A lot of people over the last few weeks have been talking about “the best ways” to locate new customers and clients. A lot of people think that the strategies required have changed and that many of the old strategies don’t work anymore.

Out with the old, in with the new?

Not really. I agree that there are many “new ways” of reaching prospects and customers…

I have a LinkedIn account and a LinkedIn group (Sales Psychology & Performance if you want to have a look). I have a Youtube channel, I Twitter, I have a sales training blog and was blogging well before most other’s in the market place. I have numerous other social media profiles which I don’t use as much and I am also looking at the newest trends all of the time. I love to use the new ways and embrace change…

However, I think there is a real danger of throwing out what was and is still good about the old in chasing the new with comments like this one that someone made on one of my groups the other day when talking about traditional sales methods in particular prospecting…

“…you’ll be missing the 90%+ of the market that don’t buy like that…”

I am always suspicious of statistics but that one just looks wrong to me. To start with, if I only look at my  own stats, I can see that my business comes from multiple sources. It does not just come from cold calling, or from blogging, or from videos, or from article marketing, or from networking, or from referrals, or from sales meetings…

In fact, most of my clients and prospects travel through multiple touch points before buying i.e. “Well I saw you on a video programme where you were a guest expert, then I read one of your articles in a (traditional print) magazine, then someone said something about you at a networking event. I always thought I might book you for my team but then I changed roles and someone sent me a copy of your newsletter and so I came to one of your seminars and then I thought “Wow!” I need this guy for my next sales conference.”

Furthermore, it is indeed amazing how much of it still comes from traditional sources… speaking, referrals (proactive and reactive), word of mouth, recommendations, networking, traditional sales… with a kicker that most have read my blog after they found me, or watched my Youtube videos or checked me out on LinkedIn etc.

There are some markets where many sales are made using totally new ways of selling and there are some where no-one is buying this way. I am constantly amazed by how many of my paying clients do not have video enabled on their PCs, do not use Twitter and have failed to respond to invites to any of my online groups or communities.

The only “new way” they respond to is my email newsletter (permission based but the only one that interrupts them) and then they won’t post a blog answer on my website, they prefer to email me their thoughts and questions instead.

The new way of selling is here. The new way of making contacts and differentiating yourself from the market is here but it is not about new methodologies…

The new way of selling is about adding value for your clients. The new way is about better engaging your clients. The new way is about caring about your clients and their businesses. The new way is about focusing on your clients and not on you. And if you can use new media to do this, that’s great.

But the new way of selling is not about activity, it is about mindset. Selling is an attitude that leaves behind a trail of techniques.

It is misleading to assume then that the old methods do not work anymore. When you apply the new mindset to them they work incredibly well but too few people (know how to) do this and therefore fail miserably.

After my cold calling seminar of last week, someone Twittered the next day to say they had already  set up 4 meetings. After my cold calling seminar of Tuesday this week, someone already emailed me to say they would never have thought that they would be the person emailing me at all let alone saying that they had set up 5 appointments the very next day.

The old ways still work when you use the new mindset and new technologies to pimp them up.

It is also worth noting that many people using the new technologies do not have the new mindset and are just spamming anyway. The vast majority of comments and discussions posted in my communities are by people who ought to know better saying “go look at my seminar” or “see this article I wrote and spammed across every group”. They are no better than old school, bad, cold callers and I believe will be looked upon as the same in time. They add no value to their groups, no value to their communities, no value to their readers and this approach will not work long term.
Someone said to me the other day that I am the only person who consistently gives away stuff of value. This is clearly not true and I could name others who do too but it says a lot about the state of how people perceive the way people are using these new mediums.

People are unsubscribing from social media. People are clicking off from newsletters. People do not have the time to take part in discussions a lot of the time. I only need to look at the number of people who ring me and speak to me about booking me for a conference and who then fail to respond to emails. When I pick the phone up to them they invariably say, “I meant to call you,” and then book me.

And if every person out there started blogging, Twittering, Facebooking and videoing, firstly, many would just be no good at it and, secondly, no-one would be able to find anything worthwhile through the white noise…

So...

The expectation of salespeople has to change. The approaches you take have to change. The mindset you have has to change.

