Book description
Proven techniques to master the art of the cold call
Cold calling is not only one of the fastest and most profitable ways to initiate a new sales contact and build business; it's also one of the most dreaded—for the salesperson and the recipient. Smart Calling has the solution: Art Sobczak's proven, never-experience-rejection-again system. Now in an updated 2nd Edition, it offers even smarter tips and techniques for prospecting new business while minimizing fear and rejection.
While other books on cold calling dispense long-perpetuated myths such "prospecting is a numbers game," and salespeople need to "love rejection," this book will empower readers to take action, call prospects, and get a yes every time.
Updated information reflects changes and advances in the information gathering that comprises the "smart" part of the calling
Further enhances the value and credibility of the book by including more actual examples and success stories from readers and users of the first version
Author Art Sobczak's monthly Prospecting and Selling Report newsletter (the longest-running publication of its type) reaches 15,000 readers, and Smart Calling continues to rank in the Top 20 in the Sales books category on amazon.com and has sold over 20,000 copies
Conquer your fears and master the art of the cold calling through the genius of Smart Calling, 2nd Edition.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Contents
- Title
- Copyright
- Introduction
- Section One: The Smart Calling Concept
-
Section Two: Pre-Call Planning
-
Chapter 2: Creating Your Possible Value Proposition
- Understanding Your Prospects and Why They Might Buy from You
- Pain and Gain
- The Easy Way to Provide Possible Value
- Are You Able to Help Cut Costs?
- How Are You Different?
- The Value You Have Already Provided for Others
- Do You Help Inadequacy?
- Value Is Not the Same for Everyone
- Smart Calling Action Steps
-
Chapter 3: Intelligence Gathering
- What Information Do You Want about Your Prospects?
- Identify and Look for Trigger Events
- Getting Personal
- He Won This Sale
- Where to Find Your Smart Information
- Your Database
- Exploring the Wealth of Online Information
- Other Online Resources
- Google News Alerts
- How to Steal Business When Your Competitor Undergoes Changes
- Social Networking—or Social Not-Working?
- Smart Calling Action Steps
- Chapter 4: Using Social Engineering to Gather Intelligence
- Chapter 5: Setting Smart Call Objectives and Never Being Rejected Again
-
Chapter 6: More Smart Ideas for Prior to Your Call
- Is There a Best Time to Call?
- Ritualize Your Phone Time
- When You Are on a Roll, Stay in the Zone
- End with a Positive
- Great Days to Call: When Others Aren’t or Won’t
- Other Unconventional Times to Call
- Best Times for Follow-up Calls
- Warming Up a Smart Call
- E-Mailing before a Call
- Multimedia Messages
- How about Sending Unusual Items Prior to the Call?
- Get Direct Numbers
- Smart Calling Action Steps
-
Chapter 2: Creating Your Possible Value Proposition
-
Section Three: Creating and Placing the Smart Call
-
Chapter 7: How to Be Smart with Voice Mail
- Be Prepared
- Say You’ll Call Back
- How Many Messages to Leave?
- Should You Vary Your Message On Repeat Calls?
- Listen to Their Entire Voice Mail Message
- Listen for Their Tone on Voice Mail
- Put the Directions in Your Notes to Save Time
- Opting Out to a Live Voice
- Use Your Prospect’s Electronic System to Gather Intelligence
- Call Back Immediately
- Call at Different Times of the Day
- Give Your Number Twice; Give Your Number Twice
- “Here’s My Number . . .”
- Review Your Message, but Don’t Assume You’ll Always Have the Option
- Make Your Voice Mail Message Stand Out from the Clutter
- Use a Last Resort Message
- Handling Unreturned Voice Mail Messages
- Shady Voice Mail Tactics to Avoid
- Smart Calling Action Steps
- Chapter 8: Working with Screeners, Gatekeepers, and Assistants?
-
Chapter 9: Opening Statements
- What to Avoid Saying in the First 10 Seconds of Your Opening to Decision Makers
- “Thanks for Taking My Call”
- Asking for a Decision, or Even Hinting at One
- Being Assumptive in the Opening and Using Declarative Statements
- Reacting to Unusual Names
- How Are You Today? Use It or Not?
