Cold calling tips and sales techniques make most sales-people’s blood run cold with fear.

Most companies and biz owners would rather pretend cold calling doesn’t work than spend time calling freezing cold prospects.

Don’t let yourself (or your company) ignore these cold calling tips while your competitors are (greedily & secretly) using this strategy as a bottomless goldmine…

BEST PART: The tips in this article guarantee to make your cold calling so comfortable, your grand mother could do it (and do it like a star).

Cold Calling Tip 1 – Set Achievable Goals

I’m going to go ahead and deliver the harsh, honest truth: True, full-on sub-zero phone prospecting will always fail to sell anything directly.

Discovering this fact can be very disheartening for beginner sales people.

So many biz owners (and wannabe sales-folk) set unrealistic telesales goals – only to then give up (prematurely) when sales are not immediate.

Phoning total strangers and requesting they hand over their credit card details is going to win you no friends (plus, the consolation prize is verbal abuse).

The “phone and push for a sale” technique doesn’t work in many markets (I’d struggle to name more than two industries).

The ideal approach is, instead, to incorporate cold calling as the “touching base” which then brings new (warmer) prospects into the businesses sales cycle.

When you commit to an achieve goal for your calls, it becomes easy to be (and feel) like a success. This feeling of success itself, for you and/or your sales staff, is only going to breed more positivity and success.

Here is a few achieve, realistic and profitable cold calling targets:

GOAL: 100 “Customer Permissions” to send information (via snail or e-mail) with subsequent follow up “warm calls”

If your product is innovative and valuable, you can hit this powerful goal in under a week of just by getting on the phone daily from 8am to 12pm.

Try posting out something extraordinary and unusual (like a brochure in the shape of a giant tree – whatever) to ensure it gets opened. The recipient needs to notice it, so bizarre is good.

GOAL: 10 Sales appointments with qualified prospects

This works well in the Business-to-Business market and in industries like Financial Planning and Insurance, where setting for home appointments is the goal.

A cold calling expert can convert around ten percent of even freezing prospects. Newbies should expect around five percent.

Just a single, full day of calls will get you the 10 appointments. I know Insurance people who nail it in one Sunday afternoon.

Cold Calling is REALLY about getting “the opportunity” to pitch another day

The examples above show that intelligent cold calling is all about bagging an opportunity (and the permission) to contact the prospect and sell to them at a later date.

An important psychological phenomenon exists, which explains why this works so well…

The public are conditioned to be intuitively mistrusting of stranges – especially of anyone attempting to sell to them. Any attempt to accelerate the sales is going to go outside the comfort zone of your prospect. Expect increased resentment and objections.

By proving a couple of points of contact, your prospects will have time to warm to you, your product and the sales-pitch. Many effective cold-callers keep a lists of contact numbers from up to 12 months in the past. “Calling back” often results in even better conversions.

Cold Calling Tip 2 – You’ve got Three Seconds. No pressure though.

The critical part of cold calling (where 96% of the newbies go wrong) is the first three seconds after the prospect answers.

These three seconds represent the “window-of-opportunity” you’ve got to push your prospects “curiosity button”. If they aren’t interested after three seconds, they’re going to dismiss your offer and you. Instead of listening, be sure that they are grinding the mental gears by thinking up objections and excuses to get off the call.

How can you hit the Cold Call curiosity button in 3 seconds?

Be awesome – offer legitimately exceptional product/service:

Easier said than done, it really does help if your company is doing something so extraordinarily, unusually awesome that folks just can’t wait to hear more. This is (unfortunately) a long term goal for some.

Offer a super-quick and easy, no-commitment “next step”:

Usually, “getting permission” for the next step is the objective of the cold call. This could be as easy as asking for permission to keep talking, or even better, asking for permission to send a free sample.

Have your prospect feel special:

If your prospect gets the impression they’re the 200th cold call you’ve spoken to that day, they’re not going to enjoy the call.

