Spend any time on social media, and you’ll soon see how much consternation the recent Presidential election has caused in some circles. My Facebook feed is filled daily (hello, Bill!) with anti-Trump links and rants.
Those posting are sincere in their beliefs, and undoubtedly feel that their postings are helping advance their goals.
But what really works when it comes to persuading?
Daniel Victor of the The New York Times spent some time talking with activists, lawmakers, and those who work for them.
Activists of all political stripes recommend calling legislators, not just emailing — and certainly not just venting on social media. Several lawmakers, along with those who work for them, said in interviews that … a phone call from a constituent can, indeed, hold more weight than an email, and far outweighs a Facebook post or a tweet.
Whether you are trying to persuade a lawmaker to vote a particular way, or persuade a store owner to meet with you, the phone has a huge advantage over email — it interrupts.
For the duration of the call, the recipient has to pay attention to you.
Interrupting is awkward. The client isn’t sitting by the phone hoping a media salesperson will call — they’re doing something else.
Most prospects, at the outset of the conversation, will not be thrilled to be on the phone with you. For this reason, many sellers will go out of their way to avoid the awkwardness that comes with cold calling.
They’ll email. Post on Facebook and LinkedIn. Tweet. All in the hopes that clients will make the first approach.
If you want sustained success in your sales career, if you want to maximize your income, then you’ve got to interrupt prospects.
Don’t get me wrong — interrupting by itself will not get you what you want. If that worked, my cat would be eating seven meals a day.
Once the client realizes they’re talking to a salesperson, you’ve got to offer real value immediately.
You can find ideas on how to open a cold call with value here.
If you can quickly offer value, and you’re willing to interrupt relentlessly, you’ll build a pretty good sales career. If not, it comes back to what Zig Ziglar said years ago: “Timid salesmen have skinny kids.”
Prospects can scroll past your LinkedInk post. They can skip over or delete your email without reading it.
It’s a lot tougher for them to ignore your voice on the telephone. Pick a phone up and use it today.
Before you can even sell your product, the customer must purchase your selling time, which is comprised of your own time as well as the information you can provide to help the customer move closer to making a decision.
The currency the customer will use to purchase your selling time is her time… For her investment of time, she has to receive something of value from you in return that is equal to or exceeds her perception of the value of her time. That means that in each instance a customer invests in your selling time, you have to provide value in the form of information that will help move the customer at least one step forward in her buying process…
The roofer had met with this salesperson before, and had arrived at a perceived value for another meeting. Each day, in his mind, the roofer made a business decision — there were other, more valuable, ways for him to use his time.
2. Have you ever called someone after hours, planning to leave a voice mail, and found yourself tongue-tied when they answered “live”? It’s because you weren’t prepared for all the ways the call could go.
The concept below sounds almost blindingly obvious, but I’ve made thousands of sales phone calls over the years, and this way of thinking never occurred to me until I read these words:
Often as you dial the phone, you’re prepared for one of the possibilities. Once you realize that there are three, and only three, it becomes simple to prepare for each call.
3. If you’ve ever pushed a customer to get a “yes”, walked out of the room with the “yes”, told your boss you had a done deal, and never actually consummated the sale, here is a pretty good explanation of what you may have received:
I’ll let you in on a little secret. There are actually three kinds of “Yes”: Counterfeit, Confirmation, and Commitment.
A counterfeit “yes” is one in which your counterpart plans on saying “no” but either feels “yes” is an easier escape route or just wants to disingenuously keep the conversation going to obtain more information or some other kind of edge.
A confirmation “yes” is generally innocent, a reflexive response to a black-or-white question; it’s sometimes used to lay a trap but mostly it’s just simple affirmation with no promise of action.
And a commitment “yes” is the real deal; it’s a true agreement that leads to action, a “yes” at the table that ends with a signature on the contract.
Voss, a former international hostage negotiator for the FBI, mixes hair-raising war stories with advice that can apply to anything from kidnapping ransom talks to sales negotiations. It is his position that using manipulative techniques to get a client to say yes will only generate resentment — you may get a “verbal” from the client without ever getting any money.
