Mark Hunter's Blog, page 13

Help! I Hate Cold Outreach!

Do you have a strong discomfort with cold outreach? 

Or much worse…do you avoid the phone as a prospecting tool altogether? 

I’ve got six strategies to warm up any cold call and help you get over this big obstacle to prospecting. 

**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**

1. If you have the ability to help someone, it’s your responsibility to reach out to them. 

This is a home run play if you have the ability to help someone. 

If I had a problem and you could help me with it, I would want you to talk to me. If you didn’t, I’d be upset if I found out later that you could have helped me. 

When we can help someone, we owe it to them to reach out. 

2. You don’t know until you have a conversation. 

Why are you getting all wigged out about it? 

You don’t know anything until you have a conversation with them. Don’t just sit there in your uncomfortableness. Take a small step, start with a conversation. 

via Artlist on GIPHY3. It’s only a conversation. 

We’re not creating world peace, or a perpetual motion machine, nor are we solving world hunger. This is just a conversation. 

The prospect could blow me off, but it’s okay. In fact, I may call and only leave a voicemail. But you can’t close the sale if you never have a conversation.

4. What’s the worst that can happen to you? 

The person gets upset, the person hangs up. Does that do anything to you? No.  I still have two arms and two legs. I’ve yet to see a salesperson loses an arm or a leg, get stabbed, or get shot while cold calling. 

What’s the worst that can happen to you? They reject you. It’s okay. Hey, we’ve all been rejected 10,000 times in life. 

You know, if you look at great athletes, it’s amazing how many times they missed the goal, the throw, or the catch. And yet they’re still deemed a great athlete. Michael Jordan, without a doubt, the greatest basketball player ever to play the game, missed more last second shots than he made. And he’s not known for that. He’s known for winning games. 

5. Do they line up with your ICP?

I talk about this a lot—your ideal customer profile. You see, it may be cold outreach, but if the prospect lines up with my ICP, and I’ve helped other people like you, I owe it to you to reach out. 

Set yourself up for success by targeting prospects in your ICP.

Want to know without a doubt who your ICP is? Take the Ideal Customer Profile masterclass.

Mark’s in-depth training videos and detailed workbook will guide you through each facet of your ideal customer. 

6. What else have you been uncomfortable doing at first? 

There have been plenty of things in my life, for example when my kids began riding a bike, they were very uncomfortable—but they got over it. I’ll never forget, my son was a little bit afraid of climbing too high up on the monkey bars. But then he came to love it. Climbing up in a tree, same thing. 

You see, there are a lot of things that we’re uncomfortable with at first, but once we get into it, we suddenly begin to enjoy it. Then you find out it’s pretty great.

via Masterchef on GIPHY Is Your Prospecting Muscle Strong or Flabby?

+No more excuses. Make and achieve your prospecting/sales goals now.  

 

Find Ep. 125 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.

How can companies leverage sales enablement?We welcome Roderick Jefferson to The Sales Hunter Podcast.

+Create long-lasting customer relationships from revenue-producing techniques.

Listen to the conversation on Thursday’s episode, 8/17!

Subscribe now.

Read the August ’23 Edition of:Moments Matter! Magazine

 

with articles from Meridith Elliott Powell

and Mark Hunter!

Find it here. 

The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.

 

 If you…Need to save time and learn to leverage social media. This training is for you.Struggle to get past gatekeepers. This training is for you.Desparately need to develop my prospecting plan. This training is for you.Wish you could learn communication styles for different prospects. This training is for you.Seek to reach the C-suite and senior-level people This training is for you.

54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.

Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.

 

 

 

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 Help! I Hate Cold Outreach! first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

6 Questions to Solidify Your Value Prop

What is it that I’m selling? 

Being uncertain of your value proposition could certainly derail your prospecting efforts. 

Use these six questions in the prospecting phase, and by the time you put the value prop on the table, they’re going to be buying.

**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**

1. What matters more, what you think, or what the customer thinks?

We may look at the value proposition and think, this is weak, this is not right. 

But it’s not what we think that matters—it’s what the customer thinks. 

We may not want this type of car, or computer, or whatever it is, but that’s not for us to decide. It’s the customer making the purchase. 

What the customer wants determines the value proposition. Don’t allow your own perspective to determine the value proposition. 

2. Why have people bought from you before? 

When you start looking at this, ask yourself, why? There’s the value prop. That’s how you make numbers work. 

Why have they bought from you before? Because you’ve helped them with something. If that’s in your value proposition, guess what? Your new prospects are going to want that. 

