Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling (Jeb Blount)

by Jeb Blount

There are three steps to asking: Ask with confidence and assume you will get what you want. Shut up. Be prepared to deal with reflex responses, brush-offs, and objections.

On the phone and in person your words and how you deliver those words must match. Your prospect is subconsciously assessing whether your words, voice tone, and body language are congruent. If they are not, your prospect will not trust you and will put up resistance.

The hardest part of asking is learning to ask and shut up. When you've asked for what you want, you've put it all out there and left yourself vulnerable to rejection. And what happens when you feel vulnerable? You try to protect yourself.

This is why, despite all of the alarm bells going off in your adrenaline-soaked mind, you must shut up and give your prospect room to answer. Here's why: The faster you get to an answer, the faster you'll be able to move on to the next prospecting touch or deal with a no or maybe. It's governed by a simple rule of thirds.

Get to yes fast. About one-third of the time they're going to say yes just because you asked. Your goal is to get these yesses on the table and avoid talking yourself out of them. This makes you super-efficient. They say yes to your request. You get what you want. Both of you quickly move on to the next thing on your list. Get to no fast. About one-third of the time the prospect will say no and mean no. Sometimes this is a phone hung up on you, a door slammed in your face, or a deleted e-mail. Sometimes it is a string of expletives. Most times it is the prospect giving you a very direct and uncertain no! Although it sucks to hear no, it is also a blessing. It allows you to quickly move on to the next call—again, making you more efficient. Get to maybe fast. About one-third of the time the prospect will hesitate, say maybe, negotiate, or give you a false objection just to get you off of the phone. This is where the rubber meets the road in prospecting—it's where you have a chance to turn a maybe into a yes with effective RBO tunrarounds.

We don't know the exact reason why more prospects are answering their phones, but we suspect three drivers: Phones are anchored to people, not desks. It is common for prospects to answer their mobile phone when you call them—either because their mobile line is their only line or because their office line rolls over to their mobile line. No one is calling. Because so much sales communication has shifted to e-mail, social inboxes, and text, phones are not ringing nearly as much as in the past. Because of this, salespeople who call are standing out in the crowd and getting through. Prospects are getting burned out on impersonal, irrelevant (and often automated) prospecting e-mails. E-mail and social inboxes are being flooded with crap. Prospects are hungry for something different—a live, authentic human being.

Salespeople who ignore the phone fail. They deliver mediocre results and cheat themselves out of hard cash.

The phone is the most efficient prospecting tool because when you are organized, you can reach more prospects in a shorter period of time than through any other prospecting channel—even e-mail.

many salespeople find it awkward to use the phone for prospecting because: They don't know what to say, say stupid things, or read awkward, cheesy scripts that generate resistance and rejection. They don't have an easy-to-execute telephone prospecting process that actually works. They don't know how to deal with reflex responses, brush-offs, and objections. They are afraid of rejection.

Telephone prospecting is the most despised activity in sales. Calling and interrupting people you don't know is uncomfortable. You get a tremendous amount of rejection.

That's why it is called prospecting, not order taking.

Fanatical prospectors set up daily telephone phone blocks of one to two hours. During this time they remove all distractions—shutting off e-mail and mobile devices, and letting those around them know that they are not to be disturbed. They set clear goals for how many calls they will make. This call block is a booked appointment on their schedule and it is sacred. Nothing interferes.

No matter what you do, though: Schedule that block. Make the appointment with yourself. Keep it sacred and don't be late.

An effective telephone prospecting call might sound like this—a simple five-step framework: Get their attention by using their name: “Hi, Julie.” Identify yourself: “My name is Jeb Blount and I'm with Sales Gravy.” Tell them why you are calling: “The reason I'm calling is to set up an appointment with you.” Bridge—give them a because: “I just read an article online that said your company is going to add 200 new sales positions over the next year. Several companies in your industry are already using Sales Gravy exclusively for sourcing sales candidates and they are very happy with the results we are delivering.” Ask for what you want, and shut up: “I thought the best place to start is to schedule a short meeting to learn about your sales recruiting challenges and goals. How about we meet Wednesday afternoon around 3:00 PM?”

A framework is a guide. It makes you agile and adaptive because it can be leveraged across different situations, freeing you to focus on your message rather than the time-consuming effort of rethinking your process each time.

Don't ask, “How are you doing?” and don't pause or leave any awkward silence. Say their name and keep moving.

