The Conversion Code, 2nd Edition

Chapter 24The Pre-Call Stalk

Every sale is won or lost before it's ever pitched.

When you are following up with leads it is your job to take control of the call. In the next chapter, I will teach you exactly what to say during the first minute. There are two specific things (gaining control and ARPing [acknowledge, respond, pivot]) that you do at the beginning of nearly every call to ensure the conversation ends up being long enough for you to have a chance at closing them.

It is important to note that the conversion code does not involve cold-calling. I want you to stop chasing leads. The marketing you do will attract high-quality leads. The follow-up you do should be focused on the leads who are most engaged. I call this behavior-based follow-up.

We are well into the 21st century, and during the past decade people have willingly put most of their life's happenings online. If you are in sales, social media should make you salivate. The ability to hyper-personalize a sales call gives you an advantage.

You are calling leads who at some point willingly submitted their information and wanted to be contacted. Before you call, I will show you how to properly, legally, and non-creepily “stalk” a lead so you can use the intel you gather about them on your call.

When salespeople (myself included) hear a term such as “big data” or “social selling” they usually tune out immediately. That sounds too much like C-suite jargon. So instead, I simply think of it as turning data into dollars. ...