4. A question I often ask during a needs analysis involves triggers. I ask the advertiser what’s happened in their customer’s world that’s caused the customer to need a product or service.
Jill Konrath has gotten me thinking about events in the advertiser’s world that would cause them to be open to a new advertising opportunity.
This trigger event acts as a catalyst, forcing these organizations to reevaluate how they’re doing things. Often, when seen through this new lens, the status quo is deemed insufficient to meet their changing objectives and requirements. At this point, the prospect may not be sure what to do. They just know that something has to change in the not-too-distant future…
Konrath advises asking your existing clients — in particular, those who’ve started with you in the past 6-12 months — what happened to cause them to change what they’d been doing. If you can find some common threads, you’ll know what kind of prospects to pursue in the future.
5. This last one isn’t a sales book, exactly — it’s Bruce Springsteen‘s autobiography.
Springsteen’s a musician, songwriter, and social commentator… but he’s also a salesman.
He’s gotten geeks like me to pay cash money for every album of new material he puts out, even though it’s all on Spotify. He’s re-sold us the old ones by turning them into box sets with outtakes. He’s convinced me to pay to get into 48 shows, and I’ll pay to get into more if the opportunity presents itself.
But he hasn’t just created a market for his records and his shows. Some of us will hand over money just to be in his vicinity.
Case in point: My wife, the lovely and talented PDXKnitterati, paid $35 and stood in line for hours for the opportunity to spend – maybe – 10 seconds chatting with him as one of his minions snapped a photo. A woman in line flew to Portland from Chicago for the opportunity to stand for hours so she could spend those 10 seconds chatting with him.
Thousands of people did this, and as near as I can tell they all thought it was a great experience. I’d have done it if I’d been in town that day.
The guy can sell.
Photo by PDXKnitterati
There are sales lessons throughout the book, but here’s the passage that’s stuck with me:
1+1=3: The primary math of the real world is one plus one equals two. The layman…goes to the job, does his work, pays his bills, and comes home. One plus one equals two. It keeps the world spinning. But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire.” Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
That’s what the best salespeople do — we figure out a way to make one plus one equal three.
A “tribute band” called Tramps Like Us is playing at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park in January. Tickets are $20. Face value for tickets to Bruce Springsteen’s last tour was $150, and they were going for well over that on the East Coast secondary market.
I’ve seen Tramps Like Us. They do a good job. Why would people pay $150 or more when they could see and hear roughly the same songs for $20?
Because when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play the songs, customers believe they get something extra. 1+1 = 3.
If all you offer to your customer is $3000 worth of commercials for $3000, they will view you and your company as a commodity — anybody can do that. You’re Tramps Like Us.
The best salespeople… the ones who make careers of this — bring extra value to every interaction. Creative ideas, promotion ideas, business wisdom. Bring the value, and customers will pay $5000 for $3000 worth of commercials plus you.
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This is my final post of 2016. I’ll be back next week with more advertising, marketing and sales value… and news of a sales book of my own.
Have a happy New Year — and go make one plus one equal three.
Business and generating income can’t just stop for the holidays, and salespeople (especially those on commission) need to keep productive in downtimes during the holiday season.”
Schedule appointments for the new year instead of desperately trying to schedule sales calls during the holidays. You may typically have difficulty getting an appointment with a prospect, and never get past their gatekeeper. Scheduling appointments for next year – in reality only a few weeks away – is a good way to convince reluctant prospects to meet.
Caliendo’s strategies will work on any day in December. I’m going to add to the list with a recommendation for the very last thing you do in the office this year.
Sales Tip: How to Maximize Your Last Business Day of 2016
Make a list of every client who advertised with you in 2016. Big ones, little ones, annual accounts, seasonal accounts. All of ’em.
On your list you’ll need two pieces of information for each:
The name of your main contact for each company. With some clients, there may be more than one.
