A serious question about closing leads

I have closed many deals over the phone...but they weren't my first client. My suggestion would be to find a client locally, brand yourself as Local Business Marketing Expert, then you can close the deals over the phone or by email.

They're not hogwash, it's just that you don't know how to do it yet. Well they actually may be but it's still possible. But if you have a ****load of information for them why aren't you sending it to them? I'm assuming this info is PLR stuff? Why not send that first and then call? That way when you call it'll be more of a *warm* call (at least that's what people tell theirselves to make them feel better and not feel like a *cold* caller.

At least that way when you call you can say *hey, I sent you ___ did you have a chance to look that over?* and continue from their. If you're selling a high priced product I'm pretty sure they would want to see something first, but that doesn't mean you have to go to their office to show it to them. Get their email address and send it that way, use skype, gotomeeting, etc.. you don't HAVE to visit anyone to sell them something unless you convince yourself that you do.

Did the WSO sellers have to come to your house and build rapport with you before you bought their hogwash? lol I know a WSO is only $7, $27, or whatever, but the point is people buy *blindly* all the time. . You didn't know them before you bought their product they just made you believe in their product. You have to do the same thing with the business owner.

Yes, you may have to make a few phone calls before they buy from you. But if you have all this material showing the value of your services it shouldn't be a problem. Email them the info, then call. A lot of people don't follow up and they assume emailing or cold calling or whatever doesn't work, it's not that it doesn't work, you're just not doing it properly. (Not you, just in general)

When selling higher priced items it's good to just take half up front, then the other half when the job is done (depending on what you're selling)

If you have your sales funnel set up correctly and you are following a proven sales process it is irrelevant whether you are face to face or on the phone. All the selling fundamentals apply.

If anything you are being your own worse enemy by setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, whatever you believe will eventually become true for yourself, the first step is to unhinge your false beliefs about telephone closing and start opening up to new ideas which actually serve you.

If you picked up the phone and hunted for prospects which are interested in your prospects already then that's most of the sale made for you.

Nice post, lol.

I agree, you do need to visit a prospect, even if they're from China or everywhere else.

I disagree like everyone else. I don't do cold calling, but I am your target, and the majority of deals we have bought have been right over the phone. Our SEO, PPC, direct mail, etc etc. This was before I ever got involved in marketing on my own.

So trust me, not only can you close people over the phone, but I'd imagine thats the most convenient AND profitable way to do it. NOT just convenient for YOU, but the BUSINESS OWNER as well. I mean crap, for the 4 years we did PPC, our guy was on the other side of the country (west coast). For the 6 months we did SEO, that company was from Florida.

And from the actions of other business owners, it appears to me that a high % are using services outside the state. So you absolutely need to learn how to close over phone.

But you don't always do that by increasing pressure to buy imo. You build "trust" by building credibility. And you demonstrate credibility with a high proficiency behind the services you are selling. Any service we have ever bought before, it has been because the person on the phone educated the hell out of us, and demonstrated an uncanning level of knowledge in what they were selling. THAT is what made us trust them. There was another guy who's way of "closing us" was to say, "I respect you wanting to take the time to think about this further". Because our objection was "we need more time to think about it".

Most cold callers would start drueling and try to turn up the heat immediately. He did not do that. He was extremely POLITE and PROFESSIONAL, and after he said that, he said something even more professional. Was something like, "I don't feel right making money off my clients if they're not seeing results. Thats not something that motivates me. I prefer to learn about you and your business first, so please feel free to call back anytime its convenient for you".

Now we didn't even know if he was being honest. All we remembered was how SINCERE his voice sounded. It was a totally different style than all the other cold callers. And when we got off the phone with that guy everyone in our office kept saying "wow, what a nice man... how professional blah blah". And guess what? We kept talking about him for the next 3 days. "Maybe we should call xxxx back?"

And so we did. But whats interesting, that first day, we had decided, if he called us back within 24 hours, we would tell him no. The fact he actually gave us time to think about it, proved that he was a man of his word.

THATS how you make an impression imo. Simply act like a very intelligent, polite, respectful, human being. People will respect that more than anything. I think in sales its a lot more effective to be more of a magnet, than a bulldozer if you know what I'm saying.

If you're not positioning yourself properly in the first place (in a way that will attract people), you will just scare everyoneone away. And whats ironic, when you CAN position yourself the right way, you don't have to "close" anymore. People will WANT your service because you SOLD the value, rather than trying to bulldoze your way through numbers.

THATS what most business owners want. A human being, not a machine.

-Red

WOW, and that's from the guy whos subheadline says

Sell or Die

Just a joke, thanks for your post man, great input.

The Skype option to call unlimited US contacts opens up a whole new opportunity for me right now.

I agree totally with what you are saying about being polite and helpful in first place, who's gonna like a sleazy sales guy.

G.

/\ Well thats the thing. I put that headline up there just to show people how important it is to learn sales.

My brother trained salesman in a different industry (home improvement) for 8 years. And if there is 1 person I genuinely repsect when it comes to sales, its him. He is great at closing people. He said the #1 mistake most guys would make was trying to close too early. So he would "train" his guys, to intentionally STAY WITH the client for as long as possible. Like if they went in a home, and came out in 15 mins, he would give them a lot of shit for it.

What was really interesting to see over the years, the guys who would stay in the homes the longest, would always have the highest closing rate.

Even today when leads call him up on the phone, he KEEPS THEM ON THE PHONE for 20 minutes minimum. He asks them questions, keeps them talking, etc etc. If they try to get off the phone, he's great at stopping it. He has an arsenal of really important questions that he's memorized. It doesn't come off like he's interogating these people, instead, the questions ARE REALLY GOOD. So good that when he asks them, the people immediately shift their focus.

The thing is, I honestly think if you can master this one skill, you indirectly make a huge impression. It becomes nearly impossible for a client to FORGET YOU, and they trust you more just because they FEEL like they know you.

Its the same thing for sleeping with women.

No matter what you do, for most women, you can't expect to "close them" in a couple hours and have them in bed. It takes at least 8-9 full hours of talking to them, hanging out, getting to know each other, and THEN they will feel like they trust you enough to sleep with you.

I remember reading some great research on this in the psychinfo database. Although it sounds like a generalization, its actually an average that has been researched with guys who are excellent at getting laid. They all happen to know, that they have to wait a certain period of time before they can even try sleeping with a woman.

Thats why I believe a great salesmen, knows that there is a certain time frame, where you can't close a person almost regardless of what you say.

I am definitely generalizing a lot here. But just try it out, I guarantee it WILL HELP YOU.

Good luck - Red

ps. I wasn't originally planning on getting this deep into it. But in the first post I was just trying to show you an example of a guy, who knew it was too soon to close. Yes he was professional, yes he was polite, YES that stuff is really important. But he also knew he hadn't properly build trust with us. His best bet (imo) would have been to keep us on the phone. But even though he wasn't a trained salesman, he was still able to make a good impression first time around. Not by pitching us till our ears bled, but by playing the role of a friend.

I think overall people need to focus on STICKING with clients for longer. If they show any interest, get to know them, talk to them, ask questions. Getting to know people is universally an akward situation. Thats why if you can fully get it out of the way on your first interaction, every interaction afterwards becomes that much more comfortable.