I get many emails from people seeking insight or asking me to solve their sales dilemmas.
Here are a few that may relate to your job, your life, and (most importantly) your sales thought process.
I get many emails from people seeking insight or asking me to solve their sales dilemmas.
Here are a few that may relate to your job, your life, and (most importantly) your sales thought process.
Dear Jeffrey, I have cold called in the past and did not have a problem with it. But now I am having a hard time getting people to even hear me out. What is the best way to handle cold calls about a free hearing screening for senior citizens and follow up on a direct mailing? Sherri
Cold calling sucks. It’s for people that have no other way of marketing. Senior citizens meet in groups. They have conclaves. They have bridge parties. They have mahjong parties. They have bingo parties. Go to the parties. Stop cold calling people. It’s a waste of time.
You need to sit in a room and, in a normal voice, say: “How many people can’t hear me? Well, I guess you’re not raising your hands because you can’t hear me.”
And then talk about your free test and ask, “who would like to take it?” Maybe bring the test to the group. Your job is to figure out smarter, better ways to eliminate the cold call.
If you are going to use direct mail (goodness gracious), it’s OK, but its passé. The bottom line is, if you get a response from it, then figure out a better way to communicate with those who are interested.
Often, the senior citizen will have an email account. Often, they will have a Facebook account because they are communicating with their grandchildren. Figure that out. Then make the call.
How do you advertise and get customers to your business with no money? Jamie
Actually, it’s easier than you think. If you have some customers, get them to start advertising. Get them to post a little bit of a testimonial for you on their Facebook pages and your Facebook page. Start LinkedIn. Start Twitter. Start to use social media to build your business and build your reputation. It’s free.
You don’t have to worry about the cost of an ad, which may not bring you the results you’re hoping for anyway. Advertising is more freely available than it has ever been. Your job is to figure out a way to take advantage of it using existing customers and social media.
I work in the agriculture industry. Most of my customers wear blue jeans and cowboy boots. Everything I read about sales says dress up. When I do, some of my customers make comments about being a city boy, or they say I look like their banker (even though I usually wear dress slacks and a long sleeve shirt with polished shoes). How should I dress? Doug.
Wear what you like. Wear what makes you feel comfortable. If you’re uncomfortable wearing city boy clothes in front of cowboys, then stop doing it. Wear nice, fashionable cowboy clothes. Make certain that if you’re going to wear boots, that they’re polished and have some nice brand name to them.
The goal is that your customers will say, “nice boots” or “nice belt” or “where did you get that shirt?” That’s what you want. Make certain your look, even though casual, is one notch better than the customer would wear when you’re in that meeting with them so the clothes become a positive discussion rather than a drawback.
I have recently started in sales at a radio station. I am right out of college and I look it, if not younger. I’m afraid if I try to make appointments in person I will be turned down right away because of my age. How would you suggest I overcome this? Sarah.
Firstly, stop believing your age is a barrier. Secondly, pre-prepare a 30-second commercial (of around 90 words or less) about the customer before you ever walk in the door. Record it. Walk in and say: “Hey, I just did a commercial for you. Would you like to hear it?”
If the commercial is cool, creative, and maybe a little bit edgy and has a little music in the background, they will listen to it and call others in to hear it.
No one will care about your age if you prepare in terms of the customer..
I recently joined a business broker who has been successful for six years. I am the new boy. It appears revenue is generated from listing fees and commission on sales. Listings are obtained from direct mail, drop-ins, and customers seeing our website. Lots of groundwork has to be done to build up listings from zero in my case. Buyers are coming all the time, and converting them to sales does not appear to be a problem. What concerns me is we seem to be using old methods to get listings. Snail mail and cold calling. Do you have any suggestions on what you would do to fast track the listing process? David.
When you start in a job, there is no fast track. There’s only what has been done successfully before. Start there. And when you do start there, you will be seen as fitting in and part of the team or part of the process.
Yes, you’re on your own, you make your own commissions. You can’t come in and fight traffic from the first day. What you need to do is harmonise with what’s happening in your place of business. Do it the old way first and then figure out a new way on your own.
If it were I, I would be using social media and testimonials.
I would be using every new strategy I possibly could but not until you have made a few sales with the old way. Start there.