His or her phone number. That’s telephone number. If you want this to work, do it by phone, not email.
Here’s what you’re going to do — call each one on the phone and thank them for their business.
That’s it.
No selling is allowed on this call. You can’t mention your ratings, or that First Quarter Fire Sale Package. Just a simple thank you.
If you do this in very late December, you’ll get voice mail in the vast majority of cases. That’s fine. You should have a scripted, rehearsed voice mail message ready to leave.*
Leave your message, hang up, and dial the next name on your list. When I was an Account Executive, my message went something like this:
Hello, Jane, this is Phil Bernstein at KEX. No need to call me back — I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks for your business this year. I’ve really enjoyed working with you, and hope we can catch up some time next month. Have a great New Year!”
The words “no need to call me back” are key here — once the clients hear that they can relax and appreciate the gesture for what it is.
I learned this technique from Jim Doyle, who was my sales coach at the time and is now my boss. I did this on the last day of the year for six straight years.
What happened when I did it?
I got a few clients “live”, and a few return calls that day. In fact, I once got a $3000 direct buy for January from a client who had, earlier in the day, unsuccessfully tried to reach one of my competitors.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
In most cases, my clients had already gone home for the New Year’s break. This meant my message was often the first thing they heard when they came back in the office in January, and I’d often get thank-you calls the first week of the year.
Those conversations often turned into money — sometimes quickly, sometimes a few months later.
Holiday cards and gifts wind up on the stack with everyone else’s offering. An email may not even be read. A simple, low-tech telephone call can set you apart from the competition, and put you in a stronger position as 2017 gets underway.
Question: [reminder]What’s your best tip for staying productive during the holidays? [/reminder]Share your answer on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn
Note: This is an update of a post I wrote a year ago which generated a huge response. As people move away from desk phones, this may become tougher to do effectively. I almost decided to switch to sending video emails (I use BombBomb for video email, and like it a great deal), but have decided to use the telephone this year and see how it goes.
When I sold advertising for the New York Mets, my efforts were aided by some built-in urgency: every advertiser wanted their fence sign to be up by Opening Day.
Photo by Michael Flippo
Opening Day was fixed on the calendar, in early April every year. Clients had to have their copy turned in by mid-February.
Before the painter would even start work, we required a signed advertising contract. This hard deadline forced clients to make a decision.
Advertising sales in the “real world” doesn’t generally work that way.
With the exception of some special programs and events like Valentine’s Day or political season, there’s no natural deadline.
Clients can start their radio, television, print, outdoor, or digital campaigns whenever they want. This week, next week, next month, six months from now.
This can make it tough to close business.
Photo by Boyan Dimitrov
A TV sales manager recently wrote to me looking for ideas to create urgency and close business faster.
I replied that this isn’t always possible, or even desirable. Customers will buy when they’re ready to buy, not when you’re ready to sell.
Every sales leader wants fast sales; the trouble is, there aren’t many fast buyers…They are unlikely to change their buying process to match your selling process, so your only option is to be the one who switches.”
A further complicating factor is that if there are multiple decision-makers, each one may be at a different point in the sales cycle. Pushing a client faster than they’re ready to go can result in a shut-down of the whole process.
That said, sometimes a client is just about ready to go, but needs a push to take action. Here are some ways to create a little urgency when appropriate:
End every meeting with an agreement to move forward somehow.
Has the client asked you to re-work the creative or the broadcast/digital plan? Set a face-to-face meeting where you can bring the revised plan in person. If the advertiser asks you to email it, ask them to commit to reviewing it by a certain date, and schedule a meeting or at least a phone call to discuss it.
Does the client need to talk with his accountant? Ask when that will happen, and make an appointment for a face-to-face meeting the day after that conversation is to take place. This requires the client to put something on his calendar, which will force him to either talk to his accountant or admit that he hasn’t.
