Sales Chump

Most sales positions require cold calls.  Whether it is to set up appointments where the sales rep visits prospects or where the sales rep tries to get more prospects to visit them; it is a necessary practice to stay successful. 

Most sales managers and sales reps focus on the total amount of cold calls per day.  This is generally because they know how many calls it will take to make X amount of sales.  This can get very tiring and a lot of reps get defeated when starting each day with such a big number of calls to make.

Instead of looking at total cold calls, try focusing on total prospects each day.  A prospect is someone that can be closed (whether it be via call, visit to prospect or visit by prospect) in the next 30-60 days depending on your industry.  This varies on each industry but typically it will take 100 calls to get 3-5 prospects.

So instead of 100 cold calls a day, a rep can focus on 4 prospects a day instead.  This not only has a positive effect psychologically on the sales rep it also puts an emphasis on quality over quantity.  Most likely a rep will make him or herself get better at each call so they don’t have to make 100.  After using this practice for a few weeks, the reps ratio will probably get better and be 75 cold calls to get 4 prospects.  After a few more weeks it may further reduce to 50 cold calls to get 4 prospects.  It will level off at some point but the ratio of cold calls to prospects almost always gets better.  This will either relieve the sales rep of stress or allow the rep to make more calls to be more successful.

Try focusing on prospects instead of gross number of cold calls daily and watch your sanity and success improve.

No matter how good you are at your sales job, you should always have a script, or a trail to the sale.  This will provide consistency and if you start getting off topic, it will guide you back on track.  This is especially important while talking on the phone but can apply face to face as well. 

This isn’t a one size fits all.  You should have multiple scripts for different scenarios and parts of the sales cycle.  For example, your introductory script won’t be the same as your follow up or closing script.  You will also need different scripts depending on the time of year, increasing or decreasing prices, state of the economy, etc.  If you are proactive with this and already have scripts in place, you will be able to adjust quickly and avoid a dip in sales. 

Practice your script so as not to sound like a robot.  You don’t want the customer to be able to identify you are reading or have memorized a script.  Try saying it in a mirror at first.  Practice with friends or family members in person and on the phone.  Once you are ready, unleash it on your prospects.  Don’t get discouraged if the first few times it doesn’t come out right.  If you have done the prep work the learning curve will be very short. 

Once you have scripts in place and have used them for a certain period of time you can start to tweak them.  You can compare the results of the original script compared to the newly tweaked script.  Simply continue the one that closes the most deals or makes you the most money.  Keep the old script handy and make write notes on the back of the script of what worked and what didn’t, what time of year it was, how long it was used for and how much money you made while using it.  It seems like a lot but this can pay high dividends in the long run.

Are your sales down, or were they never really up in the first place?  Do you dread going to work each day?  Are you always looking at a job website trying to find the next greatest job?  You don’t have to be an expert to determine your not happy with your current job.  Why is that?

Most likely you don’t have the passion for something at your current job.  You must be passionate about what you do in order to succeed to the fullest.  Happiness will come with passion.

Passion can come in any number of variables or all at your job:  the product or service you sell, the clientele you deal with, the company you work for or the next spot up the corporate ladder.  These are just a few or all of things that you could be passionate about.

If you’re not passionate about what your doing, find something else.  You spend most of your awake time at work, so why would you want to do something you find yourself miserable doing?  It is certainly understandable to have a job in this economy to make ends meet.  But at least find some passion in the fact this is job a stepping stone to the next one. 

At the end of the day, work is work but if you enjoy your environment and like your job; you will be successful doing it.  The people you work with and the clients you sell to can tell in your voice, your actions and your presentations if you truly believe in your product or not.  Why would someone want to buy from you if you don’t care about what your selling?  The truth is, passionate people sell more and make more money than people that aren’t passionate.

If your not passionate about where you work, what you’re doing or what you’re selling; find something else to do.  Your life will be better and you will be more successful.  Don’t waste any time in finding the passion.

Would you like to move up in your current department or company?  Do you like collecting a check every month and not wondering where the next will come from?  If so, treat every day like it is an interview.

Each day your are at your job you are being watched and evaluated.  Are you doing the things that will make your self successful at your current job?  Do you go above and beyond what is required of you on a daily basis?  Do you make yourself more of an asset than anyone else in your position?  These are the things that will get you a promotion, not an interview.

If you had a rocky start with some bumps along the way and you’re worried how that may affect any future openings, first make a pact with yourself.  Make sure this is something you can totally correct and make a complete turn around from.  Once you have made that pact with yourself, then notify your direct supervisor or manager.  Follow up with an email so you have a written trail.  Let him or her know that you apologize for your past conduct and you realize you haven’t been living up to your full potential.  You can draw the line in the sand so to speak and hopefully that will be behind you.  Be sure to track your progress and always keep the email on hand so you can reference it and remind yourself you’ve moved forward.  This will show your manager you can set a goal, stick to it and accomplish it.  It also shows you stay true to your word. 

There are still promotions and growth these days but there are also slowdowns and lay-offs.  Your actions should remain the same regardless.  A lot of times lay-offs will happen no matter what but many other times they are discretionary.  If you are doing the things that separate yourself from the rest of the pack you may be spared while the weak are let go.

In good times and bad, each day should be treated as an interview if you want to keep your current position or move up.

One thing I see time and time again is a sales rep working the same account for what seems like an eternity and not getting anywhere with it.  This is very frustrating from a reps perspective and a management perspective.  If a correct sales process was followed along with follow up after follow up with no further action, it’s time to cut bait!

This scenario is going to happen at some point no matter what and the best thing to do is try to learn from it and move on.  There are plenty of other prospects that will make a decision much quicker.  This may frustrate your reps because they think they will eventually land the customer or the deal.  This could be true however the time spent on running in place could be used much more effectively to land accounts that are willing to do something now.

I give my reps two options when they must cut bait.  The first is to cut bait, but set a reminder 3-6 months down the road.  I instuct them to not look at the account in that time and then call back after those months have passed to see if the prospect has changed their mind.  Things may have changed in that time period and they may be willing to make a decision at that time.

The second is to swap off your cut bait leads to someone else on your team.  A new perspective and style is sometimes all that is needed to land the deal.  This works best when other reps take and give the leads to a certain partner or spread it around evenly.  Sales is mostly an individual game but when other employees are successful it spreads.  This has been the most effective of the two options for me. 

Another amazing thing may also happen when a rep cuts bait.  The customer is no longer pursued or chased and calls back to complete the sale on their own.  I’m not sure exactly why this occurs but it seems like they finally have time to realize this is something they are missing out on and don’t want to miss the boat when it has pushed away from the dock. 

The time at which to cut bait will be different depending on what a normal sales cycle is and what kind of product is being sold.  The sales manager needs to be aware of that time and advise the rep to cut bait and move on.  This will allow the rep to be more productive with other leads and enable them to land more, instead of just spinning their wheels.