The Winner's Sales Strategy Blog

Cold Calling Just Might Make You ... SICK!

I received a VERY interesting email from a reader, a regional sales manager for a large company, last week. The subject line of his email was, "All salespeople are sick if they are still cold calling."

Intrigued, I immediately opened it, and was pleasantly surprised at the arguments he offered!

Before I get to that, here's a reminder of a basic principle I teach:

Cold calling, quite simply, is ... DUMB!

Not only does it get appointments at a very low rate of success, but worse yet, appointments set by cold calling are usually a waste of time, with a low-quality prospect who probably isn't fully qualified, and ready, willing, and able to buy from you right now.

But I digress. Back to the point of this email...

The "Sickness" of Cold Calling

The explanation behind this has to do with a principle of psychology defining the seven character defects that cause people to behave the way they do.

These character defects are called "Learned Behavior." The good news is that, when addressed with Behavior Modification solutions (BMOD), they can become "Unlearned Behavior," but it takes longer!

Now here's where it gets interesting: Salespeople as a whole have some HORRIBLE "Learned Behavior"!!!!

I see it all the time as I'm out with reps who have years of experience, and over those years, have picked up terrible habits, saying things that are totally irrelevant and have nothing to do with the prospect's needs - all the usual suspects such as, "We have the best service," "We're the marketing leader," blah blah blah.

But the worst learned behavior of all is COLD CALLING.

It blows my mind that SO MANY valuable, and extremely effective, alternatives to cold calling exist today, from long established self-marketing strategies, to the Internet, to social media, to good old-fashioned networking and relationship building, and so many, many more.

But due to learned behavior, otherwise intelligent and capable salespeople get up every day and begin wasting endless hours cold calling instead!

The bottom line is that most salespeople fail, not because they're bad salespeople, but because of this "Learned Behavior" that has essentially programmed them to do things that don't work anymore!

I Used To Be A Failure, Too

When I started out in sales, i was a miserable failure myself, because I was told over and over again, and had it endlessly drilled into my head, that I MUST cold call. When I objected and said it wasn't working, I was told to cold call even more!

THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY!

When something isn't working, the answer isn't to do more of it. It's to change your activities and your behavior to something that does work.

And guess what? Cold calling DOES NOT work, not anymore, not in today's economy!

The solution, therefore, is to STOP cold calling and START doing something that works instead!

Read the full article here:

http://www.nevercoldcall.com/blog/still-cold-calling-youre-sick/

New York Times best-selling author Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the Never Cold Call Again® System and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast  Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to  download a free 37-page PDF preview of his Never Cold Call Again  lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com/

Powerful Sales Lessons - from a Baby?

My wife and I had our first child recently - woohoo! It's been a lot of fun, and a huge learning experience as well.

Since  this is our first and we had no idea what to do, we hired a baby nurse  for a few days, not to take care of the baby as much as to teach us how  to take care of the baby ourselves.

The  most obvious part of baby care is that you're never pleading with or  begging the baby to do anything. Instead, you create the ideal  circumstances to get the baby to do what you want, or what's best for  the baby.

What's  most interesting is that unlike typical, sleep-deprived, frazzled new  parents, we're sleeping pretty well and are relaxed and life is going on  mostly as normal. All this because of a little bit of knowledge!

This  was also true when we got a dog. We have a Great Dane, and with a dog  of that size, you can't mess around with it being untrained. So we hired  a military dog trainer to come to the house, but rather than train the  dog directly, what she did was teach us how to train the dog. The  results were pretty amazing, and people are  continually amazed at how  well-behaved she is.

Again,  there was no begging or pleading or saying "please" to the dog. You  create the ideal circumstances, and the dog does what you want it to do.

The bottom line with both dogs and babies? Begging doesn't get them to do what you want.

So ... WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING IT WITH YOUR SALES PROSPECTS?

If  begging doesn't work with dogs or babies, it most definitely won't work  with sales prospects. In fact, it actually turns them off and gives  them all the reasons in the world not to BUY from you.

Like  parents who go through life, or at least those first few months,  frazzled and  sleep-deprived, most salespeople go through their lives  frazzled and stressed out. And frequently broke.

Why?

Because  they're not learning HOW to be successful. Worse, they sell in a way  that comes across as BEGGING and PLEADING to prospects!

Begging & pleading with baby = fussy difficult baby.
Begging & pleading with dog = bad dog.
Begging & pleading with prospects (even if you don't realize you're doing it) = NO  SALES.

So  do yourself a favor, stop begging & pleading with prospects. Stop  putting  prospects up on a pedestal and supplicating to them and  treating them like  superiors. Instead, take charge and create the  circumstances for them to buy right now.

"Circumstances? Hell, I make circumstances! ATTACK!"
-Napoleon Bonaparte

You need to have the same attitude in sales! Don't beg & plead - ATTACK!