We have to add value. We have to utilise multiple routes to market. We have to employ new strategies, old strategies and hybrid strategies.

We have to use what works.

It’s not out with the old in with the new. It’s embrace the new, pimp up the old and mash up the lot to come up with a viable approach that connects and adds value for your clients. And this should include whatever strategies, old or new, that work best for you.

Related posts:

1. Now Is The Time For Sales Heroes
2. How Can I Use Technology To Build Credibility Remotely?
3. Does Cold Calling Work, 2?

I hope that you’re having a good week, speaking to lots of new clients and winning lots of new business. I want to start this blog post by asking you a question, “What do you think about cold calling?” Now by asking that, what I don’t mean is do you like being rung at home when you’re eating your dinner (tea for us Northerners) and someone trying to sell you timeshares? No, what I mean is, “Do you think cold calling works?”

Now I know that this is a very divisive question. It’s divisive for a whole variety of reasons. It’s divisive because everyone has so many opinions, ideas and beliefs about whether cold calling is coming, going, works, doesn’t work, is ethical, is unethical, is powerful, is a waste of time…

And not everyone can be right, can they?

Or can they? As a sales motivational speaker and sales author I get to work with salespeople of all flavours and I have clients from all industries from car sales to insurance sales, from park home sales to engineering sales, from pharmaceutical sales to financial sales and pretty much everything sales inbetween. And on my travels I see people who win lots and lots of new business by picking up the phone and making appointments with key new prospects and many, many people who fail miserably too.

And whilst I agree that cold calling is more relevant for some industries than others and more relevant for some products than others and it is most definitely not right in all situations, I have met salespeople from all walks of industry who use it effectively. I’ve also worked with them and seen the results.

You see, most of the time, it’s not the industry or the product, it’s the salesperson and the sales system that makes the difference.

Melody proved this on The Apprentice (UK) last night when she picked up a mobile in the back of a car in France (!) and set up 6 appointments. But could the others Apprentices repeat her success?

Nope.

What did she have that the others didn’t? How did she approach prospects that got results where others failed?

Why do some people in your office get great results on the phone and others get only mediocre results… or worse?

Sure, we could get into an argument about what a cold call is. We could debate whether your call should be called a cold call at all if you’ve done the right research and weaved it into your call effectively. We could discuss the percentage of your time you should spend on the phone versus utilising other methods of contacting or attracting new clients…

And that would be useful but it would not change the facts. Cold calling works when done right. And you may not want to do it. And you may not want to hear it but that’s the way it is.

Someone once asked me why I blogged and why I used Twitter and why I networked if cold calling was so effective? And that’s the problem here. People want to say something has replaced something else. It’s black and white. It’s either or. But it’s not…

My answer was simple. “I do what works. I do a combination of things designed to consistently bring me in business. I do the ones that work. As long as they work I use them. And when they don’t, I will change what I am doing or stop.”

I have a highly refined new business sales system based on sales mindset, structure and language. The call engages clients by focusing on them not you. If you’re interested, read some more of my blog posts on cold calling and selling in general or watch a video or two. Better still, why not come to one of my No Fear Cold Calling seminars? If you want to eliminate fear of cold calling, get the mindset for success, better engage with your clients, set up more appointments and win more new business then it is a must attend.

Related posts:

1. Why Cold Calling Doesn’t Work…
2. Does Cold Calling Work?
3. Cold Calling Sucks & It’s Only Going To Get Worse…

I’m pretty busy. If you read my motivational articles, attend my sales seminars or have booked me as a motivational speaker you probably get that. My guess is that you’re busy too. You have a lot to do and probably not enough time to do it. You probably spend a significant amount of time juggling tasks and you may or may not have got your head around social media yet. Social media in business is like everything else… there are early adopters, there are followers and then there are laggers. Which are you?

Whatever you think about it, whether you’ve got your head around it or not social media is not going away. Sure, the players will change, the rules will change and the pitch will be redesigned but the game will still be played. If you’re not on the pitch kicking the ball around then you have no chance of getting selected for the premier league!

