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195 kph
300 kph
195 kph
300 kph
What can you GUARANTEE them? Can you GIVE THEM something as an introductory special? These guys all have a MILLION things going on throughout the course of their day. They generally only worry about this for the one day it takes to re-up their current deal. How are you going to ensure that when the time is up, they call you FIRST? What can you do to make SURE they call you? It has to be worth while.
You have to think about it from their perspective. What would guarantee they call you and give you a shot? How do you smash the door down? A brochure and a business card isn't enough. What is COMPELLING? Their path of least resistance is a renewal of their existing deal. Why should they give a shit? Especially now, when they don't have to think about this today...
What can you bring to the table? These guys have 1,000 tasks today. Yours isn't one of them. So what makes them WANT to call you when it's time to make the switch?
300 kph
You gotta scream that shit. First year we guarantee we will BEAT your current deal by 5%. All you need to do is show me your current statement, and we will contractually....
Something with TEETH. Something that makes it irresponsible of them NOT to call you. Lowest rate guaranteed is good, but ambiguous.
You gotta FIGHT if you want my attention, on a day when I normally don't review this.
"Listen Jim. I know today's not your day to review this. I want you to put my business card in your planner for the week before you have to redo your contract. I am telling you today, that if you give us the shot, we will beat your current deal ---- what ever it is ---- by 5%. We guarantee you today that if you give me that shot, we will beat your deal. Call me a week before hand, I will take you to lunch. You show me the current contract, and I will lock you in at 5% below that guaranteed for the first year."
I don't know your game well enough. But you gotta ROCK ME to get me to give a shit. You gotta kick ass. No disparaging anyone... just straight out brass knuckle iron clad kicking ass.
I managed an insurance brokerage. Dozens of people came in and marketed to me. 95% would just give me a flyer or ask to put a poster up on the window. There is one guy who comes in every month or so asking for referrals to his repair shop when we have a claim. He brings in bottle of alcohol, candy, gift certificates to In-N-Out, whatever. My brokers did refer him business, and didn't refer anything to the other businesses. It would be quite expensive to litter your area with things like that, but he did stand out.
When I marketed to car dealerships like this, I would go into their business with a "what can I do for you" mentality. Ask them how business is, tell them I have people looking for new cars when they total theirs, ask them how aggressive they are in looking for new car buyers, ask if they lose sales to buyers not having insurance, and as a "it was nice meeting you, here's how I can help" gave them some cards or brochures. After I've established myself as someone looking to help them, it's easier to ask for their business. I had half of the dealerships referring me 1-2 people a week.
60 kph
Best case scenario, you convince people that every provider is bad, so they should just choose you because you're their other option. Instead of choosing you because you can actually provide them value with your product or service.Originally Posted by Kak
I'd rather stick out.
145 kph
Agreed. Several years ago I owned an auto repair and auto sales facility with my ex-husband. I ran the office, so -everything- went through me. One day I made a call to a customer and I dialed the number wrong, the person on the other end said "You have the wrong number, but while I have you on the phone who do you buy your heating oil from?" In a humph I said "dadadada"..He quickly explained they were a new heating oil company in the city and could he stop down and talk to me for a few minutes...ya know I thought the guy had a set to go after even wrong numbers as customers...as a business owner I respected that kind of tenacity. We developed a business relationship the next day and they still 15 years later have my ex's business. We also became the storage facility for all their trucks, did all the repair work, and brought them all of our friends and family as customers...seriously mutually beneficial relationship all from a wrong number. So be bold, be confident, do something different from the other 10,000 sales guys that hassle them everyday AND have something better to offer.
Sue
So many great replies.
@Kak: Man, I LOVE cold approaching and creating new business out of thin air. If only I was in US anywhere, I'd offer you now to fly there and be your salesman. I love it and do it well..
