Mark Hunter's Blog, page 12
October 25, 2023
4 Parts of an Effective CTA
When making a call, or sending an email, an effective CTA is a must.
If you’re going to go through the effort of reaching out to somebody, you’ve got to have a next step. If not, why are you doing it?
Follow these 4 steps to ensure effective calls to action.
I am always amazed at the number of salespeople who reach out to me trying to sell me something, and they lack a call to action. Well, I guess if they really want me, they know that they’ll need to reach out to me. Hold it. The likelihood of that happening is slim to none!1. Make it simple.This blog is brought to you by an episode of The Sales Hunter Podcast. Find it wherever you stream podcasts!
Your Call to Action is all about making it as easy for the customer to do business with you as possible.
Don’t give the prospect an ‘out’ by saying you’ll send them an email later. Instead, try “Hey, call me back. Leave your phone number.” Then you still send them an email.
2. Set a specific time in the future.Learn more about what makes a great prospecting call here.
Remember, if you have somebody on the phone, you’re interrupting them. So chances of them having time to talk with you really isn’t probable. Time to make an appointment to follow up with them.
Why don’t you call me back when you have time? Wrong!
via Manifest on GIPHY
Give them an exact day, and don’t suggest something a couple of weeks from now. A couple weeks from now is a lifetime away.
If you’re calling in the morning, try: What does your calendar look like this afternoon? If you’re calling in the afternoon, try: What’s your calendar look like tomorrow for 10:00 AM?Give them a very specific time. You’ve got to lead the prospect to setting up that exact time. If you put it a week out or even three or four days, they’re going to forget who you are, the reason for the call, everything. Plus, the chances of them blowing you off increase dramatically.
via PBS SoCal on GIPHY
3. Make it valuable.When you’ve set up the CTA, be sure to add a hook such as, “Hey, what I’ll do next time we speak is I’ll share with you some insights on…..” Make it valuable to them after they’ve committed to you.
Sometimes people will make a commitment knowing they’re going to blow you off. So I put a little reminder out there for them and say, “When we talk tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. I’m going to share with you some insights and ideas about….” This absolutely decreases no-shows, because I’ve given them a reason to attend.
4. Keep it brief.Once the prospect agrees to a meeting, please don’t ask them to block out an hour. Nobody gets an hour, 30 minutes max. And if you are dealing with senior level people, just say 20 minutes. Let’s block out 20 minutes tomorrow, 10:00 AM.
I don’t recommend saying “a couple minutes” either, as they’ll just prefer you email it to them. You want to have that conversation. The CTA is the next step toward a conversation.
via The Bachelorette on GIPHY
3 Strategies to Improve Your Attitude Before a Call
+ the link between attitude and results
+practical ways to brighten your mood and your mindset
Find Ep. 145 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
How to Land the Complex Sale
w/ Randy Pennington
What does it take to get that complex sale…other than a great deal of patience?
Trust and integrity play a huge part, but what other practical strategies set you apart from the pack?
Mark and Randy share strategy and insight.
Episode drops WEDNESDAY, 10/25/2023!!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post 4 Parts of an Effective CTA first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
October 18, 2023
Why Cold Calling Isn’t Effective Prospecting
Randomly calling people is not a strategy that works. But don’t rule out the phone altogether! So, what works?
Let me share with you some ideas and strategies so you don’t find yourself ever having a cold call.
This blog is brought to you by an episode of The Sales Hunter Podcast. Find it wherever you stream podcasts!
Calling works.Too many people wrap cold calling around every type of calling. When it comes to prospecting, calling works. Cold calling doesn’t.
Calling when you know you’re contacting people who fit your ICP, your ideal customer profile, is anything but cold. You may have never spoken with this person before, but that’s Warm Calling. Reaching out to people who I realize can benefit from what I sell helps me maximize my most valuable resource: time.
via Saturday Night Live on GIPHY
I might be a financial planner. Let’s say I’m reaching out to people who are in need of financial planning services, and I’ve gone through and I’ve built out my ideal customer profile, and they fit that profile. I owe it to them to reach out. If I don’t reach out to them, I’m actually doing them a disservice.
