? They’re not planning on talking.
  • Looking off to the side or down? They’re working on emails.
  • Are they propped up? They’re BORED!

If you see any of the above – stop what you’re doing, end your screen share, and get back to a conversation to re-engage them.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Silly

I’ve been there, with a video call full of people slouched over who couldn’t give a hoot what I was going on about.

You know what I did?

I turned off the presentation, I started cracking some jokes – a little bit of razzing to the guy who came late, asked someone else a question, pinned something funny on another person – and it WORKED! People sat up, they got off mute – they wanted to participate!

It’s okay to take a step back, and it’s okay to get a little silly to get them engaged again.

READ: Quick Tips for Running an Engaging Demo

Try using one of these tips on your next sales call and I guarantee you’ll be surprised how easy it can be to get customers to open up!

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executive presence

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8 Tips to Show Executive Presence on Sales Calls

Congratulations! You got the big boss to attend your call. Now let’s make sure you’ve got enough executive presence to impress them.

Senior executives by definition have less time and patience than any other decision-maker. No big surprise. But you might be surprised to learn they probably also have less knowledge than anyone else on your call. They’ll also have different expectations. Here are some tips for making sure you’re ready to make your shortlist in just one call and understand how to show executive presence.

  1. Demonstrate organization ASAP. Create and send an agenda, be sure the invite and link/location are clear and sent well ahead of time, and start the call with background and introductions.

  2. Background is critical. Even if you’ve been talking with this company for months and this is call #5, you should assume the executive knows exactly none of this history. Help them orient themselves quickly to this meeting by briefly explaining:
    1. Who you are
    2. What industry/space you play in
    3. What challenges you’re helping them solve
    4. Where you are in the sales process
    5. The goal of this call

  3. Make everything SWIIFT℠. (If you’re new to Factor 8, that stands for “So What’s In It For Them”). That means that even if your goal of the call is to get a commitment, you must communicate it in SWIIFT℠ language, like helping them decide to go/no go with the project or if you are a viable solution to their needs (see, it’s about THEIR needs, not your sale).

    Let’s pause here for an example. Let’s say you’ve been evaluating training vendors to help scale your sales operation. Your VP of Sales boss has joined the call. The vendor (me at Factor 8) says:

    Welcome, everyone! Great to meet you, Mr. Big Boss. Let me start with a quick background. My name is Lauren Bailey, the founder of Factor 8, a rep and manager training provider in the virtual sales space. ABC company is evaluating us to help you with your rapid-scale goal – specifically more onboarding and upskilling for your SDRs, AEs, and managers. This is our third meeting with your team, and today our goal is to answer all of your questions about how it might look should we work together – so you and the team can decide if we move forward. Does that work?

    Obviously, you’ll use your own words here, but I do encourage you to plan this out (to be clear, I rewrote this three times!). Script, bullets, whatever works for you, but it’s critical to start clearly and strongly. OK, back to the list.

  4. Let them start. Most execs get a quick read and will instantly have questions to accompany their impressions. As a rule after a strong intro, I ask what they want to accomplish and if they have any initial questions. Then I arrange my meeting to hit their needs in priority order. Try it, I bet 9 out of 10 times they’re sitting on something they want, and until it comes off their chest they’re only half-listening to you.

    BONUS: every other vendor launches into their regular dog and pony show. Letting them talk first and systematically hitting all of their requests instantly differentiates you (and clues you into so much!)

  5. Start with the big picture. Executives bounce from meeting to meeting with a huge range of subjects and almost NEVER have the time to pre-read the agenda, email, website, or proposal. So assume nothing! Tell them the category, the goal, or the situation before filling in the details. If you start with the features, the end result, or the specifics they’ll just stop listening and assume YOU are the disorganized one.

    Truth: Even my husband has learned to communicate with me this way. It sounds like, “Honey? Got a sec? OK, it’s about our kids’ lunches…”

    This is especially important because we work together too, so our “meetings” together could range from commission structures to date nights. 😀

  6. Brevity ALWAYS wins. Go and edit your questions AND your stock answers to cut your words by half. Give a short and decisive answer and then ask if they want an example or more detail.

