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Dear Reader,
Don't you love cold callers?
Well, I'm biased, of course, since we offer training programs on how to NOT annoy the people we cold call.
Last Thursday, I received two cold calls which were both instructive in their own way.
The first one asked if it's a good time - well done - and I responded, "Actually no, because I'm just about to go into a meeting". She responded, "OK, just very very quick, did you receive the email I sent to you this morning." I thought, ok, that's a short question I can accept. So I responded, "Yes, I did, but I told already your colleague that my partner will take care of that. I forwarded it to him." Then she started to wanting me convince that I should really consider this offer, bla bla. After 10 seconds I interrupted with "I told you that it's not a good time" and put down the phone.
The second one was even better: "Hello, I'm ABC calling from XYZ, how are you?" That's my favorite, totally strange people being concerned about my wellbeing. They already lost at that point. But it got better. I responded, "I'm doing good but I don't think that really interests you. I'm in a meeting right now, so you may call after 4pm again." His response, "OK, who am I talking to?" Hello! He called me on my mobile phone and doesn't know who he's calling??
These two examples show how pathetically most cold callers act. The first one didn't listen and the second one didn't do his homework.
Making cold calls can be a very effective AND efficient way to get new business. To do so successfully, you'll need to follow a few golden rules and change a few things from what most cold callers do. Let us know if you'd like to know more.
Let's keep progressing!
Charlie Lang
Executive Coach and Founder of Progress-U Ltd.
Author of The Groupness Factor
To read more about this e-book, click here.
To buy this e-book at only 19 USD (150 HKD), click here.
“Do you want to gallop the palace?”
The Fine Line Between You and Your Competitors
By William Ho
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 I’m not sure if you are young enough to remember the 1992 Disney animation movie “Aladdin”. In one of the scenes, the main male character Aladdin was sitting on that “lovely” magic carpet which was hanging in mid air just outside the balcony, and inviting Princess Jasmine to have a magic carpet ride with him, saying: “We can gallop the palace; see the world!”
Jasmine: “Is it safe?”
Aladdin: “Sure! Do you trust me?”
Jasmine: “What?”
Aladdin: “Do you TRUST me?”
Would you be taking the ride, if you were Jasmine?
Well, in the 1992 movie, there is no other person in the same scene. To make this more interesting, just imagine that there is another person – a competitor of Aladdin - flying in from nowhere, and offering pretty much the same magic carpet ride, inviting Jasmine to see “a whole new world” with him instead?
Who would you choose then, if you were Jasmine?
Assuming that you don’t see much difference between the magic carpets, your choice will most probably be hinged on the fine line or difference between Aladdin and his competitor. Similarly, a fine line exists between you and your competitors, whether you are vying for a job or a sale. The company’s decision to hire you as their employee, as well as the customer’s decision to buy from you, making you their business partner, both depend on this fine line.
So what is this fine line?
To give you a clue, this fine line has nothing to do with the quality of the product or service. In this case, the product’s or service’s direct attribute - the reliability and the safety of the magic carpet – is not enough to capture the ‘heart’ of Jasmine, so to speak.
Yes, the magic word is: TRUST. Yes, this fine line has a lot to do with trust.
As Aladdin said, “Do you trust me?”
And this brings us to another interesting concept: perception.
In a business relationship (or any relationship for that matter), perception is the reality under which sellers operate, and trust is based on the buyer’s perception of you, the salesperson. You may be the most honest, trustworthy person in your field, but if buyers don’t perceive you to be trustworthy, it doesn’t matter how trustworthy you are in reality.
For most products and services today, there is relatively little functional difference among the available choices, even though companies continue to spend billions of dollars in advertising each year to attempt to create differentiation points in the minds of buyers. These advertisements are not always aimed at improving the public’s perception of these companies’ trustworthiness. Instead, they usually focus on the products’ direct attributes.
As for Jasmine, a magic carpet ride will be a brand new experience. No matter how good the advertising of the product features, no matter how much Aladdin extols the virtues of the magic carpet, she will find it difficult to believe that jumping on a flying magic carpet is actually something she should do. Well, she might feel excited at the prospect of seeing the world from mid-air, but something she can rely on; something she can TRUST is the key. What is that thing that could make her jump on Aladdin’s supposedly magic carpet?
This is especially true if there is a choice other than Aladdin, hanging around with a magic carpet not much different from Aladdin’s?
It’s critical, then, that a “seller”, like Aladdin, focus on trust-building activities with prospects and customers, like Jasmine, and avoid trust-breaking activities. He must take it upon himself to be the most trustworthy among his competitors in Jasmine’s eyes.
Trust is something that you earn – you work hard for it, and is certainly conducive to securing a buying decision. Without trust, there might be only connectivity. People feel more comfortable making buying decisions if they can trust the seller. Securing trust, therefore, should be the first objective in the sales process.
How would Aladdin earn Jasmine’s TRUST and as such be her choice?
Showing competence is one thing. He was himself sitting on the carpet that was hanging in mid-air. That might be good enough.
But what if,his competitor was doing the same thing?
Showing rapport is another thing. They knew each other before, and they have built up some sort of friendship before. That might be good enough.
But what if the competitor was a friend of Jasmine, too. If not, what if he was able to build a first connection with her right away. Is it good enough then, with that rapport between them, to assume that Jasmine will do the magic carpet ride with Aladdin?
Maybe not.
Perhaps his only hope to get Jasmine’s trust is the other magic word, yes, you got it: CARE.
Can you imagine what Jasmine would do if she felt this Aladdin guy did not really CARE about her? She wouldn’t set a single foot on his carpet because she would worry about what would happen if they were in mid air and all of a sudden she wanted to go home, Or if she got air-sickness. She wouldn’t be sure what would happen if she wanted to visit other places, like the pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal of India, or the Great Wall of China? In her mind, she needs to be able to believe that he will fulfill her wishes or demands with his best effort, and that he will take care of her needs.
“ …there's time to spare, let me share this whole new world with you”, and so on.
And that is how Aladdin can earn her TRUST: by showing that he truly CARES about her. Perhaps he will do well to remind Jasmine to bring a shawl or something to keep her warm.
This is what all sales people need to concentrate on: to earn TRUST from the buyers by showing that they truly do CARE about them. This fine line between you and your competitor makes the difference between making or breaking the sale.
For more information related to Progress-U's Stop Selling! programs including our negotiation program, please click here.
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