We are firmly in the second stage of social media for business now. The early adopters are on board and many others are diving in or at least dipping their toes in the water to have a swim. Some are doing this confidently, some are doing it unconfidently and some are doing it begrudgingly all the time moaning that it’s a “waste of their time.” None the less, the bulk of people are pulling on their boots to have a kick about leaving only a hardcore standing King Canute like on the shore line hoping that the tide won’t come in.

Too late, it already has.

One of the moans I hear about social media is that it can be confusing. That’s true but it needn’t be. At the moment there are a few big players that you need on your team. The relative strengths and weaknesses of these players will vary and some may be more suitable for you than others but they are…

LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and to a lesser extent perhaps Flickr. This should all be held together by your blog or even (for those wanting to ride a different wave) a lifestream.

You could argue for others but these are the current superstars at the moment and you should have these players in your team or at least on your subs bench. Have you signed them up yet?

Related posts:

1. SOCIAL Media… Goodness Me, Isn’t That A Clue?
2. Question: “In A World Of Social Media, Is There Any Room For Cold Calling?”
3. How Important Is Social Media, An Interview With Chris Norton

Have you checked out the Talking Sales Success Summit yet? Over two days I will be interviewing 10 experts on what separates sales superstars from sales dreamers and sales rockstars from sales losers. During 10 hours of pure sales training gold I will be seeking to discover secret sales strategies, little known selling tactics and proven techniques that you can use right away to make more sales.

And you’ll be pleased to know that I have hand-picked these experts not because of the books they’ve written (although many of them have) nor because of what the press says about them (although they do get great PR!)… No, I have selected them because of what they have to say about specific areas of the sale. You might recognize some of them, you might not recognize some of them but they all have one thing in common… I have tracked them down because they can help you to unlock sales strategies and tactics that will help you to make more sales. In the rest of this post I am going to introduce you to the experts, their backgrounds and some of their tips and strategies. Enjoy…

Philip Hesketh author of “How to Persuade & Influence People” talks about the Psychology of Persuasion.

Philip is a professional speaker on ‘The Psychology of Persuasion’. He combines a powerful mix of thought provoking, well researched, persuasive techniques with a unique brand of humour. He inspires, entertains and informs on how buying, selling, persuading and influencing work.  His book, ‘How to Persuade and Influence People’ is an Amazon number one best seller.

Phil says…

• Ask more questions.
• Ask supplementary questions when you get the answers.
• Establish the compelling emotional reason(s) to buy.
• Always talk value not price.
• Establish the buyer’s expectations.
• Manage those expectations.

Simon Hazeldine author of “Bare Knuckle Selling”, “Bare Knuckle Negotiating”, “Bare Knuckle Customer Service”, “The Inner Winner” and, “The 7 Inner Secrets of Highly Persuasive People” talks about The Bare Knuckle Selling & Negotiation Process.

Simon works internationally as a Professional Speaker, Performance Consultant, Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach in the areas of sales and negotiation, persuasion, influence and leadership. He has a Masters Degree in the Psychology of Performance, is Certified as a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP, and is a Fellow of the of Sales & Marketing Management. He is the bestselling author of several business books that have been endorsed by business leaders including Duncan Bannatyne from “Dragon’s Den” and multi‐billionaire business legend Michael Dell.

On negotiation Simon says…

• Set your objectives – aim high!
• Be firm and flexible – be persistent in pursuing your objectives but not rigid in pursuing any particular solution.
• Know your LIM Know your BATNA.
• Give them a good listening to!
• Ask lots of direct questions and listen the answer.
• Listen more than you speak.
• Seek information – Give information.
• Focus on underlying needs rather than positions.
• Understand their motives and what they want.
• Acknowledge and express emotions (rather than be emotional).
• Reward signals, encourage flexibility.
• Summarise regularly.
• STOP! Step back , think, organise your thoughts, proceed.
• Give To Get If You… Then I…
• There is no such thing as a free lunch!
• Be flexible, be creative.
• Can you meet their needs in a way that benefits you too?
• Nothing is agreed until it’s all agreed.
• Trade low cost for high value (and vice versa).
• The real work starts after the negotiation stops – make the deal work.

Ari Galper Founder & CEO of Unlock the Game® talks about How to ELIMINATE Personal Sales Rejection Forever…And Make More Sales.