  7. Defer to them. I don’t mean you should ignore everyone else on the call. In fact, do all you can to make them look very good in front of the boss. But if 2 people ask a question at once, the executive always wins. Check in with them individually to see if they like your direction, agree with the summary you just gave, or have anything to add, etc. They’ve earned their position and although they may not demand special treatment, they’ve probably gotten used to receiving a little.

  8. Project confidence. Even if your answer is, “I don’t know,” say it with a strong tone and volume, promise to get back with them, and then move on. Sit up straight, frame your chest and shoulders in your video shot (if using), and don’t get over-excited. Hemming and hawing, telling long stories, BS-ing, and going in circles with lots of extra words will guarantee you lose.

All of these tips combined will help you project yourself as an equal because executives make fast assumptions about your company and your solution based on how you present yourself in the meeting. It’s OK if you’re 22 and new, just as long as you come off as organized and confident. 

The best thing you can do now is to go back and listen to or watch several recent meetings with this checklist. Give yourself an executive presence score out of 10 and take a few actions on what you could level up. 

Now knock ‘em dead! 

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How to Transition to Close FAST

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How to Quickly Transition to Close on Sales Calls

If you’re an SDR or BDR, you’re on the front lines with prospects gathering information and booking meetings or demos for your AE. You have the first close and it’s often the most important, without your close there is no sale. So, let’s talk about a few tips for transitioning to close on your sales calls.

First thing to know, the close can happen at any time. We need to be prepared on the first call, at the first objection, or after the first question. We also have to be sure we are setting the AE up for success by capturing the right information. This is a fine line to walk, but baby, we can do it! 

Let’s set the scene, you have finally gotten through to the right prospect and they are actually engaging with you (eek!). I know it’s tempting to book that meeting immediately, but it’s important that we use this opportunity to make the next meeting beneficial for the prospect and easy for the AE. So, take a deep breath, it’s time to ask some questions. The goal in the “explore” process is to ask as many questions and gather as much info for your AE as possible. 

As we’re talking to our prospect, we need to keep an eye out for Buying Signals and Buying Signs. Both are important, but they’re also different. 

Buying Signals are statements that show intent to buy. They are usually geared around the use, implementation, function, or delivery of your product or service. They can sound like “how does it work?”, “How much is it?”, “Is the delivery face-to-face, is it virtual, or is it blended?”, or “My team is scattered across the country, how would you introduce it?”. All of these questions (and more) show your prospect is envisioning themselves using your product. They are all VERY strong Buying Signals. Once you hear the Buying Signals, it’s time to transition to the close! 

Buying Signs, on the other hand, are a bit demurrer. They show that your prospect could be on the road to buying, but they aren’t there just yet (which is where your AE comes in to seal the deal). Buying Signs show just a glimmer of possibility. There could be a bit of discontent, a hint of interest, or maybe an upcoming change in management. Pro Tip: always start with the positive when you are asking about a current provider. “Tell me what you like about your current _________.” Then, dive into the areas of opportunity (aka the things they don’t like). Buying Signs show that you are heading in the right direction. Think of them as a puzzle, use the information you learn to connect the pieces together for the client. Once they start asking you questions, it’s time to transition to the close! 

Okay, so now it’s time to close! The client has shown interest, is asking questions, and they’re fully engaged. What do I do now? Be cool, man! People don’t like to be “sold.” So, don’t be a jerk. Be casual, but also direct. You want to be conversational and relate to what they are asking, while also letting them know you’re not the right person for those specifics. As they start asking questions, you can say things like “You know, my AE would be perfect to answer these questions. You should grill him about it, let him earn his paycheck.” or, “Man, my AE, Joe, would have all the answers to your questions. Why not put him through the paces.” 

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, my FAVORITE transition is the “Which Pitch”. This gets them to look at their calendar without asking them to do it! “You know, these are all really great questions and I want to be sure you get the right answers. It looks like my AE has 1pm open on either Tuesday or Thursday. Which works for you? Let’s book 45 min to be sure we can cover all of your questions.”

