The Inside Story

Humorist Sam Levenson once wrote: “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” Sales is as much flash as it is repetition; a combination of steps to follow every day in order to achieve success. There is no purer form of sales than the inside sales call, the direct contact between you and a potential sale – which is why we’re going to dissect it and give you 4 keys that will ensure you close the deal and cash the check!

1. Time Blocking

Success takes time, and the sales industry is no different. You need to set aside time to call your leads. The most effective way to do this is to set aside two blocks per day to call your leads. These periods should be at least two hours in duration and unwavering. This means no checking your Facebook feed, Twitter, or email – we don’t even want you to eat lunch. Seriously, put the sandwich down and pick up your phone. These two-hour blocks need to be completely and unequivocally dedicated to calling because…

Calling is what makes you money!

If you’re looking to optimize your time and go for those peak sales hours, you’ll want to schedule your calls for 8am-10am and 4pm-6pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. These are the days and times that convert, the ones that are going to resonate best with your leads. When you pair these times with a focus on actually sitting down and calling your list every single day, you’ll begin to see your list convert to sales.

2. Positive Mental Attitude

Have you ever seen a black Lab? Of course you have, you love black Labs – everyone does. But, do you know why everyone loves them? It’s because they’re happy to see everyone… and now you will be too. Calling lead after lead can be taxing, and believe me when I tell you that every person you call can hear it in your voice – which is why positivity is crucial to your success. There are a number of ways to get into the positive zone: huddling up with your team, listening to positive music, repeating affirmative mantras, and stretching will all work to put you in the right frame of mind to be successful.

The reason this positivity is essential is because you’re on the phone – your leads cannot see you. Human communication is 55% body language, which means that, at your very best, you’re still only effectively communicating at 45% of your potential.

Tone is everything

I hate to admit it, but here it is: your words don’t matter. Your tone matters. How you say something is the difference-maker between another 10 minutes to close the deal and an “I’m sorry, this isn’t a good time…”. If your tone is positive and confident, it will compel your lead to listen, which is all you need to make the sale.

3. Effort

This may go without saying, but your success is wholly dependent on the effort you put into achieving it. In sales, effort often takes the form of repetition. Calling over and over every day is a necessity – it’s sales by numbers. Not only is repetition important from a numbers sense, but it also provides something that will make you better: practice.

Are you committed to your own success?

Practice makes perfect, and very few people enter the sales world converting every lead they speak with. They get there by practicing their pitch and getting better with each call. Every other step in this post relies on your effort, so put a huge premium on this one.

4. Skill

Of course, the next logical step after practice and effort is the skill we hone while doing it. Whether it be your pre-pitch stalk (research), building trust, or CRUSHING that 1st minute, your skill is what’s going to land your white whale.

Success relies on the people you speak with. People need to know you, like you, and trust you. With those three things in place, the rest will fall in the manner they should. You know your product and brand, so selling those shouldn’t be difficult. Selling yourself is the main goal here. Once you’re able to hone your voice, language, and tone, you’ll dominate your calls every time you pick up the phone!

The truth is, when it comes to sales skills there’s just too much information. So much so, that it warrants its own blog post – which is exactly what we’re going to give you. Here are some of things we’ll discuss next time:

• The Pre-Pitch Stalk: how researching your leads = conversion
• How to Pitch: the features, benefits, and tie-downs
• Exactly When to Close: visualizing the close, and saving the best for last
• The 5 Yes Technique: The 5 affirmatives you’ll need to close the deal

We’ll cover the topics above and much more in our next post – missing it would be a mistake of monumental proportions. =)