Build out your own Ideal Customer Profile in this masterclass.
Random calling does not work. Now, I’m not randomly calling people. I would not want people calling me and saying, “Oh, can we set you up with maternity services?” Excuse me, way past that.
When we think about cold calling, as in just randomly calling phone numbers, randomly texting people, or grabbing people off of social media—that’s not effective. And that’s a waste of not only resources, but also your mental energy.
Prospecting is about helping others see and achieve what they didn’t think was possible.
But if people do reach out and talk to me about something that would be a benefit to me, I want them to.
via ABC Network on GIPHY
Trust me, I have a lot of problems, and if I knew you could help me, I would want you to reach out. And if somewhere later on I found out that you did not help me, I would be upset.
That’s what prospecting is all about. Because if you knew that I had a problem, that’s not cold calling, that’s very much warm, targeted calling. I would want you to reach out to me.
Who is your perfect customer?Who’s your perfect customer? Zero in on those types of people. Where do those people reside? Those are the people who you want to be contacting. It’s now a warm call, because there’s a high probability—albeit not 100%—that they are going to be spot on needing your services.
via Amazon Prime Video on GIPHY
Now, they may not need them right now. That’s okay. Because if they’re your ideal customer profile, I’m not going to call them again soon, but I may reach back out to them somewhere down the road.
Read about How to Contact the Right Prospects.
Effective prospecting is warm, targeted calling, staying in the lane that is your ICP.
What Makes an Effective CTA?
+ 4 Essential Parts of Any Call to Action
Find Ep. 143 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
It’s Not About the CRM, It’s About the System.
w/ Phil Gerbyshak
There isn’t any magic, you’ve still got to do the work.
Listen as Mark and Phil share insight into their own sales processes, and what works to close more deals.
Episode drops Thursday, 10/19/2023
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post Why Cold Calling Isn’t Effective Prospecting first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
October 11, 2023
5 Ways to Cancel Low Self-Esteem in Sales
I can relate, because if you knew my early path in sales, I was anything but The Sales Hunter. I had to raise my own self-esteem to become a great salesperson.
Let me walk you through five things that you can do to help you deal with low self-esteem.
**This blog is the FINAL part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Set low goals you can achieve.Don’t set the goal of making the President’s Club this year, set the goal to simply not finish last, or finish in the middle of the pack, or 10% better than last year.
Set a series of goals you can achieve. If I can set goals and achieve them, it motivates me.
You might have a low self-esteem where you just can’t pick up the phone. So the goal might be to make two phone calls. Start somewhere!
I was dealing with a salesperson who had a problem with just making one phone call. She didn’t believe in herself. But over the course of about six months working with this person, she was then making about 30 to 40 calls a day.
via ABC Network on GIPHY2. Control your attitude.
You control your attitude by believing in yourself and believing in how you can help others.
Now, some people say, “Well, I have low self-esteem.” It’s not really a low self-esteem, you just don’t believe in what you sell. Remember, it’s not the product you sell, it’s the outcome you create.
I work with a lot of different companies all over the spectrum, many different industries, and sometimes they have a really good product and sometimes not.
Sometimes when the product is not that good, those salespeople, boy, they have a great self-esteem. They’re confident because they know they’re creating an outcome to help the customer.
One of the easiest ways is to write down the names of five or ten people you’ve been able to come in contact with and you’ve been able to influence. Next to each name, write down how you influenced them, what you did. Now look at that and think, wow, that’s cool. Look at the success you’ve created.
Who are the people you’re influencing today?
3. Get a mentor. You may need to hire a coach. Or it may be just a mentor. It may be somebody who you respect and you say, “Hey, can I buy you breakfast once a month? Can I call you up?”