Read these 6 Things Customers Need Before They Buy

3. Does the value prop match the outcome? 

One of the reasons we prospect is because we want to understand if they have a desired outcome. Do they have a need? It may be a pain or a gain, but do they have something that we can help them with? 

And if it’s something we can help them with, and the value prop matches up, then we have a winning solution. I have no reason to walk away from my value prop if it matches their desired outcome. 

via The Office on GIPHY 4. Are you solving a pain or a gain? 

In the economic period we’re in right now, people are much more focused on solving a pain versus creating a gain. Value propositions take on more value if they help you deal with a pain. If I can help you deal with a pain, guess what? You’re going to win. 

That’s great, but you’re going to have to stop and think about this because it’s going to impact the type of value proposition you share. You answer the ‘pain or gain’ question in the prospecting phase so that by the time you get to the point of delivering the value prop, you know exactly which it is that you’re selling and why the customer’s gonna buy from you. 

5. What’s the role of time in this offer? 

One of the things that I always strive for very early on is I want to understand the relationship between time and why they are making a decision. 

Because if I’m prospecting you, and you show an interest in what I have, but you’re not going make a decision for two years, what am I doing talking to you right now? 

You see the role of time changes the value proposition dramatically. 

via Late Night with Seth Meyers on GIPHY6. What would happen if the customer didn’t buy? 

More than anything else, this question determines the value of the value proposition because if the customer doesn’t buy, what’s going to happen to their business? 

What’s going to happen to their life? 

If I can begin to get them to see that in the prospecting phase, by the time I put the value proposition on the table, they’re going to be buying. 

via Saturday Night Live on GIPHY

What is ‘Land and Expand?’and How You Can Use It to Grow Your Sales

+How to expand with new and existing customers by establishing yourself as a solution-provider.  

 

Find Ep. 123 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.

What sparks change?What generates revenue?

Mike Simmons advocates for a catalyst, a champion within the organization that deeply cares about the problem you can solve.

Listen to the conversation in Thursday’s episode, 8/10!

Subscribe now.

The Most Comprehensive Prospecting Training Available.

 

 If you…Need to save time and learn to leverage social media. This training is for you.Struggle to get past gatekeepers. This training is for you.Desparately need to develop my prospecting plan. This training is for you.Wish you could learn communication styles for different prospects. This training is for you.Seek to reach the C-suite and senior-level people This training is for you.

54 meticulously crafted modules at your fingertips.

Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.

 

 

 

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 Questions to Solidify Your Value Prop first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

How Prospecting Puts Success in Your Hands

Some salespeople don’t prospect because they simply don’t believe in prospecting. 

Are you willing to allow your fate to be controlled by inbound calls? The marketing department? Repeat business? 

A major perk of being in sales is having a much greater influence on your own destiny. Read these six tips, then make your own choice.

**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**

1. You can’t close what you don’t first prospect. 

How am I ever going to get deals to close if I don’t first prospect? 

“But Mark, our telephone rings. Our website is great. Our pricing is good. We get referrals, we get repeat customers.” Great. I love all that. 

But you know what? That’s not going to be enough. 

2. Are you willing to put your success in someone else’s hands?

If you’re thinking, I’m going to rely on existing customers, or I’m going to rely on referrals. What you’re really saying is that all future business relies on all your customers doing nice things for you. 

I’m going to rely on advertising or marketing. So you’re going to rely on your marketing team or advertising, but what you’re really doing is entrusting yourself to other people. 

Why are you in sales? Because you want to control your destiny. You control your destiny by prospecting. 

via Room104 on GIPHY3. Waiting for the phone to ring is not a business strategy. 

That’s an order fulfillment strategy. 

A lot of people say, “Well, our business is all generated. It is all done because we have people who call in and place orders.” That’s an order-taker. That’s not a salesperson. 

What happens when the phone doesn’t ring? When times are good, you may get the phone to ring a lot. I get that. A couple years ago, I was hearing that a lot from companies and salespeople. 

Today I’m hearing just the opposite. Our phone isn’t ringing. Help us sell. 

via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY 4. You have a solution. 

Others need to hear about it. If you have the ability to help someone, you owe it to them to reach out. 

You have a solution others need to hear about, and they’re not going to hear about it unless you pick up the phone and call them. One-to-one calling, one-to-one prospecting is really nothing more than very focused advertising or marketing. But it’s advertising or marketing you control. It’s not in the hands of somebody else. 

via GIPHY5. Change your mindset and you’ll change your destiny. 

When you change your mindset about prospecting, it is amazing how you’ll change your results. 

I want you to look at prospecting as the starting point for success—for you and for your customer. 