Transparency has two benefits. It demonstrates that you are a professional and that you have respect for your prospect's time—save the idle chitchat until you have established a real relationship. By telling them who you are and why you are calling, you reduce their stress because people are more comfortable when they know what to expect.

We've already learned that when we ask people to do something for us, like give up their time, they are more likely to do so when we give them a reason—or a because.

Avoid saying things like: “I want to talk to you about my product.” “I'd love to get together with you to show you what we have to offer.” “I want to tell you about our new service.” These statements are all about you and the words talk, tell, and show send a subtle message that what you really want to do is pitch. I assure you the last thing your prospect wants or has time for is you talking at them.

Use phrases and emotional words like: Learn more about you and your business Share some insights that have helped my other clients Share some best practices that other companies in your industry are using to… Gain an understanding of your unique situation See how we might fit Flexibility Options Peace of mind Save Frustrated Concerned Stressed Waste Time Money

The most important step is asking for what you want. If you are qualifying, ask for the information you need to determine your next step. If you want an appointment, ask for a day and time. If you want to engage in a sales conversation, ask an open-ended question that gets them talking.

Then shut up. The single biggest mistake salespeople make on prospecting calls is they keep talking instead of giving their prospect the opportunity to respond to their request. This increases resistance, creates objections, and gives your prospect an easy way out.

To get more of your messages returned, you must make it easier for your prospects to call you back. There are five steps to leaving effective voice mail messages that get returned.

Identify yourself. Say who you are and the company you work for up front. This makes you sound professional. Say your phone number twice. Prospects can't call back if they don't have or you garbled your number. Give your contact information up front and say it twice—slowly. After they hear your name and company, they may not care about the rest of your message because based on their situation, they can infer what it is about. Tell them the reason for your call. Tell them why you have called. There is nothing more irritating to a buyer than a salesperson who is not honest about their intentions. After you give your personal information just say, “The reason for my call is…” or “the purpose of my call is…,” then tell them why you are calling and what you want. Transparency is both respectful and professional. Give them a reason to call you back. Prospects call back when you have something that they want or are curious about. Curiosity is a powerful driver of behavior. When you have knowledge, insight, information, special pricing, new or improved products, a solution to a problem, and so on, you create a motivating force that compels your prospect to call you back. Repeat your name and say your phone number twice. Before you end your message, say your name again slowly and clearly and always, always say your number twice.

Frenchman Nicholas Chamfort advised people to “swallow a toad in the morning if you want to encounter nothing more disgusting the rest of the day.” In his book Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy says that your “frog” is “the hardest, most important task of the day. It is the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.”

When “you have to eat a frog, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it for very long.”

Courage is developed in the presence of fear, not in spite of it.

When the horse is dead, dismount.

Seven Keys for Dealing with Gatekeepers Be likable. Project a positive, cheerful, outgoing personality. Be polite and respectful.

Use please, please. In his book The Real Secrets of the Top 20 Percent, the author, Mike Brooks, advises that the “single most powerful technique” to get past gatekeepers is to use please twice.

Be transparent. Tell the gatekeeper who you are—your full name and the name of your company. Full disclosure makes you sound professional and worthy enough to pass through to the boss.

Connect. Gatekeepers are people just like you. And like you, they like people who are interested in them.

Hold the cheese. Never use cheesy schemes or tricks. Tricks don't work. They harm your credibility and you'll end up on the gatekeeper's do-not-talk-to list, which means it will have to snow at the equator before you get through.

Ask for help. Sometimes an honest and authentic plea for help will get a gatekeeper on your side.

Change the game. Sometimes the best strategy is to sidestep the gatekeeper. This can be accomplished in several ways: Call early or late. The boss tends to be in the office earlier than the gatekeeper and stays later. Leverage social. Few people allow their gatekeeper to have access to their social inboxes. Sending a LinkedIn InMail, for example, allows you to move right past the gatekeeper. Meet them in person. Attend conferences, networking events, civic clubs, charity events, and trade shows where your prospect hangs out—no gatekeepers there. Send an e-mail. An e-mail may allow you to skip past the gatekeeper. Send a handwritten note. In today's digital culture, handwritten notes sent via snail mail get through. If your note is sincere and funny, and if you add something of value (note: a brochure is not value) or congratulate your prospect on an achievement, there is a very good chance that you will get a response.