I was talking to an individual the other day who has had a mentor for a number of years and it’s had a huge, powerful impact all because he said, “Would you come into my life?” And I asked this person, “Do you pay them?” He said, “No, actually, I don’t pay them. But boy, I treat them well. I take care of them at Christmas. I send them gift cards. Whenever we’re in town together, we go out to dinner. I take care of them.”
I know a lot of other people who have mentors that they pay as a coach. I’ve had a number of coaches over my career, and every time it’s worked out great.
via Star Wars on GIPHY4. Spend 30 minutes a day learning.
I can’t stress this enough. Regardless of your profession, you need to spend 30 minutes a day learning.
If you spend 30 minutes a day learning about your profession, or about your skill set for just a couple months, you’ll become better, and smarter than the vast majority of other people out there. And you know what? That just gives you more confidence.
So turn off Netflix, turn off Hulu. Pick up a book and read. Go get a learning course. But spend 30 minutes a day learning.
5. Join or create a mastermind.There may be three or four people like you and you say, “You know what? Let’s get together every Friday morning.”
I have several groups where we get together on a monthly basis. For some, we get together to compare ideas, others are more informal and we get lunch every other month.
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about my mastermind group—we’ve been together for about five years. We’re very tight. We do a lot of business things together.
Are you in a mastermind yet? Meridith Elliott Powell and I saw a real need in this area and started the Sales Logic Mastermind for those that follow our podcast. We have a mastermind group that you can join, and I invite you to come grow with us!
Sales is not a solo activity. Sales is a team sport. Life is not a solo activity. Life is a team sport, and it’s amazing at how more successful you’ll be.
When Are Your Expectations When Prospecting?
+ Learn how to set expectations around an activity and play the long game.
Find Ep. 141 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
A Must-Listen for Sales Managers!!w/ Mike Weinberg
+ How sales managers are failing their sales force and why+ The importance of mentorship and coaching
Episode drops Thursday 10/12 anywhere you listen to podcasts.
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post 5 Ways to Cancel Low Self-Esteem in Sales first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
October 4, 2023
How to Own Up to Your Sales
I hear this a lot from account managers, enterprise salespeople and even veteran salespeople.
If you want to be the best salesperson you can be, you have to own it, and that means owning every step.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Sales is about ownership.If you want to be a great salesperson, it’s your job to prospect. I’m all about taking leads from anywhere I can get them, but it’s my job regardless of my role in the sales organization. Everybody must prospect from the CEO on down.
I was with a company the other day feeling so proud of the CEO because they knew that it’s also their job to pick up the phone, make calls, have relationships, use their context, and develop their network to create prospects.
I don’t care who you are, everybody prospects.
2. Love marketing.Love marketing, but don’t blame them.
via ABC Network on GIPHY
I’d have more deals to close if marketing would just do their job. Hold it, it’s your job to close the sales. Now, if it’s in their job description, that’s great, but I can’t blame them.
I’m going to take leads from wherever I can, but I can’t wait just for marketing. Whatever they want to do, it’s icing on the cake. It’s not the cake. I’m the cake. They’re just the icing.
3. Establish personal goals. If you’ve been selling for any length of time, you’ve got existing customers. That means you’ve got contacts, you’ve got relationships. Pick up the phone, call them, and ask them for other people you should be talking to.
Set small, achievable goals for yourself to develop new leads, new opportunities. How many referrals do you want to get this month? This quarter?
I take goals seriously. Learn to create great goals and start achieving them in my Goal Setting Masterclass.
Suddenly you’re going to be liking marketing even more because, hey, the leads they give you are just icing on the cake.
via PBS on GIPHY4. Schedule time to prospect.
I don’t care how much of a veteran you are, or how many years you’ve been in the business. Schedule time to prospect.
I was meeting just the other day with a veteran salesperson who has been in the business some 40 years, and she still prospects regularly. I love that. Yes, she gets a tremendous amount of leads, a tremendous amount of inbound, but she still prospects.