I can take two people and give them virtually the same list. If one person has a great attitude, and the other one doesn’t like prospecting, guess who’s going to have the best results? Of course the one who has the right mindset. 

This is why I want you to catch all 15 Reasons from this series, because ultimately it’s going to show you how to have that right mindset. 

When you go into a call and your focus is to help people…When you know you can provide them with a solution because you’ve been able to help others like them…Or when you realize that this is just a conversation, it’s not world peace…

THEN…your mindset changes. And that changes your destiny. 

6. It’s not about what you sell. 

It’s why you sell that matters. 

A lot of people don’t believe in prospecting because they don’t believe in their product. “Our product isn’t any good.” Hold on here folks. Big mistake.

Nobody buys anything just to buy something. They buy something because they’re trying to solve a problem, fix something, correct something. It’s why you sell. That’s what matters. 

6 Ways to Overcome Rejection in Sales

 

How do you continue to believe in yourself and what you do despite how prospects respond?

Mark shares 6 tips to keep your sales sanity. 

Find Ep. 121 on The Sales Hunter Podcast now.

Fewer Deals, Better ConversationsBetter Goals, Better Disciplinew/ Ron Karr

Ep. 122 Available Thursday, 8/3!

Find The Sales Hunter Podcast anywhere!

We’ve left no stone unturned in providing you the most comprehensive prospecting training available.

 

54 meticulously crafted modules teaching you how to:save time leveraging social mediaget past gatekeepersdevelop your prospecting planlearn communication styles for different prospectsreach the C-suite and senior-level people

Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.

 

 

 

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 Prospecting Puts Success in Your Hands first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

How to Craft a Sales Conversation

Salespeople tell me, “I just can’t prospect because I’m uncertain as to what to say, or what to do.” It’s painful!

This is one of the big reasons why people don’t prospect. However, I’m on a mission to help you become a master prospector. I can give your 6 easy building blocks of any successful sales conversation.

**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**

1. Focus on the customer. 

Not you. Focus on the customer. 

What do you think the customer wants?

What do you think the customer is looking for? 

2. Ask questions and then ask more questions. 

You see, the best presentation ever given is the presentation never given— because all you’re doing is having a conversation. You’re asking questions, and whatever they share with you, you ask more questions about it. 

When uncertain of what to say or afraid to pick up the phone, instead ask them about their business, what’s going on.

In future videos, I’ll break this down even further for you, but I’m trying to get you over this hurdle right now to just to pick up the phone and start the process. 

3. Listen and follow up. 

You may have received one piece of information from the prospect. Ding ding ding! That’s your follow up. 

“Hey, by the way, last week you told me this… or I see that you did this…or your company just announced this….” Just follow up, follow up, listen and follow up. 

Need more tips? Read this blog on How to Follow Up With Prospects.

4. Create a follow-up routine. 

Don’t lose sight of that prospect. You haven’t talked to that prospect in a couple weeks. Why? Pick up the phone. Call them. Follow up with something they’ve shared. 

I do this all the time. I’m continuously following up. And chances are it’s just a voicemail!  “Hey, last time we talked….. “ I’m just sharing something with them, but it’s part of my prospecting routine.

What happens you fall out of ‘the groove’? You become more flustered. Then you’re caught in situations like, “I haven’t talked to them in six months. I haven’t emailed them in three months. I don’t know what to do.” You avoid that by staying in your routine. Your CRM can help with this.

5. Relax. 

It’s only a conversation. You don’t have to worry about having all the technical aspects, or all the details. You’ll get into that later on in the sales call. 

Too many times people say, “I can’t prospect because I don’t know enough yet about what I’m selling.” Wrong. Neither does the customer! So what? Have a conversation. You’ll learn the technical aspects, all the attributes and all the nuances of what you sell later on. But don’t let your lack of knowledge upfront stop you. It’s only a conversation. 

via Talk Stoop on GIPHY6. Know your CTA. 

With every call I make, what’s my Call to Action? It might be, “Hey, what’s your calendar look like next Tuesday, two o’clock, let’s get together.” The CTA might be, “I’m gonna send this over.” Whatever it is, you have to be clear on your CTA. 

I just did this with the president of a company. I said, “Hey, we talked a couple weeks ago about getting a meeting together with so-and-so, and I haven’t seen that yet on my calendar. What days are going to work for you?” That was almost the exact word for word voicemail that I left for the president of a company. 

Now, I know that the president’s executive assistant is gonna respond to that, and the president will probably never listen to it. The executive assistant is, but I’m still very clear on what my CTA is.

Overcoming the #1 Obstacle to Prospecting

 

Mark shares how to break your to-do list into granular activities and schedule yourself in a way that they’ll actually get done. 

