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Does anyone here work in sales? Keys to good sales calls?

UNCjigga

UNCjigga

Lifer
Aiight, I need some heavy-duty selling advice. I have transitioned into a more salesy role at my job for the time being, and part of that means I need to make cold calls. No, this is not really telemarketing--I'm not calling folks at home during dinner. I'm calling CFOs of Fortune 1000 companies in the early hours of the morning, before lunch, and before end-of-business. I have no experience. I suck. These guys don't wanna give me the time of day. The southern accent I've picked up doesn't help either (I'm mostly calling companies in the Northeast corridor and California.) Does anyone have advice for a fresh sales recruit with ZERO selling experience trying to reach executive-level corporate managers???
 
Well, I always sold equipment (Tangibles in the 10-50k and occasionally much higher range) and the best thing I found is to never leave the customer without some type of commitment from him/her even if only an appointment to call on the phone. You can be a star in person but if the customer doesnt feel they owe you just a little they feel a lot more free to buy from someone else.

Also, dont lie. If you dont know an answer admit it but find out what it is and get back. Follow up!

Rapport, rapport, rapport. No gladhanding and wasting time unless you want to be a con artist. 😀
 
A lot of good books out there on the subject.

See if you can find anything by Tom Hopkins. He wrote "How to sell anything to anyone" or something like that. A little dated today but still sound principles.
 
Talk fast. Confuse the prospective customer until he buys. Use lots of big words and technical jargon, so you sound like you know what you're talking about.
 
Thanks...I'm browsing Amazon.com for B2B selling books...a lot of the stuff looks like it was written by typical sleazy salesmen though...
 
Originally posted by: sward666
Talk fast. Confuse the prospective customer until he buys. Use lots of big words and technical jargon, so you sound like you know what you're talking about.
Click to expand...
LOL those are the guys I hang up on when they call me at work...
 
Hit fast hit hard. You want to get their attention the second they pick up the phone and you want to keep their attention until you are ready for them to hang up. End your questions with questions, and use their names frequently.
 
Ask the person if you have called at a good time. Ask them what would be a better time (if it isn't right now).
 
Heh, if I pick up the phone and someone with a southern drawl or other intelligible accent calls, I hang up. 😛
 
Basic fundamentals of sales:
Be aggressive - confidence sells. Also, sales is numbers. It might take 100 calls to close one deal, but that's the job and you will be rewarded.
Keep it simple - the harder you make the sales process for your customer, the less likely they are to buy.
Ask questions - how else can you find out if the product makes sense for your customer? Or which of your products they might want?
Don't talk too much - unnecessary information is just that, unnecessary. Annoying and potentially confusing as well.
Be assumptive - always assume your customer is going to buy. After all, you're selling a great product, right? Who wouldn't want it?
Always be closing and always close with a question - you haven't sold anything unless you have a committment and you always have to ask for the committment.
Once you ask a closing question, shut up. Don't lose your nerve, let them answer.
Never lie - a lie will always be discovered eventually. You may close the deal but you'll never get referrals or repeat business.
Build a relationship with your customers and get referrals for new business once the sale is complete. Who wants to make cold calls forever?

Sales training is a must, even if you have to do it on your own.
I recommend:
Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy - fundamentals, techniques, etc
Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar - maintaining the proper attitude/confidence level, succeeding in life as well as career
 
Originally posted by: bmacd
You need to see the movie "Boiler Room"

-=bmacd=-
Click to expand...
Seen it, loved it. Someone else suggested "Glengerry Glen Ross"--never heard of it but this guy said it was awesome. He also kept saying "DON'T TOUCH the coffee!! Coffee is for closers!" 😕
 
Originally posted by: uncJIGGA
Originally posted by: bmacd
You need to see the movie "Boiler Room"

-=bmacd=-
Click to expand...
Seen it, loved it. Someone else suggested "Glengerry Glen Ross"--never heard of it but this guy said it was awesome. He also kept saying "DON'T TOUCH the coffee!! Coffee is for closers!" 😕
Click to expand...

Glengarry Glen Ross is one of the greatest sales movies EVER. The 10-15 minutes with Alec Baldwin is the highlight of his acting career. He should have won the Oscar. The line, btw, is "You! Put that coffee down. Coffee is for closers only." Among the other great ones is "This month's sales contest: 1st place is a brand-new Cadillac Eldorado, 2nd place is a pair of steak knives, 3rd place is you're fired!"

Sweet. 😀

I liked Boiler Room but (IMNSHO) it's almost a cheap rip-off of Wall Street, a much better movie. Still some very cool scenes though, some of which echo my real life :Q

 
"Lunch is for suckers"

"A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place"

"Its all about bucks, the rest is just conversation"

Some of my favorite quotes.

-PAB
 
#1 find out what the customer needs and why the problem with most sales people is they dont listen
#2 get the customer to talk to you
#3 be confident customers can smell fear and will not buy if you arent confident
#4 you will only close about 33% of your sales ( this is a national average ) dont lose heart
 
Know your product inside out,and your compititions product. Then go in dripping in confidence. Let the customer tell you how to sell him. Learn those skills and you will be successful.😉
 
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