Even after 40 years, she doesn’t believe prospecting is someone else’s job.
via Satish Gaire on GIPHY
A FREE 5-day virtual summit made just for introverted sales professionals? Yes, please.
You don’t want to miss out on the Introverted Sellers Summit hosted by Mark Hunter and Matthew Pollard!
When Prospecting Calls Go Poorly…
+How to shift your perspective after a negative call+ Why focusing on yourself is getting you nowhere
Find Ep. 139 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
Which Soft Skills Are Most Important?w/ Larry Levine
+ Tips for how to achieve confident believability consistently+ What inner work it takes to get outer success
Episode drops Thursday 10/5 anywhere you listen to podcasts.
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post How to Own Up to Your Sales first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
September 27, 2023
5 Baby Steps to Building a Prospecting Plan
One I hear frequently is, “I’ve got to take care of all these existing customers. I’ll prospect when I get done with that.”
Oops—then you never get time because those existing customers just take up so much of it.
Let me go through six things that you can do right now to overcome this and get that off your plate.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Schedule time on your calendar to prospect.Unless you schedule time and keep that commitment to yourself, you will not actually prospect.
It may only be 30 minutes, or only an hour, but commit yourself to it. When you honor your commitments, then guess what? You’ll begin to schedule more and more time to prospect.
2. Customers will always demand more of you.This is just the nature of the beast. This is also why I think I can almost answer my phone too fast. If a customer knows that every time they call me, I pick up on the first ring, we train them to call us and expect that.
via ABC Network on GIPHY
If a customer calls and I’m in the middle of my prospecting window, I let them wait. Also, if you roll over and play dead for them all the time, they begin to think that you don’t have any business. To a certain degree, people want to do business with busy people. Now, they don’t want to be ignored. But it may take an hour or so to get back to them, and that’s okay.
For example, I just had an existing customer send me a request. They wanted me to do something and I said, “Great, but I won’t be able to take care of it until two days from now, but you’ll have it in two days.” Sometime that’s necessary, which take me to point #3…
3. Don’t over commit.If you overcommit to your customers, all you’re going to have time for is taking care of existing customers. Consequently, you’re not going to have any time to prospect.
Set limits with yourself and your customers to not overcommit.
4. Schedule time with existing customers. I have a couple time blocks on my calendar for existing customers. Part of that time, I’m going to be on the phone with them.
I make the work fit the time. Otherwise, time gets away from me, so I assign time for existing customers.
5. Rely on other sources within your company.In my own company, I have a staff and there are things that I give to them. In your own company, there may be subject matter experts you can contact to help you out.
You may be a solopreneur thinking, how do I do this? It might be that you need to hire somebody for five hours a week or two hours a week. Or, you go to Upwork, or some outsourcing site and find some helpful professional.
Rely on other sources to help give you time to prospect, because if you don’t have time to prospect, your business is not going to grow.
via Rachael Kay Albers on GIPHY6. Be firm with your existing customers.
You cannot allow them to control your life.
We all have high-maintenance customers, and unless we control them right from the start, you’re in trouble.
Be thankful you have existing customers, but do not let them dominate you.
A FREE 5-day virtual summit made just for introverted sales professionals? Yes, please. You don’t want to miss out on the Introverted Sellers Summit hosted by Mark Hunter and Matthew Pollard!
Prospecting Is an Activity, Not a Solution.
+Why salespeople struggle to get prospects+ How to prospect consistently
Find Ep. 137 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
The Superpowers of Introverted Sellersw/ Matthew Pollard
+ How introverted superpowers create top performers+ How introverts can amplify their strengths
Episode drops Thursday 9/28 anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Proven techniques to increase positivity, reduce fear, and boost success from sales leader and strategist, Anthony Iannarino!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post 5 Baby Steps to Building a Prospecting Plan first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
September 20, 2023
How to Balance Prospects and Existing Accounts
One I hear frequently is, “I’ve got to take care of all these existing customers. I’ll prospect when I get done with that.”
