The days of cold calling have mostly gone by the wayside at this time in the sales world, primarily due to advancing technologies and new ways of doing things. However, Anthony Stears, “The Telephone Assassin,” says that you can still get results by calling people on the telephone. Get to know “The Sales Assassin,” Anthony Stears in this video interview, hosted by John Golden.

In this sales expert interview, learn:

• How attitude influences the outcome of a call
• How to integrate testimonials
• Essential steps to a great sales call

Approach with the Right Attitude

Approaching someone with the right attitude over the telephone sets you up for a successful phone call. As opposed to jumping right into a script as soon as someone picks up the phone, start with something like: “I’m sure you’re quite busy, but I have some things I’d like to talk to you about. Is there a better time to call you back?” Right off the bat, you are taking your customer’s needs and schedule into consideration, and giving them a chance to get you off the phone in an easy way. Often, the customer will say, “I have a few minutes now, what is this call about?” At that moment, you have created intrigue about the call, which is key to keeping them interested long enough to get intrigued about the product.

Stears’ Steps: Build Rapport

Stears has several steps that will help you create a successful outcome with your calls. The first is to build rapport, and be polite with the person you’re talking on the phone with, and integrate information about them as an individual. You can do this by researching the person you are calling and the company they work for in advance. With LinkedIn, and other social media profiles, it is easier than ever to know who you are pitching too.

Stears’ Steps: Using Testimonials to Brag

The second step is to build credibility. People like showing off their skills and proving themselves to customer’s. It’s a great sales tactic that works to show credibility. However, by using your testimonials from other clients to do the bragging for you, you create a more elegant approach that holds more weight because it came from a client. The testimony becomes even more powerful when targeted to a specific kind of company or organization. For example, if you are pitching to an IT company, having testimonials from past IT companies that you have worked with creates more credibility, and the client will be more likely to trust you because you have done good work in their particular field.

Stears’ Steps: Create Urgency on a Timeline

Thirdly, it is essential to work on an appropriate timeline. If you are selling insurance, but a company has already signed an insurance contract that doesn’t expire for ten months, you have to adjust your timeline so that it fits with the consumers. “Once you understand their desired timelines, you can put them in the pipeline, and strike later when the iron is hot instead of forcing the conversation when people aren’t ready to have it,” said Stears.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Customer integration at the most basic level is about having a company that can truly help the customer in every way. This person becomes a valuable resource to the customers because the customer knows where to go, and who to talk to in order to get the job done. In essence, each person at the company has command over her or his company resources. Mike Bosworth has a lot to say in this interview on customer integration, hosted by John Golden.

In this sales expert interview, learn more about:

• What customer integration looks like
• The difference between integration and co-existence
• How to create a deliberate culture that fosters integration
• Specific tools to create a more integrated culture

Integration, Not Co-Existence

Often times, the culture at a company is one of co-existence. This is where the different parts of an organization are forced to work together. Bosworth observes that they often do so with an “uneasy peace.” More appropriate and more successful, however, is creating a culture that is integrated from the beginning. For example, when each group works together and knows all of the necessary information needed to help and assist the customer. “Facilitate the opportunity for the employees to have a chance to get to know each other at a personal level, and build some trust and some bonding, so when something does happen, those connections are already integrated around the customer,” says Bosworth.

Creating a Deliberate Culture

Create a deliberate culture that is centered around the needs of the customer. A company structure should be based on the question: “How do we set ourselves up so that the customer can best be served?” says Bosworth. “How do we set it up so the customer can get the information they need immediately, and that it doesn’t have to be this ‘magical mystery’ journey to get the answers they are looking for.”

Vulnerability Creates Integration

Creating cohesion among groups and a developing deliberate culture centered on the customer seems like a great idea. But to actually put it into practice, Bosworth uses several tools. One of his team building customer integration activities involves having each person in the group tell a 90-second story. This story is about a moment in their life that completely changed their perspective. These stories are often quite profound, and as a result, it encourages each person to show a vulnerable side. “Vulnerability is the key to connection,” said Bosworth. “Celebrate this vulnerability.” It is because of the shared vulnerability that integration is created.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

The sales process has been around for many years, but the addition of the marketing process has changed the way that things are done. With two different processes, companies can integrate the two, changing the process as a whole, and how the final result is ultimately achieved. If the marketing process and sales process are not connected and cohesive, it can create detrimental inefficiencies. Hugh Macfarlane discusses this more in detail in this video interview, hosted by John Golden.

This sales expert interview covers:

• Why is the sales process important
• Why is the marketing process important
• How the marketing and sales process are intertwined and how they work together
• Understand Macfarlane’s term “the buyer’s journey”

The Buyer’s Journey

Macfarlane coined the term “the buyer’s journey,” which combines the marketing and sales processes into one shared vision between organization and consumer. The shared processes work to help the buyer through each step of the plan, taking them through the “journey.”