Founder & CEO of Unlock The Game® Ari Galper is the Creator of Unlock The Game®, a new sales mindset and approach that has revolutionized the world of selling. With a Masters degree in Instructional Design, which strongly analyzes the way people learn, and supplying nearly two decades of experience in direct selling in a variety of industries, Ari has pioneered a breakthrough sales system – Unlock The Game – through his experience working with iconic companies such as UPS and QUALCOMM over the past twenty years. Built on the concept of authentic communication and trust, his visionary approach to selling relieves the pressure for both the seller and buyer, producing profound results.

He has shared the stage with fellow entrepreneurs, including Joan Rivers, Mark Victor Hansen, Dan Kennedy, Harry S. Dent, Christopher Howard, Bill Glazer, Alexandria Brown and many others. His strategies have been used by countless global organizations throughout the world. Ari’s mission is to help business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals, break through their fears of selling as well as create a better lives for themselves, their families and, of course, their clients. Unlock The Game is quickly becoming a standard for how to create genuine trust for anyone who sells a product or service.

Ari says…

• Diffuse Pressure.
• Get to the Truth, Not the sale.
• Be a problem-solver and trusted advisor.

Andy Smith author of  “55 Ways To Increase Your Emotional Intelligence” talks about How to Create the Life You Want.

Andy Smith is an Emotional Intelligence coach, Appreciative Inquiry facilitator and NLP trainer. He specialises in the practical application of leading-edge approaches to the personal development of leaders and key professionals. Andy’s work ranges from executive coaching (using the Hay Group’s Emotional Competence Inventory 360º assessment as a starting point) to the design and delivery of coaching skills training for managers and coaches. He has developed a number of coaching models which incorporate appreciative and solution-focused tools in practical and jargon-free formats and has written two books.

Will Kintish talks about The Secrets of Great Networkers.

Will Kintish was a practicing accountant for nearly 30 years. During most of those years selling, marketing and business development generally were not activities associated with his profession. It is only now, in today’s modern and competitive world are the professionals expected, not only to be great technicians but to be able to help bring business in. This is often uncomfortable for most people. In the last 9 years since leaving the profession he has presented to over 50,000 professionals and business people across Europe.

Will shares 10 strategies for when networking works…

• when the right attitude is in  place.
• when comfort zones are stretched.
• when patience and persistence is in evidence.
• when the right clients are exchanged for the wrong clients.
• when the first move is made.
• when the right impression is made from the start.
• when an interesting introduction is used.
• when  listening occurs far  more than talking.
• when there is an active  follow up.
• when being generous  is seen as the key to networking.

David Shepherd author of Presenting Magically talks about “How To Double Your Sales By Asking 3 More Questions“.

David Shephard is the Managing Director and Head of Training and Research for The Performance Partnership. The Performance Partnership was founded in 1993 and has become one of the fastest growing NLP training and consulting companies in the UK, attracting clients from all over the world. It is dedicated to providing them with the very latest developments in advanced human communication and change technologies.

Rob Brown talks about “How to Build Your Reputation“.

Jill Konrath author of “Snap Selling” talks about “Selling to Crazy-Busy People“.

Jill Konrath’s career is defined by her relentless search for fresh sales strategies that actually work in today’s business environment. She’s the author of two bestselling sales books and is a popular speaker who helps sellers crack into new accounts, speed up sales cycles and win more business. She likes to work on:

Tough Challenges. When Jill recognized that the crazy-busy work environment was wreaking havoc with sellers, she immersed herself in the issue till she discovered new strategies that worked. The result? SNAP Selling, her highly acclaimed new book that jumped to #1 on Amazon within hours of its release — and continues to be a top seller.

Big Issues. Jill’s initial book, Selling to Big Companies, addressed a major sales problem that continues today-how to set up meetings with prospects who’d rather avoid salespeople all together.

Unsolvable Problems. When the economy tanked in 2008, Jill realized that most job seekers had no idea how to “sell” themselves. Instead, they were commoditized by their look-alike resumes and using reactionary job-hunting skills. So she wrote Get Back to Work Faster, a game-changing career book at the same time she launched a free monthly webinar series.

Alan Fendrich talks about How to Stop Hiring Salespeople By “Gut Feel.”

