Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Avoid-Getting-Off-Track-When-You-Cold-Call.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Avoid-Getting-Off-Track-When-You-Cold-Call.html Let’s say you’re on a cold call, and it’s going well. You have a strong connection with your potential client. But the conversation starts to wander off the topic. And you’re not sure how you can regain focus without the other person feeling pressured. Well, the traditional sales approach tells us to always focus on getting the sale. So when cold calling conversations start to wander, we’re taught to bring the focus back to our linear sales road, including having the potential client answer certain questions. The problem is that these questions only look like parts of a conversation. They’re actually covert attempts to make others to believe they need our solution. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/Make-Cold-Calls-More-Successful-Stop-Focusing-on-the-Sale.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/Make-Cold-Calls-More-Successful-Stop-Focusing-on-the-Sale.html All the sales gurus have been teaching for years that you must be enthusiastic and aggressive in cold calling tactics. You’ve been trained to focus on the sale and move cold calling conversations toward a sales conclusion. What would you think if I told you to surrender your sales agenda entirely? The new sales mindset actually does just that. It brings cold calling out of the dark ages where you’re going into battle almost as soon as you dial the phone. It lets you get rid of “pitches” and “strategies” and “closing techniques.” And instead, you can become a real person again. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Handle-Objection-When-You-Cold-Call.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Handle-Objection-When-You-Cold-Call.html We’ve all had the somewhat startling experience of thinking things are going really well during a cold call, and suddenly someone pulls back on us. They give us an “objection,” or just say something to end the conversation. Most of us have been trained to overcome objections during our cold calls, and keep moving forward. The thinking is that if you’re persistent enough, then you’ll make the sale. In other words, we’re supposed to bypass people's objections and concerns because we’ve already decided for them that they should buy what we have to offer. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Cold-Call-With-Respect.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Cold-Call-With-Respect.html What happens when you’re talking with a prospect during a cold call and you start to realize there isn’t an honest “fit” for your product or service? Your prospect doesn’t have a problem, hassle, or challenge that your product or service solves. Well, the old cold calling mindset is “Chase everybody possible and focus on the sale and never take no for an answer!” So how does this new cold calling mindset work? Well, if you keep trying to push people into something they don’t want, you increase the chances of them rejecting you. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/Why-Inbound-Calls-Are-Really-Cold-Calls.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/Why-Inbound-Calls-Are-Really-Cold-Calls.html We all think that incoming calls and “leads” should be easier because they’re not cold calls, right? Well, when you think about it, why aren’t they? Most of the time the other person is just looking for something and isn’t ready to make a decision yet. But we get so excited that we begin to “sell” anyway because it seems so much easier. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Get-a-Call-Back-From-Your-Cold-Calls.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/How-to-Get-a-Call-Back-From-Your-Cold-Calls.html What’s the most common reason prospects stop communicating with you? They think your going to pressure them. They’re afraid that, even if it’s subtle, we’ll apply pressure to close the sale. So how do we reassure them we aren’t going to pressure them? By staying focused on the truth of the situation rather than on getting the sale. And by using language that clearly reflects this. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/When-Cold-Calls-Become-a-Dog-and-Pony-Show.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/When-Cold-Calls-Become-a-Dog-and-Pony-Show.html What happens when you’ve made a cold call and your prospect invites you to make a sales presentation? At this point, you might have a hard time creating a two-way conversation because you’re forced to go in with a canned sales pitch and try to get them to buy your solution. After all, you do believe in your solution don’t you? You can help most people, so all you have to do is show them how. Oh, and in the end, get them to buy. Be sure to ask for that order at the end of your presentation. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/4-Secrets-to-Successful-Cold-Calling.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/4-Secrets-to-Successful-Cold-Calling.html In the world of cold calling, there can be a lot of negativity. It’s not easy to talk to someone you haven’t met – especially when you experience rejection so much of the time. Most people who sell really dislike cold calling, and I don’t blame them. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/The-3-Cold-Calling-Phrases-That-Get-Results.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/The-3-Cold-Calling-Phrases-That-Get-Results.html How can we possibly avoid rejection and still stay “real” while cold calling? Well, the truth is that the more genuine we are, the less likely we are to be rejected. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/5-keys-to-Humanize-Your-Cold-Call.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/479/5-keys-to-Humanize-Your-Cold-Call.html It always feels artificial when we shift into our “salesperson persona” in order to make a cold call. It’s a dehumanizing process that -- unless we’re a born actor -- feels really awkward. And yet the old-school traditional sales mindset almost guarantees that role playing is a part of every cold call we make.