THE COLD HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 12

The Cold, Hard Truth with Gabriel Siegel

THE BOTTOM LINE: To survive and thrive as an entrepreneur in today’s environment, one must be able to:

• Distinguish your company from the competition (easier said than done).
• Continually re-evaluate the needs of the market.
• Appreciate the necessity to shift your marketing strategies to accommodate customers/prospects changing requirements and levels of sophistication.
• Make a concerted, organized and systematic effort to develop new customers/clients (cold calling/prospecting).
• Appreciate the growing sophistication of your customers and prospects.
• Understand that a “one-size-fits-all” solution rarely works.
• Present a full range of services/products to clients. We’re not mind readers. Don’t presume that your clients are not interested in a specific product/service.

It’s too easy to become, as a friend once told me, “DUMB, FAT AND HAPPY”. An E mail I received summed it up thus:

“When I worked for a company, my job was to make money for them. My job now is to make money for me!”

At a recent PROSPECTING ROUNDTABLE, a web designer shared with the group his new strategy for attracting clients and upgrading existing ones. He told us this came about as a result of one of his clients asking about Google Analytics. His client sells funeral supplies and was trying to expand his range of services and products in an industry where there are few, if any, new funeral homes. His client read about Google Analytics and search engine optimization and wanted input on the value of his web site. The web designer told us that when he created the site for the client, he was given a limited budget. He kept the language simple, refrained from using buzz words and responded to his client’s concerns with specific examples of what can be done to attract more “eyeballs” to the site. After some discussion the client agreed to a major revision of the site.

Taking a cue from that encounter, the web designer created a newsletter which he distributes to his existing customers and prospects. The newsletter focuses on web-site revision and the need for continual updating. Each mailing is followed up by a phone call discussing issues with the site and suggestions for improvements. He reported that 2010 was the best year he had since he’s been in business.

THE MORAL: REFER TO “THE BOTTOM LINE” AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS ARTICLE.

In one of my previous articles, I told the story of the carpet and upholstery cleaning company which was built entirely on cold calls and referrals. The owner read an article in a local paper about allergens in carpets and upholstery which exacerbates allergic reactions in children and adults who are sensitive to dust mite feces. He contacted a local allergist and together they agreed on a plan to promote carpet and upholstery cleaning to the physician’s patients.

I received this E mail from my client:

Dear Gabe:

“I started this new venture in July of 2010 because I felt I needed to expand with a different type of clientele. The Allergist suggested that I visit the local Pediatricians and explain the program to them. I needed to invest in some additional equipment and hire and train a technician. I’m pleased to report that we have, as of this writing, added 35 new clients, each of whom have agreed to a twice yearly cleaning. This can easily become an annuity”.

WRITER’S NOTE: The client called me to let me know that he’s been invited to set up a booth at the local hospital’s annual “Wellness Day”.

THE MORAL: REFER TO “THE BOTTOM LINE” AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS ARTICLE.

In my previous article, I introduced the reader to the manufacturer’s rep group. They were in the process of “re-inventing” their sales organization. Owing to the upheaval in the automotive business, the new owners realized that their survival hinged on cultivating a new breed of clientele; younger, more sophisticated and more demanding. The new owners felt their only alternative was to replace the entire sales force with a different “breed” of salesperson. They were looking for problem solvers who would also prospect, aggressively, for new customers. However, before hiring their new sales force the owners and the sales manager (at my suggestion) became the sales force.

The new owners and the new sales manager did what every successful entrepreneur should be doing. This afforded them the opportunity to learn the demographics of a changing market. They cold-called prospects and set up appointments. And it worked! As one of the owners told me, “This is excruciatingly difficult. But unless we can develop our own base of new customers, there is no way we’ll understand the requirements of this emerging industry. The old system of doing business died along with Detroit’s Big Three. We now have signs all around the company saying “OUR ONLY JOB IS TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS” In addition, everyone wears a button which says “I’M HERE TO HELP YOU”. I know this sounds corny; but it works”.

THE MORAL: REFER TO “THE BOTTOM LINE” AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS ARTICLE.

