I was never supposed to be a sales trainer, coach and author. I was supposed to be a ballerina. Many years ago however, I needed a day job, so I got a job with a telemarketing company and the rest is history. Here I am many years later, “The Queen of Cold Calling.”

Dancing is still my great passion and in spite of the years and many injuries, I still dance. Recently, I started taking a ballet class with a new teacher. At that point I was going through a period of pain and frustration due to an old dance injury.

During my first class with the new teacher, she pointed out to me that I was not initiating my leg movements from my foot. This is a ballet basic. All leg movements initiate from the foot. Because I was not initiating the movement properly, I was engaging the wrong muscles. The teacher suggested that this might be the cause of my pain. And you know what? She was right. By focusing on initiating my leg movements from my foot, the pain from the old injury started to subside!

I knew that in ballet all leg movements are initiated from the foot. I’ve been dancing since I was a small child, I’ve even taught ballet classes. At another time, I might have been the teacher making that particular correction to a student. And certainly, if someone had given me a test and asked that question, I would have aced it. It wasn’t that I didn’t know; it was that for many different reasons, I wasn’t doing.

So what does this have to do with sales?

If you’ve been in sales for a while, you probably know at least some of the basics. You’ve probably done the Sales 101, features and benefits and have at least heard of some of the tools and techniques touted by sales superstars and sales trainers. You may have visited bookstores, flipped through a few books and said to yourself, “I know all of that.” You may have looked at different training courses, looked at the agenda and said to yourself, “I know all of that.”

Wouldn’t it be great if you could simply take a test proving what you know and customers would then flock to you based on your test results?

Unfortunately, selling is not about what you know. Selling is about what you do consistently, time after time, with every prospect with whom you speak.

There is a huge difference between knowing something and actually implementing it. And there’s an even bigger difference between being able to implement something and having totally mastered a skill.

The people who are most successful in sales are not necessarily the ones who know the most. They are, however, the ones who have mastered certain skills (and they’re frequently very basic skills) and they are able to use those same skills over and over again, and that’s why they’re successful.

If you are new to selling you need to learn the basic tools of your craft (what you know) and then focus on using them all the time (what you do). If you’ve been in sales for a while, focus on making your skills consistent (what you do). And if your sales process is not working for you, the question to ask yourself is: Am I using what I know about selling consistently each and every time that I speak with a prospect?

It is just like me in dance class. I certainly knew that all leg movements initiate from the foot. I’ve known it for years. It’s a ballet basic. I simply wasn’t doing it and because I was not doing it, I was in pain.

If your sales process is causing you pain, go back to the basics. Look not just at what you know; look at what you are doing with what you know. You might need some help to do this, an outside eye (like my dance teacher) to help you evaluate. Ask a colleague, your manager or perhaps a coach to help you analyze and ascertain that you are implementing what you need to be implementing in every step of your process. If you do this, like me with my old dance injury, the pain should subside.

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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Would you like to have customers return again and again to buy? Would you like to be first in line for additional orders and repeat business? Would you like to keep your customers for a very long time? Then read on for:

7 Tips for Building Relationships & Guaranteeing Repeat Business

(1) Make sure that you ask all of the right questions so that you truly understand your prospect’s needs. Don’t assume that you know what your customer wants or that they have the same needs as all of your other customers. Ask. This way you’ll be sure.

(2) Give your customers exactly what they ask for. “Sort of” doesn’t count. Make sure that you are delivering quality each and every time. In addition, don’t oversell. Persuading a customer to take more product than they actually need will quickly make you a one-time resource.

(3) Make absolutely certain that what you are offering will solve your customers’ problems or help them in the way they need to be helped. If your offering is not truly a solution, tell the truth. Selling a product/service that does not solve the problem it was purchased to solve may put money in your pocket in the short term but in the long term, it will guarantee that you lose the customer.

(4) Do everything you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Nothing builds trust and credibility like doing what you say you’re going to do. And tell the truth no matter what. While sometimes being truthful might cost you a sale, in the long run the trust you build with your customers will more than make up for any lost revenue.

(5) Keep your new customer informed every step of the way. Whether it’s a delay, a pricing issue, a mistake or any potential problem, let your customer know about it as soon as you know. Do not delay. They will find out eventually and not telling them personally and/or allowing them to discover it on their own will lose you business.

