Cold Calling 2.0 is Really About Warm Calling

I was on LinkedIn the other day, and came across a question about whether Sales 2.0 has killed Cold Calling.

I decided to share my answer with our blog readers, too.

To me, a cold call has three basic elements:

1. You have never spoken to the individual you’re calling.
2. They’re not expecting your call.
3. They didn’t request for you to contact them through some form of marketing material like a website or a newsletter.

Strategic activities like permission-based marketing, speaking, networking, etc., are much better uses of time than making unsolicited phone calls. Those types of activities involve building relationships that cause prospects to call, which means there's no need for cold calls.

However, if those activities aren’t working for you, there are two things you can do.

Determine the Effectiveness of Your Sales Efforts – 25 Crucial Questions You Should Be Asking (Part 5 of 6)

Training, Training and more Training—The Real Secret to Success

We’ve taken a strong look with some very revealing questions in a myriad of areas that determine the overall effectiveness of your sales efforts. However, the real driver of success to any team is the players on the team. Every team needs quality players that believe in the mission of the team and act in unison while moving towards a shared vision of where the team is going. All great teams and players have one thing in common, they never stop training. They are always seeking ways to get better! Training, training and more training is the hidden factor that drives the growth of the best of the best sales organizations.

Let’s look at the questions you should be asking of yourself and your organization concerning the training of your sales and sales management teams.

1) Have you ever trained your sales managers on a sales management process? By the way, sitting behind a desk and pumping out excel spreadsheets, and insisting on the implementation of data in a CRM system is not a sales management process. Most organizations promote top-performing salespeople into the role of sales management. In return, they manage the way they sold. However, effective sales management requires a completely different skill set. The ability to lead, guide, coach and inspire is tantamount to success in this demanding position. Yet, many organizations do not provide training on the critical processes and skills needed for success in the sales management role. When is the last time your organization invested in training the sales management team?

2) Do you regularly provide training to your sales team? Successful selling requires salespeople to be on top of their game every single day. Every successful athlete knows that the key to winning is practice and honing their skills to compete at the highest levels. Selling is no different. Training provides the fuel that keeps the engine running. Without it, salespeople become complacent and since it is human nature to take short cuts, will begin practicing bad habits. In order to really sustain a high performing sales culture, you need constant training. Every sales meeting provides you with a chance to implement a quick training session. Always remember that the best training takes place in the field with one-to-one coaching.

3) How well do you understand that sales training is more than just product training? I have seen many organizations that claim they constantly provide training to their sales team. The problem is that all they really do is provide product training. The sales team is a walking, talking, animated brochure. They know all the features, specifications, and other technical mumbo jumbo that prospects and clients really do not care about. New hires are provided with up to three weeks of intensive product training and then told to go sell. That’s what we hired them for. Well, did you train them on how to sell? Did you teach them how to be a true resource to your prospects and customers or did you send them out to just be product pushers? Selling has changed and so has the skill set needed to be successful in today’s marketplace.

4) What are your plans for assessing your sales team’s gaps and areas needed for development? In order to effectively coach and develop your team you need to know each individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

5) Do your individual salespeople seek to improve their own skills through self learning? The best professionals in any chosen profession never stop learning. They continue to train and learn off the job. Self learning and training may encompass a variety of areas, from learning about business, to studying industry trends, to being involved in associations and a host of other learning opportunities above and beyond their normal working hours. Even if they just read the business section of the newspaper on a daily basis, this shows initiative. Praise them for doing so and do your part to provide a structured training program.

At the end of the day, salespeople are the individual’s that will be driving your organization’s revenue. Isn’t it worth the investment to provide these individuals with the skills and tools to make them, and ultimately you, successful?

Determine the Effectiveness of Your Sales Efforts – 25 Crucial Questions You Should Be Asking (Part 4 of 6)

Are your New Product Introductions poised for success?

As part of an ongoing analysis of key questions that should be asked because they provide insight into the hidden factors that determine the effectiveness of your sales efforts, we began by looking at external conditions that may propel or hinder sales growth. However, it is the internal factors that really set the stage for success. In order to remain vibrant, organizations often dump wads of cash into the research, development and launch of new products and service offerings. The responsibility of the sales team is to promote and sell these new innovations into a crowded marketplace.

The problem is that the biggest fear of a salesperson is being embarrassed in front of a prospect or customer. A lack of confidence in a new product or service will send the wrong message to the marketplace. Let’s look at some important questions that will provide the necessary intelligence regarding an analysis of your organization’s products and services.