Oops—then you never get time because those existing customers just take up so much of it.
Let me go through six things that you can do right now to overcome this and get that off your plate.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Schedule time on your calendar to prospect.Unless you schedule time and keep that commitment to yourself, you will not actually prospect.
It may only be 30 minutes, or only an hour, but commit yourself to it. When you honor your commitments, then guess what? You’ll begin to schedule more and more time to prospect.
2. Customers will always demand more of you.This is just the nature of the beast. This is also why I think I can almost answer my phone too fast. If a customer knows that every time they call me, I pick up on the first ring, we train them to call us and expect that.
via ABC Network on GIPHY
If a customer calls and I’m in the middle of my prospecting window, I let them wait. Also, if you roll over and play dead for them all the time, they begin to think that you don’t have any business. To a certain degree, people want to do business with busy people. Now, they don’t want to be ignored. But it may take an hour or so to get back to them, and that’s okay.
For example, I just had an existing customer send me a request. They wanted me to do something and I said, “Great, but I won’t be able to take care of it until two days from now, but you’ll have it in two days.” Sometime that’s necessary, which take me to point #3…
3. Don’t over commit.If you overcommit to your customers, all you’re going to have time for is taking care of existing customers. Consequently, you’re not going to have any time to prospect.
Set limits with yourself and your customers to not overcommit.
4. Schedule time with existing customers. I have a couple time blocks on my calendar for existing customers. Part of that time, I’m going to be on the phone with them.
I make the work fit the time. Otherwise, time gets away from me, so I assign time for existing customers.
5. Rely on other sources within your company.In my own company, I have a staff and there are things that I give to them. In your own company, there may be subject matter experts you can contact to help you out.
You may be a solopreneur thinking, how do I do this? It might be that you need to hire somebody for five hours a week or two hours a week. Or, you go to Upwork, or some outsourcing site and find some helpful professional.
Rely on other sources to help give you time to prospect, because if you don’t have time to prospect, your business is not going to grow.
via Rachael Kay Albers on GIPHY6. Be firm with your existing customers.
You cannot allow them to control your life.
We all have high-maintenance customers, and unless we control them right from the start, you’re in trouble.
Be thankful you have existing customers, but do not let them dominate you.
Why Cold Calling Is Not Effective Prospecting
+Learn about targeted, warm calling.+ How to avoid wasting resources and mental energy
Find Ep. 135 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
How to Communicate with Influencew/ Stacey Hanke
+ Learn the link between trust and influence+ Communication strategies your can use TODAY!
Episode drops Thursday 9/21 anywhere you listen to podcasts.
A FREE, 5-day virtual summit made just for introverted sales professionals? Yes, please. You don’t want to miss out on the Introverted Sellers Summit hosted by Mark Hunter and Matthew Pollard!
Get registered now, and we’ll see you there!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post How to Balance Prospects and Existing Accounts first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
September 13, 2023
5 Time Management Tips for Salespeople
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
You are making a big fat excuse, and it comes down to poor time management. When you start viewing time as your most valuable resource, your priorities shift.
I’m going to share five easy tips for using your time wisely as a salesperson.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Block your time.Last I looked, you took time to eat, to use the restroom, to get dressed, to shower. You did. What’s interesting is you take time for those things because you have to. You know what else you have to do? Prospect.
You won’t prospect until you block your time. Divide your calendar into one or two-hour segments and assign one of those to prospecting.
I consider prospecting and blocking time a lot like working out. If I don’t block my time to work out, I don’t, because I just get busy. You must be intentional.
2. Your first hour.When I say your first hour, I don’t mean the first hour of work. I mean the first hour you’re awake. Here’s something I’ve found: a lot of people race to start work in the morning and by the time they start work, they’re disheveled already.
