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Edward Golod is the founder of Revenue Accelerators. A successful Fortune 100 sales professional, entrepreneur of three business, and impassioned sales evangelist, Ed has sold over $160 million in hunted new business from a career totaling twenty plus years of selling complex, software technologies into the Enterprise. Leveraging his background as an AE, Director, VP of Sales, Country Channel Manager, President, and tenures at Microsoft and SAS Institute, Ed's deep knowledge is gleaned from years of intense training and self-study in every major sales technique.

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System for Sales Success: How Three Principles Turn Your Phone Prospecting into Profit

Written on
Jul 13, 2006 
Author
Ed Golod  |
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System for Sales Success: How Three Principles Turn Your Phone Prospecting into Profit


What are the main beliefs in Phone Prospecting?

It is helpful to review the 3 main beliefs that are held by all prospects when they do receive a cold call. These beliefs will help determine or destroy your effectiveness when phone or face-to-face selling. They are:

1. You only have 10-20 seconds to establish credibility and
convince that time spent with you will be of value.

2. Without trust you can only sell price. With trust, you sell value.

3. The prospect’s first fear point in any sale is when you first call.

With the first principal, in today’s highly competitive media space, it’s essential that people maximize their time. That is why sales people must be well prepared, know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish, and know precisely what to say and how to say. This needs to be communicated directly and succinctly, so scripting will makes this easier to do and secure as a process, which can be timed and practiced to deliver naturally.

Salespeople need to approach in neutral but common terms, be non-threatening, and issue a value statement (why you’re there and what you’d like to accomplish) followed by a primary bonding statement — a declaration of the type of experience and buying environment to expect.

Prospects needs to immediately know you are not there to waste their time and relate to their specific business pains. Most salespeople fail to do this out of internal fear…an unfounded fear when analyzed correctly. They want to be comfortable, so they do what has been perceived as effective from their predecessors…though it does not work. That is why re-titling as a specialist is so powerful, as it readily communicates your ability to be a problem-solver, and not just another vendor.

The second principle is interesting that far too many salespeople worry about being liked at the expense of being trusted! Remember, you are not selling yourself or even your product or service. Instead, you are selling your sincere interest in your prospect coupled with a solution. A solution is to fulfill a need, solve a problem or help your prospect improve their business and more importantly, their personal circumstance. All of this is accomplished much more easily through an attitude of trust, using the reference sell. It diffuses the tension and quickly helps the prospect relate to another peer that had a similar problem and received a viable solution.

Prospects can not only hear trust, they can “feel” trust. That is why it is paramount to “consistently’ practice using scripts, to speak and act sincerely, and with confidence. You need to understand how essential it is to be an authentic voice. One of the best ways to develop this is from phone recording and coaching.

Another way to gain credibility to rehearse your message or your value proposition. Keep in mind, ALL value propositions have to deliver how you create revenues “or” lower costs…

The third principle…the prospect’s initial, fearful reaction, you need to understand that this reaction exists and you need to do your best to neutralize it. Never forget all prospects have several things that cross their mind when you first approach them; like, “What is this person going to try to sell me?” or “Will I be placed in a corner?” or “Will I be forced to make a decision?”

It is a fundamental axiom that all people like to buy but no one likes to be sold. It is due to the feeling of giving up control. To be in control is what we are taught early on in life, especially in college and business. The skilled salesperson lets the prospect retain their control while gently influencing their thought process, agreeing with them, and empathizing there need to not wanting to be sold.

Summary

There is no secret that people buy from people they like, trust and have confidence in dealing with. Incorporate these 3 principles into your sales effort and you will sell better.





Reader Comments.

Great article Ed! I’ve been in sales for 12 years and have heard most of your advice before but you did a great job with pulling the best stuff together in a condense easy to read article. In my opinion, this article is a must read for salespeople.. especially for folks that are new to sales since this will save them a lot of time getting up to speed on how to be productive and successful. My 2 cents. Thanks, Roger

Posted by Roger Juntilla | 12:55 pm on July 13, 2006.

Would you please take a look at my blog and give some feedback?
Also, I’d like to exchange links.
You can be more successful, get more what YOU want out of life.

Good advice on a new blog about closing sales—

http://closingsalessuccessfully.blogspot.com

Posted by txdave | 4:55 pm on August 30, 2006.

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