Put an expiration date on every proposal. Nothing fancy — it can be as simple as “Proposal valid through 5pm Friday, December 9.” Not in small print — in big print where the client can’t miss it. What happens on December 10 is up to you, but to protect your credibility the deal needs to change somehow. Rates might rise; sponsorship mentions could be pared back.
A variation on this: for the right piece of business, a “sign by Friday” bonus can be very effective. Extra commercials or sponsorship mentions; free production if you normally charge for it. They only get the bonus if they sign by the deadline.
If the idea’s strong enough, and the client likes it enough, tell them that the idea’s too good to go to waste, and you’re going to have to take it to a competitor if they don’t sign on by a certain date. Then… take it to a competitor.
None of this will work if the client’s just not ready to buy. But if they’re on the edge of doing something and need a push, these things may help.
The key is to have your pipeline full enough with clients in all phases of the sales cycle that you don’t need any one deal to close right now.
There’s an easy-to-find source of marketing data about your clients… and many salespeople don’t bother to use it.
Photo by Octavus
It’s your client’s Facebook page.
Before you roll your eyes, take a moment to ask yourself — are you looking at those Facebook pages before every meeting?
In my travels as a broadcast and digital sales trainer, it’s been my experience that less than half of the salespeople I work with look at the client’s Facebook page before a call.
If you’re one who does, congratulations. If you aren’t, you’re missing opportunities.
Here’s what I found during pre-visit prep for one Midwestern market:
“Check out our brand-new TV commercial — it starts next week on Channel 4!” The prospect was about to start a campaign on a competitor, and had posted the ad on social media for everyone to see.
Photos of a brand-new location for a multi-store retailer, with information on an upcoming Grand Opening Sale.
“Come meet the wacky Z95 Morning Crew — they’ll be at our Sherwood store this Saturday from 9 to 11!” That’s how we found out the client was advertising on the radio.
A Facebook page with no posts since July of 2015. When I asked the client about that, she told me she wanted to do something with social media but really didn’t know what or how.
All of these things were in plain sight on the customers’ Facebook pages — and all came as a complete surprise when I mentioned them to the AE’s.
Many clients update their social media feeds much more often than their own websites. They do this because Facebook is easier and faster to change, and because they are more comfortable on that platform — they are spending a lot of their personal time there anyway.
For this reason, you should be checking Facebook and the client website before every meeting.
Things to look for:
How many “likes” do they have? If you’ve been to the page before, how does this compare to the last time you looked?
How often do they post?
Scroll down the page — what are they talking about? Is it mostly sales pitches? Employee profiles? Photos of happy customers? Invitations to events they’re putting on — or radio remotes put on by your competitors?
How long has it been since the last post? If it’s been more than a month or two, they may need help — and your digital team may be able to help them.
Click on the “Videos” tab — are there any commercials?
Although Facebook is the most common channel advertisers are using, many companies you call on are also using Twitter. And, of course, the people you meet with are likely tohave profiles on LinkedIn.
Check ’em all.
If you go through this exercise every time, you’ll learn things about your clients and prospects that they might never tell you, even as they’re telling the rest of the world.
From there, you can turn that knowledge into money.
Before you can even sell your product, the customer must purchase your selling time, which is comprised of your own time as well as the information you can provide to help the customer move closer to making a decision.
Calls can go one of three ways—your prospect answers, a gatekeeper answers, or it rolls to voicemail. Each one requires a different type of response from you. Be prepared no matter which way it goes.” 
I’ll let you in on a little secret. There are actually three kinds of “Yes”: Counterfeit, Confirmation, and Commitment. 
This trigger event acts as a catalyst, forcing these organizations to reevaluate how they’re doing things. Often, when seen through this new lens, the status quo is deemed insufficient to meet their changing objectives and requirements. At this point, the prospect may not be sure what to do. They just know that something has to change in the not-too-distant future…
1+1=3: The primary math of the real world is one plus one equals two. The layman…goes to the job, does his work, pays his bills, and comes home. One plus one equals two. It keeps the world spinning. But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire.” Bruce Springsteen, 