There are significant lessons for the entrepreneur. Those lessons are best summed up in a letter I received from the sales manager (edited for brevity):

“Dear Gabe:

Thanks for your help and input. Much was as you predicted. We were perceived as old-line, stodgy and out of touch with the market. The cold calling was even more difficult. But, we did manage some break throughs. And each of those contacts (some of which turned into orders) gave us additional insights into where we need to go and what we have to do to get there. Only by understanding our changing market environment can we properly organize, manage and compensate a sales organization”.

Besides the caveats in THE BOTTOM LINE, the entrepreneur must appreciate the following:

• There is no such animal as customer loyalty.
• Your customers are being visited and solicited by your competition.
• You need to fight for every new order, even from existing customers.
• Don’t depend on anyone to get business for you. You’re on your own!

In my next article I will share some additional strategies and insights for helping the entrepreneur adjust to and maneuver in changing markets. I will also be discussing the buying and use of leads as well as hiring independent telemarketing companies.

For anyone wishing to share thoughts or comments, the writer can be reached at guitarman1811@aol.com. I respond to E mails quicker and more thoughtfully than I do when contacted on social networking sites.

For more information, please visit Gabriel's TNNWC Bio.

---

Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
Resources for Business Planning, Development, Capital and Growth

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

THE COLD HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 12

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 4

The Cold, Hard Truth with Gabriel Siegel

We’re following the financial planner looking to expand his customer base by using cold call prospecting.

Our target is the small business owner and our source is the local yellow pages. The singular objective is to get an appointment. Each agent (financial planner) in the office has committed to spend at least one hour a day cold calling. The newest agent will be spending the bulk of her day cold calling for new clients. She understands that building a “book” of clients is a long process.


If you remember from our previous article, we have 3 objectives:

1) Introducing yourself

2) Overcoming objections

3) Getting a firm appointment


We spent a good part of each session working on overcoming objections. Perhaps you have heard some of these common objections:

“I’m not interested.” Click

“I have no money.”

“I have all the insurance I need.”

“I have a relative in the business.”

“I’m too young to think about retirement.”

“I keep my money in the bank.”

“My wife handles our money.”

“All my extra money goes back into my business.”


These may be valid objections, or simply a way for a prospect to “blow you off.” How these objections were handled will be the subject of a future article.

As I explained to this group, cold calling is an impersonal process. You don’t know each other. Second, most of us are conditioned to reject an unsolicited call. It helps when you keep your tone casual. Third, remember that your only objective is to get an appointment or permission to call back. Fourth, there’s always the next name on the list.

In our prospecting round table, we developed and role played a variety of openings. One of the agents decided to use the following approach in introducing herself to new clients. She speaks in a casual and soothing tone:

“Good day sir. My name is ________and I have been talking with business people in our area who may have questions or concerns about their investment and retirement funds and may not have the time, or even the inclination, given this economy, to give this much thought.”

Remember, this is only an opening. For those skeptics out there, I must emphasize this approach works for her. Others in the office used a similar opening, with variations suited to their individual styles. But, all the openings had a common theme: POINT OUT WHERE THE PROSPECT IS HURTING.

After asking one or two qualifying questions (also developed in our “Prospecting Round tables”) our agent concluded her phone presentation thus:

“Sir, we really need to talk. I’m not going to sell you anything, we just need to talk. Would __________________ or _________________ be a good time to meet?”

Our agent has made several contacts so far. She carries nothing with her to the initial interview; just a pad and pencil to make notes. As her principle agent notes, “The objective is to look for real money and that takes trust and time.”

Why does this approach work? There are two reasons. First, it utilizes the salesperson’s own personality and comfort level. There are no scripts, because as successful salespersons have learned, the prospect never follows the script. Second, there are no “steps.” Some sales programs take the salesperson through a series of steps designed to culminate in a sale or close. The salesperson becomes so wrapped up in the progression of steps that any curve thrown by a prospect (and it will happen every time) renders the steps moot with the salesperson trying to figure out where to go next.

Our approach emphasizes questions and responses to a prospect’s concerns. It works for the financial planner, it works for our carpet and upholstery cleaner, it works for the computer consultant, and recently a painting contractor working with realtors to prepare houses for sale. There’s no reason to doubt it could work for you.

In my next article, I will share some of our approaches to handling objections on the phone just using a simple phrase. Unfortunately, too many sales persons will give up at the first hint of an objection.