Read the full article here


To your success,

Frank Rumbauskas

New York Times best-selling author Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the Never Cold Call Again® System and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page PDF preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

The Worst Cold Call I've Ever Heard!

You've probably figured out from my newsletters that I'm a big fan of the movie Wall Street, and, true to form, I usually live out Gordon Gekko's famous quote: "Lunch is for wimps!"

However, once or twice a week, I let myself slip and have lunch, and it's almost always at the same, hole-in-the-wall, but phenomenal, asian noodle soup house.

They sat me right near the counter yesterday, and so I got to hear all of the phone conversations that went on.

And, sure enough, the restaurant received a cold call while I was eating!

Before I tell you that story, though, you need to know a bit of background about the restaurant: It's been there forever. It's consistently rated the best noodle house in the entire Dallas metro area. And it's ALWAYS packed - any time of day, any day of the week.

As a result, they don't need any marketing. (If anything, they need more tables!)

Not surprisingly, since they've been around since before the Internet, and because they already have all the business they can handle, they don't have a website.

The Dumb Cold Call

Ever since the housing crash happened and the recession began, a "get rich quick" cottage industry has sprung up, teaching people how to start their own businesses doing web design and related services. 

As I was enjoying my soup, one of these people cold called the restaurant, trying to sell them a website.

The owner, who isn't very friendly to begin with, answered the phone. "No we do not have a website," I heard him say. "No, we don't want a website!" I heard him yell. Finally he slammed the phone down and hung up on the annoying cold caller.

What Went Wrong?

Why didn't this restaurant owner want to meet with the cold-calling web designer? What made him slam the phone down in anger, when the cold-caller refused to take "no" for an answer?

That's simple: He wasn't a qualified prospect!

And therein lies one of the two biggest problems with cold calling: It simply fails to find enough qualified prospects to keep you fat and happy. (The other major problem is that it's an unacceptably huge time drain, but that's a topic for another email.)

The study done by Baylor University I recently told you about concluded that it takes an experienced salesperson 7.5 hours to get one qualified appointment. A lot of people balked at that and emailed back, "I get way more than one appointment in that much time!" But they're missing the key point: The study only considers a qualified appointment with someone who is ready, willing, and able to buy - now.

And cold calling simply doesn't find enough of them to make it worth your while.

So do yourself a big favor: STOP cold calling, and START using effective, intelligent, Information Age methods to start bringing qualified prospects to YOU!

New York Times best-selling author Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the Never Cold Call Again® System and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page PDF preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

The #1 Reason Why Salespeople Fail

This April I had the honor and privilege of attending the opening dedication ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Library right here in Dallas, Texas.

I walked out with three things:

1. A day I'll never forget
2. A sunburn (that's now a very nice tan!)
3. Some VERY eye-opening insights into sales and power

Why People Succeed - In Sales and in Life

As I sat there and watched the five living US presidents speak, and observed the many other world leaders and people of power and influence present, something became perfectly clear:

None of these people chase. None of them seek approval. None of them supplicate. None of them EVER give up their power!

I've known this for a long time. Many people have written to me, explaining that many of the principles taught in the Never Cold Call Again system, in the module on the psychological aspects of selling, have not only exploded their sales careers, but have vastly improved the personal aspects of their lives.

Parents are finally getting their children to listen. Married couples are enjoying more harmonious relationships with less conflict. Single people are getting dates a whole lot easier.

But it wasn't until April, when I watched some VERY powerful people, that this concept really hit home. Powerful people NEVER chase, seek approval, or supplicate!

Why Salespeople Fail

Salespeople fail for one reason and one reason only - and it's the opposite of what I just described. It's because they chase, seek approval from others, and supplicate to prospects!

Everyone has done it: Saying things that give away your power, like, "I'll be at your beck and call if you'll trust me with your business." Or endlessly leaving voicemails that are never returned, or calling those annoying prospects every six months who tell you to call back in another six months - I used to sit near a sales rep who did this each and every morning and it was horrifying!

But the most egregious offense of all, when it comes to giving away your power and letting prospects rule you and decide your fate, is cold calling.

Nothing says desperate, chasing, approval-seeking, and just plain weak more than cold calling does. It shows that you need a sale, and when you need something, no one wants to give it to you!

I coined a term a few years ago that I remind salespeople constantly: "Those who are chased never want to be caught!" Think of a cat. The only way to get a cat to come to you is to ignore it, or at least pretend to.

And you need to do the same with your ideal sales prospects: You need to "pretend" to ignore them, while using strategic methods to reel them in and get them to BUY!

Do that instead of cold calling, and watch your sales numbers explode and your stress disappear!

New York Times best-selling author Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the Never Cold Call Again® System and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page PDF preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com