1) When did you last introduce a new product line, product modification or service offering? Let’s hope it was not more than five years ago as this means you may be behind the eight ball with regards to your competition. Since I know most organizations have provided new offerings in the past five years, then take the time to maximize your chance for success by understanding how these new offerings will truly benefit your customers.

2) Did your organization conduct a feasibility study to determine if the new product or service line would be successful? This may seem like a no-brainer, but many have failed to take this necessary step before pumping in millions of dollars only to find out that the new ABC2000 is not in demand. Warehouses are full of products collecting dusts. If you fall into this trap, then what can be done to resurrect your offering out of the garbage can and into the limelight? Perhaps marketing needs to be involved to craft a new campaign and generate the buzz needed for success in the marketplace. Make a list of targeted prospects and customers that are in need of your offerings and focus your efforts there.

3) Based on your product and service line, which products and services have the highest profit margins and are they driving the bulk of your revenue? Let’s face it, commission plans will ultimately determine how much and what products and services actually get sold. Fail to spiff in the right way and you set the entire line up for failure. Make sure you are paying on those products and services that have the highest profit margins. Selling is a game of margins and not just about volume. Greedy capitalist salespeople will always gravitate to those products and services that pay the most. Make sure you are rewarding those products and services that have the highest margins and should drive the bulk of your revenue.

4) What type of ongoing marketing research process exists within your organization? Marketing research allows your salespeople to communicate the right message to the marketplace. They will be able to convey the real value that your products and services offer because they will know what the demands and needs are. Every feature has a benefit and a sales team needs to be able to convey the real value of your offerings. Marketing research allows you to understand what your prospects and customers want!

Having a strong strategic vision for the products and services your company offers is important to the long-term success of the organization. A large part of that vision is understanding the needs and wants of the marketplace. Doing the diligence needed is often overlooked by companies and they pay for it in spades on the backend. In my next blog, we will explore the critical nature of having the right sales team in place to sell your organization’s products and services.

Determine the effectiveness of Your Sales Efforts – 25 Crucial Questions You Should Be Asking (Part 3 of 6)

What are Your Customers Telling You….or Not Telling You?

Today we are going to dive into the questions to ask that will give you key intelligence regarding the very foundation of your business…YOUR CUSTOMERS!

Here are the essential questions to ask:

1. How long do your customers stay with you on average? If you sell a product or service with a repeatable purchase history then you will need to know this information. This will allow you to spot trends in your customer loyalty programs. Should you change your programs or are customers leaving you quicker than they were a few years ago? Most businesses will generate 50-70% of their yearly revenue from their existing customers. Increasing customer retention is one of the fastest ways to grow existing revenue. Additionally, it is much more cost effective to retain your customer base then it is to find new customers.
2. Why do customers stop buying from you? Simply ask them! It’s amazing to me how many businesses do not track this information. The answer to this question will provide you insight into the core reasons why your customers leave. A band-aid, fix-it approach is not the solution and maybe you’ve used this method far too many times which is why you are loosing customers. Even if the reason is not your fault, then at least you gain a better understanding of why you lost a customer. Perhaps their top leadership changed and you need to resell the account.
3. What have you done to gain correct information on the following:

   a. Who’s buying your products and services?
   b. Why they’re buying?
   c. Who’s making the purchase decision?
   d. How effective is your packaging?
   e. What is your “Wow” factor?

   All of these questions go together because they are designed to help you with your external/internal marketing efforts. For example, if 90% of your products and services are being bought by CFO’s in mid-size organizations then you have defined your key market. You may want to craft a very targeted and specific message to this group of decision makers. Knowing why they buy provides insight into the trigger events that determine if someone is truly a qualified prospect. Even a minor detail dealing with how you package your product and the very color and contents of the outside packaging can determine a rise or fall in sales.

   Take the time to review these key questions to see where adjustments may be needed.

4. What are your customers really saying about you and your organization?
   Hopefully, they are saying good things. In today’s world of online social-media outlets your customers are going to talk about you. Be aware of what they are really saying. Customers will talk to each other and for your sake that conversation needs to be a positive one. We live in a fast paced world where feedback is instant. Find out where your customers are talking and have a presence there.

Simply taking the time to go through these questions is the first step. The answers will lead you to add some extra meat to your overall strategy moving into 2010. I’m always amazed at how many organizations tell me they have never taken the time to answer these questions.

The questions posed in the first 3 parts have focused on an external perspective. In part 4 we will look at questions that take an inward look at your organization by focusing on the product and services you offer.

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