- Smart Calling Action Step
-
Chapter 10: Creating Interest with Your Smart Call Opening Statement
- The Jim Furyk Theory
- Two Objectives for Your Openings
- Scripting
- The Smart Call Interest-Creating Opening Statement Process
- More Possible Ending Phrases
- Does Length Matter?
- The Time Issue
- An Unconventional Technique That I Have Heard Work
- Weasel Words
- You Have Also Created Your Smart Voice Mail Message
- Smart Calling Action Step
-
Chapter 11: Handling Early Resistance on Your Smart Calls
- Use a Pattern Interrupt
- The Softening Statement
- It’s So Simple Even a Fourth-Grader Can Do It
- Here’s the One Place Where Sounding Dumb Works
- Responding When They Are Happy with Their Present Supplier
- How to Answer “Send Me Some Literature on That”
- “Why Should I Consider You?”
- Responding When They Try to Rush You
- Simple Response to a Quick “Not Interested”
- Handling the Early Price Question
- Early Resistance Case Study
- Smart Calling Action Step
-
Chapter 12: Using Smart Questions
- Use Your Possible Benefits to Create Questions
- Not All Questions Are Good Ones: How to Use Assumptive Problem Questions
- How to Create Assumptive Problem Questions
- The Loaded Benefit Question
- Practice the Iceberg Theory of Questioning with the Next Questions to Get Better Information
- More on Quantifying Needs, Pains, Problems, and Desires
- Avoid Questions That Scream “I Just Picked Up an Old Sales Book”
- Questions to Learn about the Decision-Making Hierarchy and Process
- Determine What Annoys Them
- A Questioning Mistake
- Clarify the Fuzzy Phrases
- The Quality of Your Question Determines the Quality of Your Answer
- Don’t Ask What They Like Best about Their Present Supplier
- Ask About Them
- Use Benefit Questions Instead of Inane Leading Ones
- Economize Your Questions
- Smart Calling Action Steps
-
Chapter 13: The More Important Side of the Question
- Get More and Better Information by Simply Letting Them Talk
- Your Most Powerful Listening Tool: The Pause
- Listen for Their Key Terminology
- How to Make Eye Contact by Phone
- Listen When They Lower Their Voice
- What Is Your Listening to Talking Ratio?
- It Would Be Tougher to Listen Your Way out of a Sale
- Smart Calling Action Step
- Chapter 14: Recommending the Next Step
-
Chapter 15: Getting Commitment for the Next Action
- The Commitment Phase Validates What Has Happened So Far
- Your Attitude Is More Important Than Your Technique
- Get Commitments on Every Call
- Get Commitment with Nonthreatening Words
- Why Not Try This Question?
- Help Them Realize They Have Nothing to Fear
- Asking for More Gets More
- Ask for Action, Not Permission
- Smart Calling Action Step
- Chapter 16: Wrapping Up Calls and Setting Up the Next Action
-
Chapter 7: How to Be Smart with Voice Mail
-
Section Four: Putting It All Together
- Chapter 17: How to Sound Smart
- Chapter 18: Getting and Staying Motivated
-
Chapter 19: More Smart Calling Success Tips
- Send an E-Mail to Find the Buyer
- Find More Buyers Easily
- Use a Calling Card
- Draw a Decision-Making Organizational Chart
- How to Locate Other Decision Makers
- Write Down Every Name You Hear
- Follow Your Buyers
- Be Ready When You Are on Hold
- Get Referrals from within Their Company
- Should Cell Phones Be Sell Phones?
- Give Information on Your Voice Mail Greeting
- Don’t Create Interruptions
- Take Notes on What They Say and Mean
- Smart Calling Action Step
- Chapter 20: A Smart Call Case Study and Makeovers
- About the Author
- Index
Product information
- Title: Smart Calling: Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection from Cold Calling, 2nd Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: April 2013
- Publisher(s): Wiley
- ISBN: 9781118588710
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