Alan Fendrich is married for 34 years and a career entrepreneur. In 1993 Alan founded a company, Radio Profits Corporation, that through luck and good fortune was wildly successful. The company’s success caused him to have to hire 300 salespeople a year who generated more than 60,000 individual sales a year, and until he sold it in 2000, more than $84,000,000 in sales. In the process of hiring all those salespeople, he developed the Advanced Hiring strategy which cut the sales turnover in half and doubled the number of top sales performer hires.

When he sold that company in 1999 he retired for a half year, realized he was not cut out for retirement and founded Advanced Hiring System so that he could continue to work with businesspeople. He spreads the word wherever he can that sales hiring can be a lot more successful than most managers are experiencing.

Jim Rees author of “Maximise Your Mind Power” talks about how We are all Built for Greatness and asks What mark are you going to leave?

Having completed 3 consecutive solo finishes in what is considered to be one of the toughest races on the planet – The Race Across America in 2007, 2008 & 2009 and going faster each year – Jim Rees has a deep understanding of what it takes to push beyond what most people think is possible. Jim is no stranger to  endurance races. He’s competed in 10 Ironman triathlons around the world including the famous Hawaii Ironman and has represented GB in his age group in 2 world long course championships. Jim also set a new world record for 24 hours of non stop cycling on a static Watt bike at last year’s London Cycle Show – cycling 448 miles.

Drawing from his personal, sporting and professional career, Jim has seen and experienced perceived impossibilities turn into reality. From this, he absolutely knows that the majority of us are barely scratching the surface of our potential, whether that’s on the tennis court or in the boardroom. For the past 8 years Jim has been running Ripple Leadership which focuses on individual, team and organisational potential.

Jim says…

• Be aware of the patterns of behaviours and the finger print they leave in every interaction.
• Discover the beliefs that you hold about yourself, the company, the product, the economic environment, your boss etc.
• Commit to seeing it through to completion.
• Learn how to perform under pressure.
• Learn to be present – totally there for someone.
• Take 100% personal responsibility for everything that is showing up in your life.
• Success and failure are learnt behaviours and are not permanent. They are all part of conditioning.

If you want to check out the 10 hours of sales expert interviews then say yes by clicking on Talking Sales Success now.

Related posts:

1. The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales Training Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 12, The Final
2. Repetition Is The Mother Of All Skill If You Want Sales Success
3. The Business Supremacy Summit, 2010 With Doug Richard…

This great question was asked on my Sales Psychology & Performance LinkedIn group today. I wanted to copy the conversation over to my blog because it gets to the core of some of the challenges that salespeople, business owners and entrepreneurs face today. With all of these options and so many choices that can take up so much time, many ask me what they should be doing to generate credibility, sales leads and business when they are already crazy busy…

Technology has made networking, creating a brand, demonstrating expertise, adding value and global sales so easy… on the one hand… and yet has created a whole new range of technologies, ideas, ways of working and approaches that did not exist 5 years ago, let alone 10. And that can be a challenge.

What technologies and approaches work? I mean, really work? What is the 20% that produces 80% of the results? What is the 20% of the 20% that produces 80% of those? Great questions all. On top of increased, competition, globalisation and challenging markets, small and large businesses can easily lose themselves neck deep in non-productive online and technological activities.

And, of course, to add to that… as people move online, certain “old-school” approaches which some might see as “quaint” will become incredibly powerful precisely because of their personal nature… not for use all of the time for sure but as laser-guided “weaponry” for the right clients and in the right situations. But what are they? And when should you use them?

Personally, I have tried many things and been ruthless in cutting my losses, not flogging old donkeys thinking they were Derby winners. I see people talking in groups, some all day, pretending it is helping their businesses and their brands and then wondering where the business is…

We all have to change, we all have to embrace change and we all have to assess our strategies for change. You need to make sure that you are not spending 80% of your time on the activities that will only produce 20% of the results (at best)…

Related posts:

1. How To Build Confidence And Close More Sales
2. ATSCo (Association Of Technology Staffing Companies) Members Conference, June 5th 2008
3. Question: “In A World Of Social Media, Is There Any Room For Cold Calling?”