(6) Become a valued team member and go above and beyond your prospects’ expectations. Show your customer that you are interested in their business. Invest time thinking about their needs and how you can help

(7) Show appreciation for your customers’ business. Don’t forget to say, “thank you.”

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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These are the four biggest blocks I’ve seen clients encounter (and why I hope you won’t…)

1. Repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results

The biggest enemy to sales is the status quo. When sales trainers say that phrase, we are usually referring to prospects. The idea is that most people find it to be very difficult to let go of what they are used to doing (even if it’s not working for them) and so it is frequently difficult to persuade a prospect to make a change. Hence, the biggest enemy to sales is the status quo.

What is interesting is that the same rule is true of anyone in sales. The biggest enemy to your sales is the status quo–your status quo.

One can always sell more. One can always streamline an approach, become more efficient, develop new skills and/or refine existing skills. Yet all too frequently I have seen and heard participants in training sessions adamantly insist that sales habits which do not produce results for them “ought to” work. And I have seen and heard participants refuse to try other approaches because they don’t believe those changes will work for them.

What I’ve always loved about sales is that it is crystal clear. You are either selling or you are not. You are either closing or you are not. When prospecting, you are either scheduling appointments or you are not. If what you are doing is not working for you, it’s time to do something else.

The sales professionals who are truly successful are the ones who continue to hone their skills. Keep what works for you and always be on the look out for tools to use to improve your bottom line.

2. Not doing the homework

Some prospects are better than others. Before conducting any sales activity it is imperative to know that you are focusing only on your best, most qualified prospects. By best, I mean those who are most likely to buy, buy a lot and keep coming back to buy more. Too many sales representatives spend too much time courting prospects who are unlikely to buy, or if they do, buy very little.

Create your “qualifying parameters.” What are the specifics that make a prospect qualified for you? The prospects that you pursue must meet those parameters. And one of those parameters must be that you are speaking with the decision-maker. If you are not speaking with the decision-maker, you are not speaking with a qualified prospect.

3. Expecting instant results

Selling is a process. Your prospects, more than likely, will not instantly say, “yes.” They will probably, at least initially, not even return your phone calls. Too many representatives give up far too soon. They believe their prospects are not interested when the truth is that the selling process simply needs more time.

It is important to understand your sales process. Every sale has a cycle and depending on what you are selling, it could be a short cycle or it could be quite lengthy. While some companies are in the very fortunate position of having prospects contact them, many others are not and need to continually be prospecting for new opportunities.

Remember: Selling is your number one priority. Buying is not your prospect’s number one priority. Even if the prospect contacted you, in the interim things can happen that claim that prospect’s attention. It is your job to help your prospect stay focused and on track and understand the value that you have to offer.

4. Letting fear and preconceived ideas rule your actions

“I don’t want to be ‘pushy.’” I have heard this phrase over and over and over in workshops, in teleclasses and when working with individual clients. It’s a phrase that always frustrates me. What exactly does it mean, anyway? No one knows because everyone has a different definition.

What’s interesting is that the only definition of “pushy” that actually counts is the definition of your prospect.

Now we’re into mind reading territory. To truly not be “pushy” you’d have to discover what your prospect means by that word and whatever that is, not do it.

The problem with worrying about being “pushy” (or being too “salesy” or too “aggressive” or any of the other things sales people worry about) is that it stops you from taking action. Without action, you will not sell.

Bottom line: Selling is a communication skill. And like any communication skill, it can be learned and improved upon.

If there are people having success in your chosen field, there is no reason that you cannot have the same success.

Educate yourself. Read books, attend teleseminars or live seminars, talk to colleagues, hire a coach do whatever it takes to gain the skills that you need to be successful.

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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“I have made attempts to contact you to determine if there is a mutual fit between our companies. How would you like for me to follow-up with you going forward…

“I have been working under the assumption that Weiss Communications will be considering _________. Is this still the case? If you are not interested, or if there is another person you would like me to follow-up with, please let me know. I certainly do not want to waste your time.”

This is an email I recently received from a sales representative. It’s interesting because this is the first communication that I actually received from this representative. I didn’t recognize the rep’s name. I didn’t recognize the company name. I don’t really know what he’s selling or why I should be interested. And, of course, I have heard nothing further from him.