My first hour of the day is extremely organized. I have a set, specific routine. I’m strict with my time. I get up at the same time every morning. What happens is you develop a pattern, a routine pattern.
The most successful salespeople are repetitive salespeople. They do the same thing every day at the same time, and it’s amazing when you use your first hour efficiently, right? It impacts how you use the rest of your day.
In fact, if you use your first hour right, you’re going to be much more inclined to actually adhere to the time blocks in your schedule.
3. Set targets you can accomplish.I was working with a group of salespeople helping them set up a prospecting plan, and I advised them, “Don’t set a target of reaching a hundred prospects. Set smaller achievable goals you know you can accomplish.”
You may know that over the course of the quarter you need to reach out to X number a month, but you don’t get skilled at that on the first day. So that first day it might be just two, three, or four—whatever it is, set a number that you can accomplish.
When you set a number that you can accomplish—and you do—you actually feel good and it motivates you to do it again the next day. You’re trying to create repetition.
Time management is not something that you do once. Time management is something that you do daily. In due time, you continue increasing your numbers slowly as your skills allow you to achieve more.
Plus, it changes your mindset, because if you set this goal of: I’ve got to make 50 calls today, and you become overwhelmed, as a result you don’t make any. But if you had said, I’m going to make five calls and I do, then I pat myself on the back. Five is certainly better than none.
4. Minimize distractions. Squirrel, squirrel, shiny object! We get totally distracted. Just before I began doing this blog, I was very tempted to do something else on my computer. No! It’s on my schedule to record these videos, and write the blog. I can look at those websites later.
Stay focused. If you’re in prospecting mode, that’s what you’re doing: prospecting. You can read those emails, or deal with that customer issue later.
People say, “Well, when a customer calls, I need to take that call.” Hold it. Do you answer the phone when you’re in the restroom? Do you answer the phone when you’re driving in heavy traffic? I hope you don’t. You don’t answer your phone 24/7, so that customer can wait, and if they have to wait for 30 minutes, that’s okay.
via The Ringer on GIPHY5. Work your calendar.
However you set your calendar up, honor it.
My calendar is filled with appointments with myself, and I love it that way because it keeps me on track.
Know yourself and what time of day you’re most productive. Choose that time block for your most difficult daily task. Or, try my 10 AM rule: accomplish something significant before 10 AM every day. (If you’re an early riser like me, make it an 8 AM rule.)
Overcoming the Fear of Prospecting
+You have the opportunity to help people, but you can’t do that if you don’t start a conversation first.
Find Ep. 133 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
Using Social to Influence Buyer Decisionw/ Darryl Praill
Darryl and Mark discuss using social media to eliminate risk in the eyes of the buyer and how to cancel the excuses of ‘not enough time’ and ‘unsure of what to say/post.’
Don’t miss Thursday’s episode, live on 9/14!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post 5 Time Management Tips for Salespeople first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
September 6, 2023
6 Ways to Learn from Your Prospecting Mistakes
One of the excuses I hear from salespeople about why they don’t prospect is something just didn’t go right in the past. And as a result, that negative experience sticks with them going forward, and they can’t get past it.
Let me share six things that you can do right now to help you get past any unfortunate events you’re dealing with.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. What can I learn from it?It may be a past experience that just went wrong. What can I learn that will help me not do it again going forward?
If I do something right, I learn a little, but if I do something wrong, I learn a lot more.
This is your opportunity.
2. After you learn from it, let it go.Be thankful. Tell yourself this: I’m glad I had that experience. I’m glad that didn’t go well, because I learned X, and I’m better because of it.
Thank goodness I’ve had problems prospecting, because it’s made me a better salesperson today. Shifting to this mindset helps you focus on everything that you’re doing.
3. Focus on your success today.Don’t focus on what didn’t happen yesterday. Focus on today.
As I go through each morning, I wake up and I say, who are the people who I’m going to have a chance to prospect with today? I may or may not have conversations with them. I may or may not get connections with them, but I’m going to focus on them today and try to make that the best experience possible.