 

 

Listen to Ep.119  now!

Never Miss an Episode!Subscribe to The Sales Hunter Podcast.

 

+ 1 short sales tip from Mark every Monday.+ 1 in-depth interview episode every Thursday 

 

Find it  wherever you get your podcasts!

We’ve left no stone unturned in providing you the most comprehensive prospecting training available.

 

54 meticulously crafted modules teaching you how to:save time leveraging social mediaget past gatekeepersdevelop your prospecting planlearn communication styles for different prospectsreach the C-suite and senior-level people

Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits.

 

 

 

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 Craft a Sales Conversation first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

Overcoming a Fear of Failure in Sales

It’s very hard to become a top performing salesperson without becoming a really good prospector. 

I hear salespeople say, “I can’t prospect, that’s what marketing does.” What it comes down to is they have this fear of failure. 

Fear of failure should never keep you from prospecting.

**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**

1. Failing means you’re trying. 

I love skiing—snow skiing and water skiing. I’ll never forget one time in particular, I was skiing with my wife. We’d spent the day skiing, and I tend to bust apart from her because I want to go to the black diamonds. I want to go to the steepest slopes out there. Do I fall? You bet I do!  But you know what? Failing, and in this case falling, means I’m trying. 

One day my wife and I were out skiing, and at the end of the day my wife said, “Oh, great, I didn’t fall at all.” And I replied, “I can’t even begin to count the number of times I fell.” It’s okay to fail. 

via America’s Funniest Home Videos on GIPHY2. Big failure always predates success. 

It’s amazing how many times you have a big failure, but suddenly that failure creates a better outcome or it precedes success. I love this. 

This just happened today. I was experiencing a big failure getting a project done because my calendar is just so tight. And suddenly—boom—the light bulb went off as to how I could accomplish it. Suddenly it’s becoming an absolute success. 

If you’re pushed up against the wall, that’s okay. You’re going to figure out a solution. It always happens if you allow yourself to be open-minded about it.

3. Believe in your mission. 

Whatever your mission is, as a company, as an individual, believe in it. If you don’t first believe in your sphere of influence, how will you ever convince others? 

For instance, I have several people who work for me and we have some goals, aspirations, and targets. I absolutely believe in them. And it requires a lot of prospecting. But I’m willing to do the prospecting because I believe in the overall mission of what we’re trying to accomplish. 

via CBC on GIPHY 4. Don’t stop. Keep going. 

So many times when people fail, they suddenly stop. 

I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve failed over the years. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know we have the Sales Hunter University online training, and it’s very successful. But you know what’s interesting? That’s probably about version number five or six, and we had to go through several different versions—which all failed.

Years ago I had a podcast. (I’m talking back in the early days of podcasting.) I had a podcast and I stopped doing it. I just restarted doing my podcast about a year and a half ago. Now, could you imagine if I had been producing my podcast for that entire time, perhaps even a 15-year period, how big it would be today? 

I was fearful of failing because it just wasn’t going anywhere. So I stopped doing it. Big mistake.

via The Sales Hunter on GIPHY5. Have an accountability partner. 

Who’s your accountability partner? You have to have somebody. 

I find that my greatest success and my greatest ability to overcome failure and actually prevent failure is by having an accountability partner. It is amazing how much more successful I am because it helps me process things. 

I have a mastermind group with three other people, and then there’s a person in my mastermind who is my accountability partner. You probably know her, Meredith Elliot Powell. She keeps me focused, I keep her focused, and it helps us overcome. 

When fear of failure bubbles to the surface, we both poke and prod and push and help each other get to the next level. 

Read more about 5 Ways to Build Your Sales with Your Network. 

6. Find success in everything. 

Regardless of what it is you do, there’s always something to learn. 

You take a great athlete, and they lose a game. What do they do? They go to the film room, and they study why. Likewise if they are successful and they win a game or a match, they still study the video. 

What can they learn? They find success in everything.

 How to Ask Better Questions Sooner

 

Sharing information doesn’t qualify prospects, but asking questions sure does!  

 

 

Listen to Ep.117 now!

Simple Ways to Get Motivated and Stay Focused w/ Dr. Mary Kelly

 

+ how to establish a system to prioritize and stay focused+ easy routines to stay motivated

 

Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts!

We’ve left no stone unturned in providing you the most comprehensive prospecting training available.

 

54 meticulously crafted modules comprised of :PDFsEngaging Videosand Interactive Quizzes

Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits. 

 

 

 

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 Overcoming a Fear of Failure in Sales first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

6 Ways to Become a Confident Seller

The confident salesperson is naturally more efficient and more effective than the salesperson who’s not. 