From my experience:
>> Instead of brochure, it would be way better to arrange a meeting with business owner, and then present your offer as concrete as possible. Just like Vigilante said. I have also found that small-medium business owners are much more receptive to real talk than marketing talk. I've had huge successes with presenting things in no-bs manner, like "Joe, we have ............. and depending on your current energy provider we can cut from .......... to .......... off your current electricity bill". Or if you see a guy is in a more "polished" manner, than I'd start out with "Mr.Blow, we have ....." and continue the rest of the talk all the same.
>> Mind reading: you already know the FAQ-s of people who switch providers, so be a mind reader and answer before questions are asked, and of course if they want to talk, you stop and listen and answer. You already know what's the hardest part about the change so find ways to make it as easy and comfy as possible.
>> You're pulling them out of their comfort zone, so on initial meeting find out when they're renewing the contract, not when it expires, but when they're actually renew it. Also, you probably know better which is the usual required time of notice before breaking the contract (I'm talking here without any clue of your industry) - so once you charmed them on initial meeting, remind them of your deal at the right moment so that they can switch (they'll forget about you by tomorrow).
Even better - can you make contracts with delayed activation? For example a contract that you will start providing them your services starting November 2012? Then you could use the momentum of your presentation to close the deal right away, and they can notify their current provider in a timely manner that from November 2012 they'll be switching.
NOTE: this paragraph is an idea, maybe it's worth testing (would like to know results if you do test), I do see some possible flaws in it but only tests would tell. The rest of the stuff is tested and works.
>> The look and pitch of your video look decent (wording could be polished but that's another topic - copywriting).
To fix: the letters that fly in and out heavily break the flow and test the patience,lose the effects completely, not even
a fade in/out - just plain raw change of text. Keep focus on what matters, leave the special fx to movie trailers.
To improve:
Music choice could be better, this one's not really a call to action.
A powerful and engaging narrator could be a good idea. What a powerful conclusion of the pitch when his confident voice says We Power Texas! (dot com) There are visual types, there are auditory types, and anyway the more senses you can occupy with your message the better.
155 kph
Just out of interest because I'm currently struggling with this: Did you always love it or do you have a few tips to get to that point? I read some stuff about sales psychology over the weekend to improve for next weeks cold calls and I think I realized a few things I did wrong in my approach (not the actual call or script, but the mindset). Would be great to hear it from somebody who apparently "has sales in his blood"!
155 kph
Sure. I do have it in me, but it definitely can be learned and polished. Psychology is great and useful, but I'd suggest you find websites and books that focus on cold calling. You'll find a lot of it, just read everything you can and apply it day in day out on your work.
Every day test out some new tips without prejudice and see how people react.
Fog will start to rise and you'll start getting a better picture of what works or doesn't and various types of people. And the calling list that you probably hate right now will become your playground where you look to sharpen your skills.
Just read as much as you can, many have already been where you are, and most of your colleagues will not take advantage of that valuable knowledge, so that will give you even a more of an edge, and make it even more fun, who doesn't like to be the champion
Some super quick tips to start you off:
1. Cold calling is normal, it's just business and nothing personal. And you're not the only one who's cold calling your prospects. It's just normal business as usual so just do it.
2. It's a numbers game so don't get emotional - get on that phone. Let your next challenge be to call 100 people and NOT close a single one of them. Can you find 100 prospects in a row to tell you NO without single one saying yes? Let me know
3. It's also a skill game. Once you read a few books on cold-calling you'll have a full bag of tricks how to deal with NO, with "we have a supplier", with gatekeepers etc. Have it as a challenge, you'll improve your communication skills greatly. You'll also learn to persist.
4. No means "try again later". One day they will need whatever it is you're selling
I love cold calling. I love sales. Most people don't but I hope you will if that's what you do. Good luck
110 kph
Your not going to get past the secretaries that way, you need to talk to the decision maker.
The best business discussions I have had have usually been on the golf course, or at the yacht club, with decision makers.
Rotary clubs are good, and if you can get on a charity board go for it.
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