4. Be proud of what you’ve become. If I were to tell you about all of the failures I’ve had in sales over the years, you would be blown away. But you know what? We all have. But I look at those failures I’ve had and I say thank goodness.
It’s made me an unbelievable salesperson today. It’s given me an incredible level of confidence because I’ve been able to deal with those issues, and that’s huge.
5. Play the long game.It’s so easy for us to focus on that negative experience that happened last week or just yesterday, or maybe it was just an hour ago. Hey, relax, forget about it. The sun’s still going to come up in the morning.
Play the long game and know you’re going to be able to take another 10,000 shots. When you play the long game, it’s amazing how those past experiences just fade away.
6. Always have someone around you who supports you.This is why I’m such a strong believer in having that peer group or that mastermind group.
In fact, it’s one of the reasons why I’ve teamed up with Meredith Elliot Powell in Sales Logic. We’ve created a Mastermind out of it so more professionals have people around who support them and make them stronger.
When you have somebody who can support you, they’re going to help pick you up when you’re down. Sales is not a solo activity. Sales is a team sport.
How to Sell to Multiple Verticals
+Tips for addressing multiple verticals in your work week and staying smart in each industry,
Find Ep. 131 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
Key Questions to Create a Buying Environmentw/ Scott SchillingWe need to know if the prospect is amenable to the sale, or what’s holding them back. The customer will answer if you simply ask them!
Don’t miss Thursday’s episode, live on 9/7!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post 6 Ways to Learn from Your Prospecting Mistakes first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
August 30, 2023
How to Take Charge of Your Own Prospecting Training
While it’s easy to play the blame game, your ability to improve your skills is in your hands. All it takes is a little initiative.
The truth is, you can stay where you are—average—and mope. Or you can take charge of your career path, invest in yourself, and become a top performer.
Let me share with you six things that you can do right now to overcome any lack of prospecting training.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Don’t blame your boss, you are in control.Hey, I prospect, but my company’s never trained me. Who says, your company has to be the one to train you? You can train yourself. You can do it.
There are plenty of learning tools available for you—including this whole blog series. I put free content out on Youtube and LinkedIn every week. Listen to The Sales Hunter Podcast or Sales Logic Podcast.
2. Invest your money.Go further by investing in a masterclass at The Sales Hunter University. Need to get better at Email Prospecting? I’ve got a course for that. What about Following up? Yep, also have a course for that. Click here to see more learning opportunities.
I hear this excuse: “I wish I could read your book, but my company won’t buy it for me.” Do you expect your company to feed you? Do you expect your company to buy you your toilet paper? No. You buy it yourself, with the money you earn.
With the money you earn, you can invest in yourself. You can buy the books that you need, or the programs you need.
If you have a gym membership, what is it designed to do? It’s designed to help get you in shape, right? You paid for that, right? Yes. In the same way you invest in your body or your health, try investing in your mind and in your career.
via Billion Back Records on GIPHY3. Dedicate 30 minutes a day to learning prospecting.
If you want to become a master, you’ve got to put the time in.
There are lots of theories out there: it’s the 10,000 hour rule, or the 30,000 hour rule. Throw all those out the window. If you just take 30 minutes a day and invest it in what you want to learn, within two months, you’re going to be better than the vast majority of people you go up against.
If you were to take 30 minutes a day and invest in learning prospecting—that might be watching videos, reading blogs, reading books, studying, role-playing with yourself, connecting with people who do it well—I guarantee it, within three months you would become much more capable in prospecting.
Would you become an expert in a few months? Probably not, but it’s okay. You would be well on your way to becoming an expert.
via Microsoft Education on GIPHY
4. Create a peer group. Get three or four other people who have the same challenges as you do, and collectively work together as a peer group to challenge and share and lift each other up. It is amazing at what a peer group can do.