Lack of confidence is one of the things that I’ve identified in surveys I’ve done for thousands of salespeople as to why they don’t prospect. 

How do you overcome a lack of confidence? Here are six ways expert sellers stay self-assured and crowd out the doubt.

**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**

1. Create a success list. 

Take a piece of paper and write down all the successes you’ve had in sales. I don’t care if it has something to do with prospecting or not. 

Write it down, and look at it and give yourself a big hug and think, I’m actually very good. I do a great job. I do a great job…negotiating deals….getting contracts signed… etc. 

2. Surround yourself with positive people. 

You can’t afford to spend time with Negative Nelly. Or a Pity Pete. 

We become the sum of the five people we associate with the most. That came from Jim Rohn, one of the master motivators. So I want you to surround yourself with positive people. 

Monitor your influences. You need to be very careful of what news you watch or what social media you consume, too. Pay attention. 

via GIPHY3. Set achievable goals. 

You may have this unbelievable number that you need to attain by the end of the year. Instead, set a goal that you can achieve. 

The goal you can achieve might be just making five phone calls today. It might be closing one sale. It might be getting X percent of business. That’s okay. 

And you know what happens when you achieve a goal? You actually become more motivated, and motivation creates momentum. Momentum creates confidence. I talk about it in my book A Mind for Sales. It’s called the Success Wheel, and it’s amazing. 

When I’m working with salespeople who are struggling, I say, “Just make two phone calls.” That’s your achievable goal. Then tomorrow, make three or four, just slowly increase it.  

4. Believe in yourself. 

Every one of these pieces up to this point has been about helping you to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, why would your customers believe in you? 

Have you ever been around people who just have an ability to attract other people to themselves? It’s because they have a level of confidence. I’m not talking about arrogance. No, arrogance has no place. I’m referring to a kind of confidence in which they know they can help people, know what their objectives are, what their goals are, and have a plan to do it. 

Read more about How Salespeople Overcome the Fear of Rejection.

5. Be consistent. 

One of the best ways to become confident is by being absolutely consistent in your activities. 

I like to run, and when I’m getting ready to run a race, I have to be very consistent in my running habits. Otherwise, I’m not going to believe in or be confident in myself. But when I’ve been able to get out and achieve the mileage and the repetition I need, I come into that race very confident, and I’m able to complete that run. 

It’s amazing how being consistent in your activities goes a long way to creating confidence.

6. Celebrate your wins. 

Regardless of how big or small, every day celebrate your win(s). 

Your win today may be having one phone call returned or one really great email. Celebrate it.

Too many times people only celebrate big wins. Then they feel, Well, somebody else got a bigger win… Well, I can’t sell. 

Celebrate your wins, and watch your success grow.

 

via Late Night with Seth Meyers on GIPHY  Creating Momentum with Your Mindset

 

Prospecting starts in your head. 

 

Mark shares 4 mindset strategies to get your head in the game.

 

 

Listen to Ep.115 now!

How to Best Prepare to Prospectw/ Paul Caffrey

 

+ how to know if a deal is worth pursuing+ what to research before you pick up the phone

 

Subscribe now on your favorite streaming service!

We’ve left no stone unturned in providing you the most comprehensive prospecting training available.

 

54 meticulously crafted modules comprised of :PDFsEngaging Videosand Interactive Quizzes

Click here to learn everything you need to know about turning prospects into profits. 

 

 

 

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 Become a Confident Seller first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

How Salespeople Overcome the Fear of Rejection

So many salespeople could be GREAT salespeople if they could just master prospecting. 

I used to be one of those people that—ugggh—I did not want to prospect. Today’s blog is brought to you by my 15 Things Holding Salespeople Back. We’ll be diving into one setback each week. 

This week: fear of rejection. Something that traverses jobs, industries, even cultures.

1. Believe in the outcomes you create. 

It’s not about what you sell, it’s not even how you sell, it’s why you sell. To quote Simon Sinek, it is the outcomes you create. 

I want you to take a piece of paper and write down all of the ways that you’ve helped your customers in the past. Write that down, celebrate it. Keep that with you.

via Team Coco on GIPHY

You’re going to get rejected, but that’s okay, because you believe in the outcomes. 

Read more about How to Start Selling Your Outcome.

2. It’s only a moment in time. 

Rejection is never permanent. You have to realize that when you make a call and you get rejected, it’s only a moment in time. It’s never, “Oh, they rejected me and therefore they’re never gonna speak to me again.” 

I look at a rejection this way: I could be driving down the road, and the traffic light is green. I drive through the intersection and a car runs the red light the other way and hits me sideways. Although I was in the right, I just happened to be in the right place, wrong time. 