Now, the meeting is booked and you’re flying high, but you’re not done yet! Now it’s time to start asking clarifying questions. We want to be sure that the prospect’s questions are getting answered and that you are setting your AE up for success. A couple of my favorite lines are:

“I want to make sure this meeting is a valuable use of your time. Can I ask a few rapid-fire questions to help make sure Joe has all of the information you need?”

“I want Joe to be on his game for you. Tell me….”

Pro Tip: Always Ask! “All other things aside, what is the #1 thing you want to learn on the call with Joe?”

Alright, we’re nearing the finish line. You’ve booked the meeting. You’ve squeezed as much info as possible out of your call. What’s next? Now, you need to make sure they show up! There are a few ways we can do this:

  • Always send a calendar invite. Do it on the phone if you can, if not, then send it IMMEDIATELY after you hang up. You want to still be fresh in their mind! 
  • Send a reminder email: “Joe is really looking forward to connecting with you tomorrow at 1pm.” (a little guilt can be useful, 😉)
  • Give the customer an action item: “Don’t forget to bring your wish list to the meeting with Joe tomorrow.”
  • Send a video. A company like BombBomb can make videos fun, quick, and easy to send! 
  • Text! As you’re getting off the call, offer your cell, “In case anything comes up before the meeting…” Then in the next breath, ask for theirs. Then send a simple text reminder the day before or morning of the meeting (within business hours, of course). 

You did it! You got the prospect on the phone, you booked the meeting, you squeezed all of the information out of them, and then you followed up to ensure they actually showed up to the meeting with your AE. Phew! You are a rockstar! Now, let’s do it all again… 

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How to Get Your Field Reps Selling Virtually

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How to Get Your Field Reps Selling Virtually

Excuse me, BUT SHOULDN’T THIS BE OVER BY NOW?!

Nine, six, and three months ago no fewer than 10 field sales VP’s told me they and their teams were “waiting to get back to normal.” I heard things like…

“Some markets are already back face-to-face.” 

“My prospects aren’t in their offices anyway.”

“My team is too tenured to be compared to virtual or inside sellers.”

Well, we’re going on month 12, and things have changed – by not changing. We’re still not business as usual, and it looks like the industry hit hardest will be corporate Real Estate as more and more industries realize that virtual will always be a part of their ongoing strategy.

In fact, only a few of us still have our heads planted in the sand by saying we don’t have to adapt how we sell. I’m hearing the most grizzly, bag-carrying, face-to-face veterans embracing virtual tools and methodologies now and calling it a competitive edge. That means there’s still some time left to get out in front of your competition, and the smart money is on adaption (I’ll credit that one to Darwin.)

So if you’re with me, dear field sales leader, but still struggling with the resistors on your team, here are a few ideas from a reformed field to virtual seller to help get some buy-in:

1. Virtual does NOT mean telesales

(also known as “Telemarketing, inside sales, call centers, virtual sellers, or those 20-something flunkies wearing ball caps and baggy jeans to work”).

Instead, liken the change to the adoption of the internet. We used to send letters. We still do, but we call them emails. Sales calls used to mean face-to-face, now it means cell phones. Face-to-face used to mean over lunch, now it’s suit on top and sweats on the bottom because it\’s a video conference. In other words, all that has changed is the technology folks. Don’t be a grandma.

2. The efficiency is undeniable.

What seller wouldn’t like more time in his or her day? Same quota but triple the potential daily meetings = higher earnings. A great field seller could meet with 2-3 (MAYBE 4) clients or prospects a day. Yeah, that’s with a tight geographical area, lots of advanced planning, and all green lights. Put that same effort into digital scheduling and outbound calling, and we can double it – MAYBE triple it. It’s like buying them a jet plane instead of a bicycle. They can literally be in any place in the WORLD at any time during the day. This is freedom! This is a bigger commission check.