I suppose that if one sent enough emails of this type, eventually someone would respond that they are interested. This strikes me as a very frustrating way to fill a pipeline.

The bottom line is that if you want to be able to sell consistently, if you want to have those million dollar and beyond sales careers, if you want to avoid major frustration and wheel spinning, then blanketing the earth with emails, voice mails or even phone calls is not the answer.

The answer is to be highly specific about who your prospect is and why they should buy from you. Far too often when speaking with entrepreneurs, business owners and sales professionals, I ask them, “Who is your market?” and the response is “Everyone.”

Sorry. “Everyone” is not the answer that will make money for you. Even if “everyone” could use your product/service, which is highly unlikely, they would all be buying for different reasons. Your job is to identify those reasons, make sure the reasons correspond with the prospect to which you are speaking and help your prospect understand that your product/service is the answer to his or her needs, wants and desires.

So here are the questions that you need to ask yourself:

1.    What am I selling? What is the value and/or benefit to my customer who buys what I am selling? What is the reason my customer buys? Why should my prospect be interested in what I am selling? What need, want and/or desire does my product/service satisfy?

2.    Out of everyone in the entire world who might purchase my product/service, who is most likely to purchase my product/service? Out of that group, who is most likely to buy a lot of my product/service? And who is most likely to return again and again to buy more of my product/service?

If you are able to satisfactorily answer these questions, you will be able to spend your time wisely, focusing on prospects that are truly viable. Your selling time will be productive and your numbers will go through the roof.

To your success!

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, can be ordered by visiting http://queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, “How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script,” at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com.

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Last week I went to pay some bills online. I looked at my account and realized there were charges listed that I had never made. I called the bank immediately. We shut down all of my accounts and opened new ones.

I went to the bank 10 business days later, and I still did not have a functioning ATM card. That meant that rather than simply go to an ATM for cash, I had to wait in a long, long line at the bank for a teller. Twenty minutes later, by the time I got to the head of the line, I was seriously annoyed. I expressed my annoyance to the teller. Her response? “Calm down, Ma’am.”

So my dear readers, do you think this response calmed me down?

Of course not. It had exactly the opposite effect. I went through the roof. “Don’t tell me to calm down,” I snarled. Where before I had simply been annoyed, now I was really angry.

So why am I sharing my banking woes?

The above story illustrates a basic principal: If you want people to respond well to you, you must meet them where they are. Had that teller been well trained, and had she really wanted to calm me down, she should have responded by matching my intensity and agreeing that not having an ATM card and having to wait in a long line was really annoying. She could have then apologized for the situation (”I’m sorry you still don’t have your card”) and I would have felt heard and understood.

When making introductory calls, or even in your face-to-face meetings with prospects, you have no idea what may have happened the moment before you called or walked in the door. You have no way of predicting the mood or the personality of your prospect. Whoever they are and wherever they are, you want to meet them in the same place. This is called Matching. You want to match your prospect’s intensity, energy, rhythm and personality as much as you can. This does not mean that if your prospect seems to be angry, you need to be angry too. It means that you acknowledge that anger and respond at a similar level of energy and intensity.

What is interesting is that if you match your prospect, you can then help them to shift their energy. Had that bank teller responded by acknowledging my annoyance and matching my energy, she would have calmed me right down. Once we were in the same place, all she would have had to do was speak a little more slowly. I would have followed. This is called Pacing. You go to where your prospect is, then you can start to take them to a different place.

Because I’m a dancer, rhythm is important to me. Everyone has their own internal rhythm. There are also regional differences in rhythm. I live and work in the Northeast. We tend to be speedier than other areas of the country. When I call another part of the country, I need to slow down a bit. I have a client based in the Midwest who frequently calls the Northeast. She needs to speed up when she makes those calls. This is also Matching.

A good place to start is by simply listening to other people’s rhythms. If they speak quickly, so do you. If they are a little slower, well, slow down. Over time you will begin to do this automatically. Once you’ve got the rhythm down, work on the other elements, the intensity and energy. You will find that the more you are able to Match and Pace your prospects, the easier it will be to build rapport and have great conversations.

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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