There’s always another moment in time. There’s always another prospect.

My whole goal is this: I am never going to let one phone call, one rejection, stop me from everything else. Even if I’m in a car accident, I’m probably going to be driving again. Sure, I might be shook up for a bit, but you know what? I’ll get back in the car. 

I never let a negative phone call impact the next phone call. 

3. You’re in the business of helping people. 

It’s not about what you sell, it’s not about price point or anything like that. You’re in the business of helping people. How can you not get excited to help people? 

I get it, they don’t know you can help them and that’s why they reject you. But this is why we have to keep coming back despite getting rejected three, four or five times from them. Eventually, we will either find them or other people who will say, “Hey, I want to hear your message.” 

In the business of helping people, that does mean you will intrude, jump in on them, interrupt them, but you know you can make a difference. So if I get rejected, that’s okay. I’m gonna come back and try again. 

via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on GIPHY

My goal is this: I just want to earn the right, the privilege, honor and respect to be able to talk with you again. If I do, that’s great. 

4. Celebrate your wins. 

A win might simply be somebody calling you back, or somebody actually taking your phone call. Celebrate it! 

Too many times when salespeople are prospecting, they only celebrate the win when they actually get the sale. But prospecting is comprised of so many little activities, all along the way. Those smaller wins are worth celebrating.

via Slanted Studios on GIPHY

 

5. Rejection is normal. 

Think about how many times you’ve had people call you and you’ve rejected them. Rejection is absolutely normal, there’s nothing wrong with it. Saying yes to everything is impossible. 

via GIPHY

6. Even the best people face rejection. 

I don’t care who you are, everyone has faced rejection. Whether it be a major athlete, a scholar, or a business person, we all face rejection and that’s okay. 

You aren’t being singled out. You’re not, I get rejected all the time and that’s okay. In fact, prospecting is about being rejected far more than people say yes. That’s okay, I’m very comfortable with that.  

 Prospecting Is About Helping People.

 

I’m interrupting!I’m intruding!I’m catching them at a bad time!

 

No, you can help them. And it’s your responsibility to reach out.

 

Listen to Ep.111 now!

How Do We Give Time Back to Sellers?w/ Tiffani Bova

 

+ how to handle low, middle, and high performers+ the role of tech and AI

 

Subscribe now on your favorite streaming service!

 

 

 

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 Salespeople Overcome the Fear of Rejection first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back

This could be a little bit negative, but this is the real thing.

I’ve been dealing with prospecting and helping salespeople for a long time now. Having been around the block, I know these 15 things are holding salespeople back from success.  

Looking at this list should help you know you’re not alone, but even moreso, I hope to show you how each is a false assumption that is holding you back. Once you master it, your results will change.  

I’ll dive into each one of these in the following weeks, so stay tuned.

1. Fear of rejection 

Who doesn’t have this fear…if even just a little? Fear of rejection; I could be told, “No.”

Check back next week for more on this topic!

2. Lack of confidence

I’m just not confident in what I’m doing. 

I’m just not a born salesperson. 

Oh, Mark, you’re known as The Sales Hunter, you must have been born to do this… No, I was not. You can read in my book A Mind for Sales about how I was fired from my first two sales jobs.

3. Fear of failure 

Now, that’s worse than rejection because fear of failure is, “I’m going to get out of sales, I’m not cut out to be a salesperson.”

Fear of failure is not a reason to back out of something, you can overcome that. 

via The Office on GIPHY4. Uncertain of what to say, what to do

I need to prospect, but I just don’t know what to do…

By reading this blog you’re already at a great starting point. Be teachable, seek knowledge. Find mentors. 

Listen to The Sales Hunter Podcast each week for sales strategies and interviews with experts in the field.

Or try Sales Logic Podcast with myself and Meridith Elliott Powell for great insight into the industry and more tips for sales success. New episodes each Tuesday morning.

5. Lack of belief in prospecting

“Oh, prospecting doesn’t work…We just need to do more advertising, or we need to do more marketing, yeah.” 

Wrong.

via CBS on GIPHY6. Not believing in leads

This just drives me crazy. If I had better leads, I could sell more. False, I think that’s garbage. 

7. Discomfort with cold outreach

Oh, no! I have to call people and they don’t know who I am.

I’m going to share with you in the coming weeks some stories that will blow your mind. 

8. Uncertain about the value proposition

Okay, this is what we sell, this is how my company says we make a difference, but I don’t believe it. I think it’s a bunch of junk.

Disbelief in the value proposition means you really don’t believe in the product. If you don’t believe in what you sell, why are you working there?