For anyone wishing to share thoughts or comments, the writer can be reached at guitarman1811@aol.com. I respond to emails more quickly and thoughtfully than I do when contacted on social networking sites.


For more information, please visit Gabriel's TNNWC Bio.

---

The National Networker Companies™ and TNNWC Group, LLC

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 4

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 3

The Cold Hard Truth with Gabriel Siegel

When cold calling, you must be able to follow two simple rules. (I discussed rule number one in last month's article.)

RULE 2: AVOID THE USE OF JARGON, BUSINESS LANGUAGE AND TRENDY PHRASES.

My neighbor owns a local hardware store. All his processes are automated. He was looking for a way to manage his retail operation from his home computer. He spoke to several “network integrators” and computer consultants. As he told me, all he got was a lot of technical BS. He finally met someone who spoke in simple, non-technical English. The consultant asked a few questions and offered a simple solution based on the client’s concerns. He left with a check and in one month the system was up and running.

Remember: IF YOU CAN’T DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS OR PURPOSE FOR CALLING SUCCINCTLY, DON’T EXPECT A PROSPECT TO DO IT FOR YOU!

CASE STUDY: A client, who is an accountant, has established himself as a financial planner selling a range of products from common stocks to annuities. His clientele includes long term investors as well as active traders. He has another group of clients who have trusted him to structure conservative investment programs geared to their retirement. For this group, he charges a fee and often works with the client’s attorney. His target market is the small business owner. He is on several social networking sites, but questions the value because he feels it “cheapens his service” and, as he points out, everyone is selling a similar service and more often than not, most people are looking for free advice. He’s an active member of several local Chambers of Commerce and conducts Financial Planning seminars several times a year from which he gets a few leads. His objective is to broaden his customer base using cold-call prospecting. He has used the local yellow pages, with moderate success. He bought leads, also moderate success. His goal is to increase the number of appointments through cold call efforts.

At this point, a reader may ask why not use his client base for referrals, or, try to upgrade current client’s investment programs. There are, I found through experience (sometimes painful), two good reasons for not relying on existing clients. First, given today’s difficult investment environment, fewer people are willing to recommend the services of an advisor. Second, there’s a decided limit on how often one can expect to “churn” an existing client, especially when a program has been designed to their specifications.

Please don’t assume that our financial planner doesn’t solicit referrals or upgrades. During annual reviews with clients, he always asks for referrals, and when appropriate, he does recommend portfolio upgrades and/or changes.

After a meeting with the client and several of his agents, we set up a “prospecting roundtable”. This is simply a group which gets together for the express purpose of helping to establish cold calling strategies, each tailored to his or her specific industry. Through role playing, each attendee gets to refine his opening, learns how to handle objections and make an appointment. This is an effective and powerful tool.

In this situation, our “roundtable” consisted of the client, his partner, and the three agents who work for him. We also included one of the secretaries because she is often the first person with whom clients and/or prospects have contact. We also conducted our session off-site to avoid any interference from office routines.

We enumerated three objectives for our sessions. Everyone had to come away with a method for:

1. Introducing yourself to a prospect


2. Overcoming objections


3. Getting a firm appointment

To date we’ve had three sessions with a fourth planned for mid-June. In my next article, I will share with our readers several of the openings we developed, a mechanism for overcoming objections, and a strategy for setting firm appointments.

For anyone wishing to share thoughts or comments, the writer can be reached at guitarman1811@aol.com. I respond to E mails more quickly and thoughtfully than I do when contacted on social networking sites.


For more information, please visit Gabriel's TNNWC Bio.

---

The National Networker Companies™ and TNNWC Group, LLC

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 3

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 1

The Cold, Hard Truth with Gabriel Siegel

An old friend asked me for help. His business this past year barely made it. He lost several major clients and was having a hard time finding new ones. Sound familiar? It should. Every entrepreneur must ultimately confront the demon; how do I grow my business?


My friend attends at least two weekly networking sessions. He leaves with a handful of business cards, but little else. He tried direct mail; frightfully expensive and too scattershot. He tried newspaper advertising; no luck. Social networking may be great for dating and renewing friendships but not for converting prospects into clients.