3. Their competition stinks.

Last month I met virtually with my financial planner. Those 75 minutes were in my top ten most painful should-have-been-an-hour-meeting-but-ran-long-due-to-poor-planning experiences of my life. I experienced:

  1. Bumpy camera (think broadcasting from a mountain bike)
  2. Microphone interference and knocking
  3. “Can you see this?” at least 20 times
  4. Him trying to hold up a paper copy and point to it
  5. Clear lack of confidence as he routinely explained what he “usually does”
  6. Elementary PowerPoints being explained as if he had a Ph.D. and I was a preschooler
  7. An obvious sales script and process that railroaded the entire conversation
  8. A tour of their portal that included every SINGLE corner and square inch
  9. A follow-up email that read like the first chapter of “War and Peace”
  10. Zero action items, agreements, or follow-ups set (lucky me)

I really want to go on just so I can paint this picture for you, but I’ve probably conjured enough of your own painful experiences that you get it. Yeah, your highest-paid sellers probably resemble about half of this list right now. It’s how I look when trying to play Fortnite with my kids. (“What button do I push to walk again? Oh, that’s me in a corner, I thought I was over there!”)

Most enterprise sellers, field sellers, or experienced sellers use relationships, charm, swag, and deep knowledge to close deals. They look good, they sound good, they’re respected and polished, they know the industry and their product/service better than anyone and it’s WHY you put them on the big-money deals.

And this all means bupkis if they make the mistakes above. And they’ll still fail if we don’t teach them how often to call, how to get people’s attention on unexpected phone calls, how to get the follow-up meeting, how to really engage without face-to-face environments.

The message is this: 

They aren’t changing how they sell, they\’re adding tools, technology, and techniques to make their existing gifts outshine their competitors virtually. Because some of their base will always prefer virtual thanks to this pandemic, and if they get there first they will not only beat their external competition but perhaps even the internal reps who don’t adapt. No reason Joe in Idaho can’t cover Susan’s accounts in Michigan anymore.

Once we get some buy-in, I suggest we start building some new baselines. Can you and your team answer these questions:

  1. What percent of your book (or lead list) were you able to connect with last quarter?
  2. How many calls does it take to get someone on the phone?
  3. How long is your average phone call?
  4. How many calls does it take to close a deal?
  5. What trends do you see in the customers/prospects who closed?

These questions subtly set the expectation that they need to get to know their business in a different way. We can’t just count the wins anymore, we’re going to have to get to know the process because the process has changed.

Finally, I’ll leave you with good news. The skills they’re missing aren’t terribly hard. Good voicemails aren’t rocket science, nor is call bridging and pre-call planning, even online demos. If a 20-year old punk telemarketer can do it, so can your team. 😉

Get more insights by watching a recent webinar I did with a few hundred traditional sellers where we covered key techniques for a digital advantage. And consider helping your team adapt by subscribing them to The Sales Bar where we have over 100 digital selling skills on tap.

Want more tips on how field reps can sell virtually? Read these articles:
How Do I Sell If I Can’t Meet My Customers?
How Do You Transition From Field Sales To Virtual Engagement?

 

Need some help training your field reps to sell virtually?

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Tips for selling right now

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Tips for Selling Right Now

Last week I shared the rough stages we’re seeing in companies’ responses to COVID-19:

  • Step one was focusing on connectivity (WFH)
  • Step two was focusing on morale and connections (Zoom happy hour anyone?)
  • Step three was focusing on messaging (leading with empathy)

—–somewhere around the present day ———-

  • Step four is about re-aligning sales metrics, KPIs, milestones and goals
  • Step five is about closing new sales with finance
  • Step six is about back to work / back to normal

In May, we heard from our Friends of Factor 8 Open Bar community that the most difficult conversation they’re having right now isn’t in prospecting/early stages, but now it’s getting deals across the line. Most of us experienced a complete death of the existing pipeline we had in March. 

What’s filling the pipeline now are different deals. New industries, those with more urgent needs, maybe those growing today. New buyers found us (whew! This sales and marketing thing is working!)

And even though they came to us and they WERE aware of this whole pandemic thing… the deals are getting stuck before they pull the trigger.

55% of Friends of Factor 8 Leaders reported “Getting deals across the line” as the most difficult sales conversation right now.

