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by
Jeb Blount
Read between
March 19 - March 28, 2019
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.
Assume You'll Get What You Want
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of the Little Red Book of Selling, says that “the assumptive position is the strongest selling strategy in the world.”9
Most importantly, you must directly, quickly, and concisely get to the point. Asking directly for what you want makes it easy for your prospect to say yes.
Shut Up
The hardest part of asking is learning to ask and shut up.
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.
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 bless...
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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 c...
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15 Telephone Prospecting Excellence
we are seeing clear trends that contact rates via phone have actually risen by around 5 percentage points.
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 ...
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The Ultimate Key to Success Is the Scheduled Phone Block
The Five-Step Simple Telephone Prospecting Framework
your call must be structured so that you get to the point fast—in 10 seconds or less—and sound like an authentic professional rather than a scripted robot
A consistent, repeatable structure takes pressure off of you and your prospect.
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
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Be confident, direct, and smooth—and don't pause. Get to the point. Ask and assume.
Leaving Effective Voice Mail Messages That Get Returned
An effective voice mail should help you achieve at least one of two objectives: Get a callback from a high-value qualified prospect Build familiarity with a high-value prospect
When salespeople ask me when they should leave a voice mail, I always answer, “When it matters.”
Five-Step Voice Mail Framework to Double Callbacks
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...
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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. B...
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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.”2
16 Turning Around RBOs Reflex Responses, Brush-Offs, and Objections
If rejection just “rolls right off your back,” like so many drops of water and you feel nothing, you are probably a psychopath.
Planning for the RBO
Most RBOs will come in the form of: Not interested Don't have the budget Too busy Send information Overwhelmed—too many things going on Just looking (inbound leads)
Why a repeatable practiced script for RBOs? A practiced script makes your voice intonation, speaking style, and flow sound relaxed, authentic, and professional.
As you prepare your scripts, practice and perfect them. Use a recorder, a role-play buddy, or a coach to help you rehearse.
The Turnaround Framework
Disrupt versus Defeat
The key is a disruptive statement or question that turns them around so that they lean toward you rather than move away from away from you.
Three elements of the RBO Turnaround Framework are: Anchor. Disrupt. Ask.
Anchor
The purpose of the anchor statement, sometimes called a ledge, is to give yourself an anchor or something to hold on to until your logical brain catches up, takes over, and manages the disruptive emotions generated by rejection. That's how you regain your poise and control of the conversation.
Disrupt
When they tell you no, they expect a fight. The secret to turning around your prospect's RBO is delivering a statement or question that disrupts this expectation, “takes away” the fight, and pulls the prospect toward you.
When they say they're happy, instead of arguing that you can make them happier if they just give you a chance, say, “Awesome. If you're happy, you shouldn't even think about changing!” This is completely unexpected.
When they say they're busy, instead of arguing them into how you will only take a little bit of their time, say, “I figured you would be.” Agreeing ...
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When they say, “Just send me some information,” say, “Tell me specifically what you are looking for.” This calls t...
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