A Successful Outcome

In order for this journey to be completed successfully, sales and marketing need to be in the room together. This allows both sides to create a conjoined plan of attack in order to monitor leads (sales), market to leads (marketing), and then furnish the desired result at the end of the scheduled timeline. Both processes become centered around one main question: How can a company best move the buyer through the conjoined sales and marketing process, and help them reach their ultimate goal?

Shared process, shared responsibility

The joining of these two processes can create some confusion on who to talk to, who is in charge, etc. Often times the head of marketing, the head of sales, and the CEO are all involved in seeing the buyer through each stage of the process. According to Macfarlane, the responsibility is distributed evenly. “It’s a third the head of marketing, a third the head of sales, and a third the CEO.” If you look at the entire process, not just the marketing and sales processes individually, you see that it can’t be done alone. There needs to be a shared process in order to create the necessary cohesion.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Developing Tomorrow’s Sales Professionals
#SalesChats: Episode 50

DuPaul University created a center for sales leadership to help educate the future salespeople of the world. Daniel Strunk, managing director of the program, discusses developing sales professionals in this #SalesChat, hosted by John Golden and Martha Neumeister.

Strunk explains:

• The reason why technology should be utilized in order to develop sales professionals
• Customer relation management software, and why it is essential
• How sales relies on technology to be more productive
• The advantages that students have when they are trained and familiar with using CRM systems before entering the workforce
• The benefits that organizations see in students who are already trained in sales and work ready
• Speed, accuracy, and other top techniques that individuals should learn and practice before entering the sales world
• The success rates of graduates that are developed in university programs
• What the future of sales looks like, and the role that well developed professional salespeople play
• How technology and a savvy salesperson combine for a winning combination
• The importance of continuing education, even after graduation

Our Guest

Daniel Strunk

Daniel has over 40 years’ experience in top executive positions in sales, marketing, consulting and technology. Currently he’s Managing Director of The Center for Sales Leadership at DePaul University in Chicago, and textbook author of Principles of Category Management and Sales Strategy & Technology.

Links › salesleadershipcenter.com | twitter.com | linkedin.com

Our Hosts

John Golden

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Martha Neumeister

Martha is social media strategist, responsible for all social media platforms of Pipeliner CRM. She is a communication expert with social media affinity, which she has been focusing on throughout her professional career. She has a bachelor´s degree in Entrepreneurship & Management and a master´s degree in Online Marketing which supports her in her career as Social Media Strategist.

About SalesChats

SalesChats is a fast-paced (no more than 30 minutes) multi-media series that provides leading strategies, tactics and thinking for sales professionals worldwide. It can be found on Twitter (#SalesChats), as a live Google+ Hangout, and as a podcast available on iTunes, SoundCloud and right here on SalesPOP! If you think you would make a great guest for #SalesChats, please contact co-host Martha Neumeister.

SalesChats is co-hosted by John Golden, CSO Pipeliner CRM, and Martha Neumeister, Social Media Strategist Pipeliner CRM.

The stereotype of the shady car salesman doesn’t fit the majority of salespeople. Most salesmen and women are honest people who are professional and decent, the stereotype isn’t withstanding. However, just because the seller is honest, does not mean that they have built trust with their client. Being honest and building trust are key ways to create relationships with customers and keep them coming back to you again and again. John Golden interviews Adrian Davis on this crucial topic.

In this sales expert interview, learn more about building trust in sales:

• Building trust through goal alignment
• Using empathy in salesperson/consumer relationships
• Maintaining trust once you’ve earned it
• Are honesty and trustworthiness the same thing?

Trust through Goal Alignment

Customers trust salespeople who understand that everyone is on the same page. This kind of goal alignment can help create a secure trust between parties. Build trust with clients by taking the approach of, “I understand what you’re trying to accomplish, and I will work to make sure that it gets accomplished, even if it’s against my ultimate short-term goal. I understand what you’re trying to do, I believe in it, and I support it.” If you both have the same outcome, a client will be more likely to trust you to get them where they need to be. “You’re not selling a service, you’re selling an outcome,” says Davis.

The biggest competitor? The status quo.

Often times, consumers will shy away from reaching their fullest potential due to the status quo, or a current state of affairs. It is very easy and safe to stay where you are, but as salespeople, we want to help our consumers get away from the status quo, and move them to where they really want to go. This process can look like helping the buyer become more organized, even going so far as to join the company environment to understand insider politics and culture and navigating the organization of the company away from the status quo. A customer who trusts you will be more inclined to stray away from the safety of the status quo and push themselves to reach their ultimate and full potential.

Have trust? Don’t lose it!

There are times when salespeople can inadvertently lose the trust of their clients. Davis sites the biggest mistake that can erode trust as having a self-oriented perspective. “When you see the world from your own perspective, you don’t have the empathy to see how things work from other people’s perspectives.” This kind of outlook can keep customers from engaging with you on a deeper and more vulnerable level, which can lead to lost trust.