9. Poor training 

Most “training” happening at companies isn’t sales training, it’s just product training disguised as sales training.

Kudos for seeking knowledge and tips from experts on your own here! Whether you’re on my website or my YouTube channel, there are plenty of free insights to help you get trained. 

If you sit around waiting for someone to train you, perhaps you want to be a lousy salesperson.

10. Negative past experiences

This could be last week, last month, last year, but there’s stuff that just harbors in your mind and you can’t get past it.  

What would it look like for you to beat the odds and get past it?

via GIPHY11. Poor time management skills

It’s easy to mismanage our time in sales, whether that be spending too much time with current customers, chasing shiny objects that will never become qualified prospects, or even going down a CRM or research rabbit hole for too long. 

I advocate for a lot of time management strategies, whether that be time blocking, or the 10 a.m. rule. To learn more, see these 7 Tips to Maximize Time for Prospecting, or How to Invest Your Time Effectively to Sell Better.

12. Time spent on existing accounts 

I’d prospect, but my boss and everybody needs me to take care of these accounts. Those are excuses. 

Well, I could do this, but these accounts, you don’t realize how important they are…”

Keep that up and your pipeline could begin to look scary.

13. Failing to have a plan

I don’t really have a plan, so I don’t know what I should do, so I’m not going to do anything. 

There’s only one thing worse than not having a plan, it’s not doing anything at all.

via CBC on GIPHY

14. Believing prospecting is someone else’s job

I was working with a company the other day, and the vast majority of salespeople don’t believe in prospecting because they always say, “It’s this department’s job.”

Wrong, it’s everybody’s job to prospect. 

15. Low self-esteem

You just don’t believe in yourself enough, and as a result, it hurts. 

It pains me to share such a long list, but remember to check back as we do a deep dive on each of these topics in the coming weeks!

Prospecting Calls Should Never Include a Demo So when is the right time?

via Kids’ Choice Awards on GIPHY

 

Listen to Episode 109 now! 

 

What’s your agenda on a discovery call?

 

Mark and Becc Holland discuss questions sellers can ask prospects to identify known and unknown problems.

+how to propel the problem we can solve to a higher position on their priority list. 

Ep. 110 available Thursday 6/22!

Find The Sales Hunter Podcast on your favorite steaming service. 

 

 

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 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

10 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Prospect

There are multiple uses for AI, some you may not have thought of. 

I’m all about helping you find and retain better customers that you can close at full price, and using ChatGPT certainly works. 

AI isn’t going to replace you. It’s going to help you prospect more efficiently, and more effectively. That’s why I love the tool. Here are ten uses you can try today.

1. Define your ideal customer

Ask GPT specific questions. Get specific about what it is that you’re looking for. 

What are the outcomes that you create? Who are the customers that would benefit most from your outcome? It’s going to help you define who your ideal customers are. 

Dive into your own ICP with Mark’s in-depth Ideal Customer Profile Masterclass. Enroll now!

2. Prepare a rough draft

Emphasis on the rough draft. ChatGPT can help you write a rough draft of an email, or a presentation. 

Don’t use it as the final word, but use it as a starting point.

3. Understand what questions to ask

What questions should I ask a customer?

Who is looking for X?  See what ChatGPT comes back with.

via WE tv on GIPHY4. Write scripts and talking points

Again, these are starting pieces, not ending pieces. Use your best judgment. Nevertheless, it’s going to give you ideas that you can run with for your next interaction with a prospect. 

5. Get information regarding prospects

Let’s say you have a specific prospect that you’re going after, or a specific company. Ask GPT what’s going on in that company.

What are the major business issues this company is dealing with in the current year? You can even ask about a specific department, or specific people.

6. Industry information

Ask: What are the ten big issues this (specific) industry is dealing with right now? 

Check out How to Use ChatGPT and AI to Sell

7. Identify prospects

In other words, who are people who would benefit from using this type of service, this product, whatever it might be?

This is going to help you get names, titles, contact information. 

8. Ideas and information about the customer’s business

ChatGPT, what does ‘X’ company do?

How long have they been in business?

Who are their key customers? 

9. Future trends

Ask ChatGPT, what are some of the big issues that this industry could be dealing with? 

Or, what are some of the regulations that this industry could be dealing with on a regular basis? 

via Verohallinto on GIPHY10. Downstream insights 

Who are the types of customers that they sell to? How do they use it? 

What’s going on in their customer’s industry? In other words, find out about your customer’s customer. 

The Era of Specialization Is Here!

Episode 107 out now! Listen anywhere.