What happens is, as one person begins to achieve success, you can ask, “Hey, what are you doing? Share with me.”
You exchange ideas. It’s amazing how you lift each other up.
via ABC Network on GIPHY5. Become an SME.
Prospecting encompasses a lot of elements. Lead generation, qualifying…that’s just the start of it. Become a subject matter expert in one specific piece.
It might be qualifying the prospect, or getting the right leads. It might be clearly defining your ICP. After you become an SME in that piece, then you become an SME in another piece of prospecting and you work your way through the prospecting food chain.
via GIPHY6. View each day as a learning day.
I do this even today. Each day I ask myself, what did I learn today?
Every day I learn something new to help me prospect. What does that do? It makes me better.
Don’t wait around for your company to take initiative for you. Take the reins on your own learning, and your own professional development.
How Any Salesperson Can Be a Subject Matter Expert
+Define your business and seek specific learning opportunities to boost your value.
Find Ep. 129 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
Will ChatGPT Take My Sales Job?w/ Beth Z, your Nerdy BFF
Beth Z and Mark discuss the benefits as well as penalties to using ChatGPT, and when to use caution with the results.
Don’t miss Thursday’s episode, live on 8/31!
Read the August ’23 Edition of:Moments Matter! Magazine
with articles from Meridith Elliott Powell
and Mark Hunter!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post How to Take Charge of Your Own Prospecting Training first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
August 23, 2023
How to Overcome “Bad” Leads
Well, I don’t believe in leads because they never work. That argument is so old, it’s unbelievable.
If you or any of your colleagues find yourselves using this excuse, you absolutely must read the following six items.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. How do you know until you talk with them?Until you have a conversation with them, you don’t know if it’s a good lead or a bad lead.
It’s just a list of names. You don’t know enough about them…until you talk to them.
2. Your attitude going in to the call predetermines the results you get coming out of the call.Read Help! I Hate Cold Outreach here if the next step makes you moan and groan.
It is amazing how I can have two salespeople prospecting, one likes to prospect and one doesn’t. I can give them virtually the same list. And you know what? The person who has the right attitude—the attitude of, I can help people, I know they need me to have a conversation with them—their results are gonna be dramatically different than the person who goes into it with a bad attitude.
You’ve got to check your attitude before you pick up the phone. It has a big impact on the results you get coming out.
3. Not believing is an excuse.Not believing your leads are good is just an excuse. What you’re really telling yourself is, I don’t want to prospect.
Well, if I had good leads, I would prospect. Whoah there—you’re just trying to come up with a cheap excuse for why you shouldn’t have to prospect. Wrong.
via Kinda Funny on GIPHY
4. Every lead has a 50% chance of becoming a customer.They either become a customer or they don’t become a customer.
Now I’m an optimist, but that’s the way I look at leads. They’re either going to buy or they’re not going to buy. It’s 50/50.
via GIPHY5. If you don’t believe in the leads you’re getting, go get your own.
If you go get your own, then how are you going to argue that your leads are bad? You can’t, because you got the leads.
6. Make sure they fit your ICP.I agree, it’s hard to believe in leads when they don’t match up anywhere close to what I’m selling. But the closer they are to your ICP, ideal customer profile, the more I believe in them.
When your leads line up your ICP, there is no reason at all to not believe in them.
Your Prospects Aren’t What You Think You Are
+Stop stuffing your pipeline. Save yourself some valuable time, and know when to cut a lead loose.
Find Ep. 127 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.
How to Network Without Attending an EventReady to grow your net worth? Put a little energy into your network.
Learn Mark’s ‘100 Strategy’ on Thursday’s episode, live on 8/24!
Read the August ’23 Edition of:Moments Matter! Magazine
with articles from Meridith Elliott Powell
and Mark Hunter!
The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.
Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.
via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY
Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results .
The post How to Overcome “Bad” Leads first appeared on The Sales Hunter.
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