It is notable that not everyone is naturally wired for empathy. If this description fits you, there are ways to train yourself to be more empathic. Davis recommends taking the outlook of naturally curious, and strategic about changing the thinking process from more self-oriented to other-oriented. At the most basic level, just start with a genuine concern for the consumer and their prospects.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Pipeliner CRM totally empowers salespeople in building trust. Get your free trial of Pipeliner CRM now.

Today’s Digital Sales Tip has to do with the 15 minute meeting request. It’s dumb! Stop! If you are meeting a prospect for the first time, and requesting to meet for just 15 minutes…look, you can’t build a rapport, understand their business pain, provide a preliminary overview of how you help, who else you’ve helped, and receive a commitment to move to the next step—in 15 minutes.

You see, rapport building takes time, and it can’t be limited to just a few minutes. As an example, I always start my virtual meetings—which are 100% of the time on Zoom Video—with a virtual background. Sometimes it’s a boat. Sometimes it’s a bridge. And it makes for a great ice-breaker with a buyer or a prospect. And that one part of the conversation ends up being at least three minutes long. Like, “Are you out on a boat right now?” So if I only have 15 minutes, then I really really only have 12 minutes left to understand my buyer’s business pain, provide a preliminary overview of how you help, and get a commitment to move to the next step. And that’s just impossible to do in 15 minutes.

Now this practice of asking for a 15-minute meeting came as a result of buyers having less time. And we as salespeople perceived that if we can just get them on a call, we can get their commitment to move to the next level in a short period of time. But it’s a short-sided best practice. I recommend: stop doing it.

I contend that if a buyer believes they have a problem, they will be willing to spend 30 minutes on the phone reviewing their problem, and what you might be able to do to help them solve that problem. Don’t sell yourself short by asking for a 15-minute meeting. Besides, why would you want to waste your time with a buyer who’s not willing to invest their time to solve a problem?

So in my humble opinion, this practice is, for want of a better word, dumb. And we’re forgetting the single most important thing in selling when we request a 15-minute meeting. And that is, we’re preventing ourselves from building trust! And trust cannot be built in a matter of minutes. Your buyer needs to see the authentic self, and needs to believe in you—that you can help solve their problem.

I hope that helps! That’s our Digital Sales Training Tip for the day. Visit Vengreso, or search vengreso on YouTube.

Getting sales training to stick and become the daily work practice of the salespeople can be difficult. Many pieces of training are based on theoretical situations, or encourage exploration of ideologies, but do not get down to: How do you actually do it? What is the piece that the salesperson takes away that actually makes a difference? These questions are answered and more in this video interview with Tom Haller by John Golden.

In this expert sales interview it’s all about sales training:

• What’s the secret to getting sales training to really stick and become the work practice of salespeople?
• The role of practicing as a salesperson
• Understanding your customer’s industry
• Creating qualifying results
• Giving advice in a manner that is measurable and repeatable

Practice Makes Perfect

Professional sports players practice multiple times a week in preparation for game day. However, it’s not as often that salespeople actually practice their skills. In training, Haller encourages trainers to teach based on real examples, not just role-plays. These real examples help salespeople orient themselves and prepare for the real tasks ahead.

Understanding the Industry

Applying these practices in real life situations also helps the salesperson understand the impact that their product will have on a company as a whole, not just at a product level. Ask yourself, “what will this product do for the business as a whole?” “How will this impact the business?” These kinds of questions help a salesperson understand the impact that their product or service could have on the company as a whole. This method of training helps broaden the perspective and helps the salesperson get on the same page as the consumer.

Qualify.

Qualifying results and understanding the impact that your product or service could have on the industry helps a salesperson understand the value of the effort they are or are not going to put into making the sale. People, time, and money are all very important factors in the ultimate finalizing of a sale. If a consumer does not have the resource, it can become a bad deal from the start. Haller refers to the term “hopium” to describe the hope a salesperson has when trying to close a sale, but stresses that too much of this hope can be a time waster if it takes away time from making sales with companies that actually do have the resources. You only have so many hours to make deals. If you spend 80% of your time working on deals that never close, then you only have 20% of your time to make the quota.

Give Measurable Advice

Haller advises against giving people coaching on things that you cannot be measured. In order to train people, it is crucial that trainers provide information that can garnish results that are both measurable and repeatable.

Often times, well-meaning trainers will give advice that is “nonsense,” when the person on the receiving end of the advice doesn’t really know how to apply the advice. Haller suggests scheduling a time once a quarter to talk about skill progression, and train specifically on certain skills like understanding the industry, creating qualifying results, etc.
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About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Pipeliner CRM totally enables sales training. Get your free trial of Pipeliner CRM now.