COLD CALLING has long been the most effective tool for prospecting. Yet, lately it has become a dirty word. We’ve allowed ourselves to become seduced by the belief of “easy prospecting” by deluding ourselves into thinking that technology will allow us to reach a wide audience. That may be true. However, are we really reaching QUALITY and QUALIFIED prospects? Every successful financial planner, insurance salesperson, software developer, carpet and upholstery cleaner, you name it, understands the value of, and the need for making those cold calls, and, will devote a part of their day in pursuit of new clients. Anyone who has successfully built a service business will tell you that the key to their success has been a well-thought-out cold calling strategy!


You may well be saying that you don’t sell any of these services. Nonsense, you’re still selling an intangible. That cold call will put you face-to-face with a prospective client sooner than networking, passing out business cards, or even creating a great website.


I hope I’ve given you some “food for thought.” In future articles, we will discuss effective cold calling strategies with the ultimate goal of creating a “Prospecting Roundtable” where we can get together and help plan effective cold calling campaigns.


Let me know your thoughts.

Gabriel Siegel



For more information, please visit Gabriel's TNNW Bio.

---

The National Networker Companies

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 1

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 2

The Cold, Hard Truth with Gabriel Siegel

Effective cold callers understand prospective customers have three concerns:

1. Will the product or service make or save me money?
2. Will the product or service improve my efficiency or enhance my lifestyle?
3. Will the product or services help me solve a problem?

BOTTOM LINE: WHAT IS THE VALUE OF YOUR SERVICE TO ME?

When cold calling, you must be able to follow two simple rules:

RULE 1: EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF YOUR CALL WITH A SIMPLE DECLARATIVE SENTENCE, FOLLOWED BY THE CRITICAL QUESTION.

This is the quickest way to qualify your prospect. An affirmative answer to THE CRITICAL QUESTION brings you closer to the next step; getting an appointment!

A CASE STUDY:

A client is in the carpet and upholstery cleaning business. When cold calling, he uses the following approach:

“Good morning, Ms. Homeowner. We’ve been calling homeowners who feel their carpets and upholstery could benefit from some professional TLC not only to look better but also to last longer. I’m so glad I have this chance to speak with you. If you allow me just a few minutes, I’m sure you’ll be willing to invite us to give you an estimate on carpet and upholstery cleaning."

They then ask a few simple questions and ask for an appointment.

Do they get rejections? Definitely! But, he also gets quality appointments leading to new and repeat (lucrative) customers.

If he’s unsuccessful in getting an appointment, he then asks “I understand that you may not be interested at this time, but do you know of anyone else who might need our services?”

In a typical week, my client, or his wife, will spend about 2 hours per day cold calling. They average about 1.5 appointments per day and about 2 referrals a week from their prospecting efforts. They have a simple philosophy; if I don’t have appointments, I’m unemployed. They advertise extensively, but have learned not to depend on this for attracting enough new and repeat customers.

Contrast his approach to a typical cold call from a carpet/upholstery cleaning company. (We actually got this call about a week ago). “Hello, I’m from XYZ Carpet Cleaners and we’re running a special promotion for cleaning this month. We’re only charging $99.00 to clean all your carpets and one sofa.” Undoubtedly some people will respond in the affirmative. What are the chances of the homeowner remembering this cheap service, which, by the way, turns out not to be so cheap?

The second approach reduces your cold-calling efforts to a “numbers game”. The caller has to hope that the person on the other end actually wants to have their carpet and upholstery cleaned while the prospector locked himself into a low price. You can never sell on price; someone is always less expensive. The only perceived value you’ve created focuses only on price; important to some but less so to many others.

The first approach has a value which will become obvious as we develop cold calling strategies in future articles. (Some of our readers will become more adept at prospecting by participating in up coming seminars and role-playing sessions).

David Sandler, founder of The Sandler Sales Institute®, makes the following observation: “PEOPLE BUY TO AVOID OR OVERCOME PAIN.” On a cold call, unless you can identify a problem or need, there is no reason to see you, because you’ve done nothing to create a perceived value and/or distinguish your service.

Can you think of a simple declarative sentence and a CRITICAL QUESTION which would make me want to see you?

You only have one objective on a cold call: GET THE APPOINTMENT! In the next article, I’ll present the second rule of cold calling with a case study. Let me know your thoughts.


For more information, please visit Gabriel's TNNW Bio.

---

The National Networker Companies™

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 2