 

via CBC on GIPHY How to Love Sales and Have Funw/ Jake Thompson

Comparison is the thief of joy and contentment, but what if we decided to be in competition with ourselves instead?

Available Thursday, 6/15 — Listen anywhere!

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 10 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Prospect first appeared on The Sales Hunter.

Prospecting for the Non-Salesperson

You think you’re not in sales, but everybody is in sales.

Everybody has to find new customers. You might be a small business owner and say, “I need to find more customers. How do I go out and do that?” 

Let’s walk through 10 things that you can be doing right now to be prospecting for the non-sales person.

1. Relax, it’s only a conversation. 

You are not solving world hunger. You’re not creating perpetual motion machines. No, you’re just having a conversation.

Whatever means you use to reach prospects, just relax and dial it down. 

2. Leverage your network. 

You already have relationships out there. Use them. Talk to them. Have them become your supporters. 

They probably know customers who could benefit from your service. They may even be people who could benefit from your service. As I work with non-salespeople in helping them sell,  they find a tremendous amount of business just from their existing network.

3. Find your fans. 

This is a subset of your network because you probably know hundreds of people. But who are those five or ten fans of yours who can help you by talking you up to other people, or introducing you to other people. You want to find raving fans because they’re going to give you the best advice and input. They are a huge source of new opportunities.

via America’s Got Talent on GIPHY4. Your current customers. 

Just because you’ve served your customers once doesn’t mean it’s over. Go back and talk to them again. 

Your current customers are a tremendous source of referrals—that means new business! You may have customers from two or three years ago. Pick up the phone and call them, “Hey, we haven’t talked in a couple years. How are things going for you?”

5. Focus your effort.

Don’t try to boil the ocean. What are the outcomes that you can create for customers? 

Look at your current customers, and how you’ve been able to help them. Now, who are other people like that? 

When you realize the outcomes you create, it’s going to make you more knowledgeable. As you have those conversations, as you leverage your network, you’re going to be able to be more confident and competent about talking and asking questions and getting conversations going.

via Amazon Prime Video on GIPHY 6. Give referrals to get referrals. 

Many non-sales people are afraid to ask for referrals. Referrals are the easiest way to get business!

One of the easiest ways to get referrals is to give referrals. How many referrals are you giving? 

I take every opportunity to give out referrals—I don’t know if it’s going to be a straight line back to me, but I have noticed that the more referrals I give, the more referrals I get.

Read these 10 Tips to Get More Referrals.

7. Share information.

You have knowledge about something—just share it with other people. Share it with other people in your network, your fans, your customers. Share it with anybody and everybody because it allows you to be seen as an expert. It raises your confidence level, and raises your competence level as well as that of the individuals you share with. 

via CBC on GIPHY8. Treat your prospects like a customer. 

If there’s information that you give to customers, send it to your prospects. Treat your prospects exactly like your customers, and it’s amazing how very quickly they will become your customers.

9. Think vertically. 

“If anybody calls me and anybody talks to me, I’m going to try to sell them what I have.” No, think vertical. Not everyone is your ideal customer. Know exactly who you can really help, who you can benefit, and stay tight in that lane. 

Stay within the companies you’re already prospecting. There are probably other customers you can ask, or maybe another division, another company, another person they know, etc. 

For example, let’s say you provide a part or a service that gets used on a production line. Tell people, “Hey, I want to go out and look at the production line, see how it’s being used.” Talk to other people. Think about how your product or service helps people do their job. When I go downstream, I may find other customers, other people who I should be talking to.

10. Never forget your goal is to help them. 

So many people who are in a non-sales role think, “I can’t prospect because I’m selling.” You’re not selling, you’re helping them. 

Remember, the objective of prospecting is very simply this: if you know you can help someone, you have an obligation to reach out to them. 

via VH1 on GIPHY

If I had a problem and I knew that you could help me, I would want you to reach out to me. Of course, when you call me, I don’t know who you are. You’re right. But you know what? You’re interrupting to help me. That is huge. 

Always remember your objective for every communication you have is to help others. You’re going to help them see and achieve what they didn’t think was possible.

Using Voicemail to Prospect

 

Ep. 105 out now! Find it where you stream podcasts. 

 

 

Let your personality come through; it’s about leaving a trail of breadcrumbs in the prospect’s consciousness. CRM’s Should Help Us…NOT Hurt Us!

w/ Paul Fuller of Membrain

What if CRM’s could actually help a salesperson sell or progress through a deal?

Listen anywhere podcasts are streamed.

Episode 106 goes live Thursday, 6/8!

 

 

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 Prospecting for the Non-Salesperson first appeared on The Sales Hunter.