Just remember. In sales persistence always wins. Always.

The Five-Step Hub-and-Spoke System for IPPs: Plan IPPs around preset appointments. Start with appointments you set during your phone block. Leveraging your CRM, develop a list of prospects close by. A zip code search is often the best means to do this. Plot three to five prospects on a map around your preset appointments. Develop the most efficient driving route to call on these planned IPPs with the least amount of windshield time. Give yourself time between appointments—before or after—to call on these prospects face to face. Don't stop until you reach your goal. Leveraged effectively, IPPs will help you squeeze every drop of opportunity out of your sales day.

There are five steps to planning for effective IPPs: Research. With planned IPPs, do your research in advance to get decision-maker name(s), learn about the history of their business, visit their website, look for recent press releases, and review your CRM for notes and other insights. For T-Calls, grab your smartphone and do a quick scan of their website and social media sites to pick up any information that may help you ask better questions and refine your approach. Personalize your approach. Personalize your approach to make it unique to each prospect. Develop relevant questions about their business, compliment them on recent accomplishments, or offer insights you have that may help them solve a particular problem. It is also a good idea to leverage the relationships you have with nearby customers to gain instant credibility: “We've been doing business with Billy next door for five years and he loves our service.” Develop an objective for every call. Before you walk into your prospect's door, make sure you have clearly defined what you want to accomplish. Be prepared to close. Be ready! Make sure you have everything you need to close the deal with you—sale sheets, order forms, contracts, presentation material, and so on. Log calls, notes, and set follow-up tasks in your CRM. It does you absolutely no good to go on IPPs and gather information if you don't log the information in your CRM and set follow-up tasks for additional research and callbacks. Take the time to log e...

The Five-Step In-Person Prospecting Call Process The in-person call process is similar to the five-step telephone prospecting framework. The main difference between the in-person framework and the phone process is the IPP will move along at a slower pace and there will typically be more dialogue. Approach with confidence. As we've discussed in previous chapters, there is no substitute for enthusiasm and confidence. These are the two emotions that sell. You must approach IPPs with absolute confidence. Be bold—even if you have to fake it. I've found that there are two keys to confidence: Expect to win. Walk in like you own the place and ask direct questions that help you gather information and get in front of decision makers. Plan questions in advance. The research you do in advance helps you plan the questions you want to ask about problems, issues, decision makers, and competitors. Having a plan gives you an extra boost of confidence as you walk in the door. Identify yourself and say why you are there. Don't beat around the bush, don't hesitate, and never use cheesy lines designed to trick gatekeepers.

Gather information. Engage in a conversation rather than an interrogation. Eighty percent of human communication is visual. IPPs are powerful because unlike most other prospecting channels, you use all of your senses to communicate. You'll be most effective when you relax, are yourself, ask open-ended questions that encourage others to talk, listen, and engage in meaningful conversations.

Ask for what you want. If you don't ask, you won't get. Decide what you want to ask for before you walk in the door, and be prepared to bridge to something else—like closing the deal—if the opportunity presents itself. Turn around objections. Because you are interrupting, you're going to get RBOs. Develop and prepare turnarounds in advance.

Don't send bulk e-mail. Prospecting e-mail is one to one. It is one e-mail from your address sent to one individual, one e-mail at a time.

Avoid attaching images. Because hackers and spammers embed malware in images, many e-mail programs mark e-mails with images as spam or block images until permission is given to download. Your best bet on prospecting e-mails is to avoid sending images.

Avoid hyperlinks. The primary tool of hackers is the hyperlink.

If you do include a link: Avoid embedding the URL in text. Include the entire URL for complete transparency. Avoid shortened URLs that obscure the website address. Limit the total number of URLs to one—including any links in your e-mail signature.

Avoid attachments. Hackers have become adept at using attachments to infect computers with malware, hack websites, and infiltrate networks. Because of this danger, spam filters may grab your e-mail if it contains attachments.

Skip spammy words and phrases. What you say and how you say it can trigger spam filters.

Don't send to many people in the same company at one time. Spam filters look to see how many messages you're sending at a time. This is primarily designed to catch bulk e-mailers who are sending to large lists.

Don't send too many e-mails to the same person. This may seem counterintuitive, but with e-mail, too much persistence can hurt you.

Scrub bounces. Many e-mail filters will catch you if you send multiple e-mails to an e-mail address that doesn't exist.