Stop Cold Calling and Double Your Sales in 30 Days

 

 Stop Cold Calling and Double Your Sales in 30 Days


Don't waste hours of your day on phone calls only to come up empty-handed. cold calling is the least efficient way to find new clients. There are many inefficiencies in this type of sales strategy, and it's time for you to understand what they are before you spend any more time or resources on that tired old practice!

Cold calling is a dead-end tactic, but thankfully there is an alternative, more effective approach: using referrals.

If you don't believe us, consider this little factoid: the average person will meet 10 new people a year! That's over 3,000 people — that clients and customers just happen to meet in a given year. In other words, cold calling is simply not very effective, and if you're interested in uncovering new business opportunities that could lead to more sales, referrals are your best bet.

So how do you make referrals work for you? By following these steps outlined in our new self-published book:  Stop Cold Calling and Double Your Sales in 30 Days (affiliate link) .
Some of the key tactics include these:
1. Stop Cold Calling
The number one thing you should do when it comes to referrals is to stop cold calling. The reason this tactic is so ineffective is that prospects usually don't know who you are and why you're contacting them. And even if they do have a clue, they probably have no idea what it is that your business does.
2. Use Prospecting Scripts
A far better strategy than cold calling would be to spend quality face-to-face time with your best clients, reinforcing the quality of your service or product and your overall value proposition. This process can be documented using a prospecting script, which will help you make the most of your time when talking to key decision makers in person.
3. Referral Outreach
Once you have a script that outlines the value of your business and the referral process, it's time to get out there and make some cold calls. You'll be surprised at how many people know someone who has a need for your products or services.
4. Referral Have-a-Heart Card
If you're still not convinced that referrals are where it's at, you can use this piece of marketing collateral to "warm up" your prospects with a more personal approach than sending an email out of the blue:
5. Get Great at Overcoming Objections
There are tons of objections you'll be faced with when talking to potential clients about your business. The good news is that most of them can be overcome. The bad news is that often you have no idea what they are! By interviewing a large number of clients and prospects, and asking them to describe the biggest obstacles they face with similar businesses, you can build a list of objections and approaches to overcome them.
6. Involve Your Clients
Some contact juggling systems require you to use cold calling as your primary sales strategy, but this isn't the only way to leverage referrals. If you want the support of your clients in growing your business — and want to keep it that way — consider involving them in your marketing efforts. Encourage them to share your website or blog with others who might need what you do.
7. Tap Into the Power of Your Network
Not everyone will know someone who needs your services, but guess what? Many of us know people who know someone who does. By tapping into your network, you open yourself up to a whole new world of prospects.
8. Leverage Websites
Out of the 3,000 new people we meet each year, roughly 2,900 will be connected to six to ten other people. And guess who they are? Yep: you! Your website and blog provide a great way to build your referral network.
9. Reach Out to Your Competition
Going after your competitors through referrals is easy when you know how and how much! Simply find out who your competitors are and write them a nice note on LinkedIn, asking them if they know of anyone who might need what you do. Invite them to connect on Facebook or Twitter and ask them if they'll help out with an introduction or referral. You'll be surprised at the results!
10. Promote Your Business
Now that you have a robust referral network, promote the heck out of it! This will be the single most productive way for your business to grow. Promote it to friends and family, and use professional presentations or website banners to show others who your clients are so they can refer them to you in turn.
11. Use Personalization
By taking the time to get to know each person who joins your business, you'll make them feel like a VIP and be able to personalize your marketing efforts for each customer. Not only does this benefit you, but it also benefits them (and their friends and family) because they'll remember you over time as an exceptional business provider who genuinely cares about what they want.
12. Stay Connected
Don't just leave people on your referral list! Be sure to stay in touch with them throughout their life cycle. Use those threads of mutual connection to help you with new referrals, while establishing an ongoing relationship that helps you grow your business over time.
13. Grow Your Referral List
When you're growing your business, it's great to have a large referral network of clients and customers, but that isn't all you should strive for! By keeping in touch with the people who do business with you over time, but don't hire them at some point down the road, you'll be able to cultivate long-term loyalty and loyalty referrals.
14. Give Back
We are in a difficult economy right now, but this has been true of all economies over the years. If you're in business and not taking care of those who do business with you, how can you expect that they take care of you when you need them? By giving back to your clients and customers, by thanking them over and over again for their support, and by sending them thank-you gifts when appropriate, you'll end up providing more value for everyone involved.
15. Leverage Free Resources
By simply being kind and generous, people will remember and refer to what you do. By using inexpensive tools to cultivate your referral network, you'll find that you don't have to spend as much time and money on activities like calling customers or making personalized gifts. You'll find that by following the tips outlined here, you can develop a robust referral network with very little time and resources.
16. Control Your Social Media Marketing
If you're using Twitter or Facebook as part of your marketing strategy, rather than an afterthought, then you're more likely to reap the rewards of building a loyal and engaged customer base through these channels.

Conclusion
In this article, we've taken a look at the steps you can take to leverage your existing relationships to grow your business. We've also looked at several other strategies that you can use in conjunction with these and that will help you keep on top of your referral game.
As always, I hope you enjoy the article and be sure and share it with others who might need these tips as well.
Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below! If you'd like a specific learning topic covered in more detail, please let me know in the comments section below!
Rob Wiblin: Thanks so much for doing this interview with us today, Anthony.

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