This is supported in recent data published by Chorus who saw an approximate 100% increase in executive decision makers attending sales calls – with the biggest spike by the Chief Financial Officer.

This means our new focus is on closing with a new buyer. Finance is joining calls because:

  1. Everyone’s spending is down.
  2. You’re competing against spend in other departments with the CFO determining most critical spend.

That’s right, never thought HR systems compared with your marketing data budget? It does now. Sales tools vs. legal research? Game on.

We need to answer: Why is it business-critical to spend this money right now?

We used to answer why we are better than our competitors. Why you should spend this money with us. 

But now, it’s why this money will either:

  • Protect them from risk
  • Help them increase revenue
  • Help them save money
  • Help them pivot and come out on top of the pandemic

So even if good ol’ Corona didn’t come up once during the sales process, get ready at the end to sell to finance to get the deal over the line.

More sales tips from our Friends of Factor 8 in my next blog. Then stay tuned to learn from the folks planning re-entry.

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How Do I Sell If I Can’t Meet My Customers?

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How Do I Sell If I Can’t Meet My Customers?

If you’ve been carrying a bag for a while, I’m going to be honest. The transition to “virtual” sales or inside sales can be rough. 

It feels like a wall has been placed between you and your customers.  You’ll miss the face time.  Deals seem stalled.  Relationships aren’t quite as robust.  And that’s not even talking about what’s happening to your airline status!

If any of this sounds familiar, sign up now to keep getting new blogs.  We’re writing a series to help you transition.

My name is Lauren Bailey and I’ve been teaching phone sales for over 20 years. I carried a bag myself and when I “went inside” I felt all of the above. Moreover, my young virtual sales team struggled with how to position what they’d learned over the phone (and they were hired for selling virtually!). I’ve traveled the world launching digital sales teams and written over 40 courses that help salespeople use the phones to sell. I hope this perspective can be of value.

Today’s insight is about setting call goals.

What you used to be able to cover in one on-site meeting will take you anywhere from 3-5 calls today (and about 10x that in dials).

No, it’s not always true, but if you plan for it to be this way, you’ll feel less frustrated and improve your forecast accuracy. Here’s why:

Our calls aren’t always scheduled.  You’re trying to “get in front” of your customer or prospect with a call and three out of five times they won’t pick up or won’t have a full hour.

We have to spend more time building rapport. Gone is the handshake and back pat with a quick peek around the office and quick reference to what happened last we met or a look at the kids on their phone. We do it all with words now. It takes longer to warm up and communicate (alas, a picture DOES take 1000 words)

Digging into needs and explaining solutions also takes more time.  Not only for the extra communication without the visual cues, but because we may not have everyone we need in the room, because we’re easier to blow off or stall when we’re not face to face, because we’re bound to miss a queue somewhere and lose our customer’s focus during the meeting.  There are probably ten more reasons, but that’s enough.

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So what do we do? Slow your Roll.

Set a goal for each call that are subsets of typical sales goals. In fact, make a list right now (I’ll wait 🙂 ). If it is a new prospect, it might look like:

  1. Get direct contact information (cell phone) for easier outreach next call and landscape of key contacts, influencers, decision-makers and other parties
  2. Learn how the company is pivoting during the pandemic
  3. Uncover key priorities and current situation including numbers, current software, challenges, contracts, and timelines
  4. Uncover key values, trigger events, goals
  5. Agree on potential fit and set a meeting to deep dive + include additional decision-makers
  6. Present solution tied to key needs, values, priorities (only!)

You get the idea…

Frankly, you may have achieved all of these in a face to face meeting in the past. It will be key to have established call goals and notes from each call so you keep moving the sale forward.  (Wait! THIS is why most sellers are notoriously bad for updating CRM!).

It also makes call bridging a key skill (tune in later for more on this skill)

Feeling a bit impatient? Here’s the good news. Using the phone may net you less on each call, but you can have more connects each day. The technology and SaaS industries have moved nearly 100% inside due to the efficiencies and speed to market. Combine smart call-by-call goals with dedicated call blasts and you’ll find yourself having equal selling time with MORE contacts each day.

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