In B2B cold-calling you can get turn on the curiosity by mentioning the industry competitors you’ve been “talking to”… and explaining why you thought your prospect would be interested in your pitch too.

Prepare a concise, articulate, scripted three second introduction: You’d think this one should be obvious, but so many companies and sales reps fail to realise the importance of a smooth introduction. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

A good three second intro that follows these basic principals would look like this:

“Hi ! I’m calling from XYZ Lawns & Gardens Inc. … We’re doing a unusual promotion in your street by expertly clipping people’s lawns. For free! If that sounds interesting, I just need to get your perfect time and date for your free mow.”

It may not be realistic to cut lawns for free but, regardless, can you see the value of putting these cold calling tips into action?

Cold calling is still, despite everything you’ve heard, the fastest sure-fire approach to building a profitable business… fast. 

Best of all, it doesn’t have to be difficult. With the correct, intelligent approach you can rapidly turn huge numbers of strangers into satisfied customers – while you enjoy the freedom, wealth and happiness of a successful sales person and entrepreneur. 

When it comes to business, things can get really frantic. Considering the fast pace of things, of the speed of how companies come and go, it is only natural that a lot of firms would be looking for ways to improve their chances of making a profit. Now that is where high quality B2B leads come in. The use of such business leads have been known to be the best means for a firm to improve their business potentials, as well as expand the opportunities available to them in the markets and industries they operate in. No doubt that this is a very winning business strategy for any firm that wishes to take advantage of its features. It has been known to provide excellent results, no matter how complicated the market or industry is.

Businesses need money, which is why it needs to find the right buyers for its products or services. The good news here is that B2B leads provide a way for the company to tap into their markets better. Through professional B2B lead generation services, companies get a better chance to improve their business performance. This is especially true if the B2B lead generation service they employ uses B2B telemarketing. The quality of the leads tend to be high, and there is a better chance for the firm to be able to get these leads in a fast, reliable, and in a very affordable manner. This is something that many firms want. Excellent leads are the fuel that keeps the client’s business engine running smoothly every day.

Companies that are involved in B2B lead generation services might also be interested in using B2B appointment setting services as well. As a variation of the earlier mentioned marketing strategy, this is employed by companies that wish to meet with their prospects personally. Now, the task of setting up the meeting can be very difficult, that is why it pays to hire B2B telemarketers with an extensive experience in the area of B2B appointment setting. In this way, the quality of the leads can be assured, and the prospects that the company will meet are precisely the ones that will require their services. It saves the client firm time, and it ensures that both parties can enter into a profitable partnership or venture.

Now, the only problem that a company could encounter is with regards to the B2B lead generation company to hire. There are so many companies like that around the world but, unfortunately, there are only a handful of them that can actually deliver what they promise. A little caution would be in order here. The important thing is that the client firm uses a little checking on the B2B lead generation firm they are going to hire so that they will not be short-changed in terms of service and the quality of leads. If successfully done, then they would be able to reap a lot of benefits from this powerful business tool.

In other words, for a company to succeed in the long, they will need the help of professional B2B lead generation companies. That is a great way to success.

So you have heard of telemarketing? Of course you have, a lot of people hate it but then again a lot of people rely on it. Telemarketing is a brilliant way of boosting your companies profits if executed successfully. Though executing a telemarketing strategy incorrectly can harm your business by losing existing or potential customers respect and custom.

So first things first if you are going to be successful in the world of telemarketing you will need to make sure that you have a foolproof strategy that covers everything you are going to go through.

The first step in telemarketing is researching your market and finding effective lead generation techniques, you will want to get the most up to date contact lists and databases so that you know the numbers you are calling are indeed valid. Many telemarketing agencies can help you out with lead generation and is probably the most effective way of going about getting your lists. One thing to try and steer clear of is buying lists from companies or agencies as these are more than likely going to bring you not many leads at all if any.

Once you built a database of contacts to call you will need to be constantly updating it to make sure that your numbers are valid and also to check that the numbers have not been placed on the “Do not call lists”. Calling numbers on these do not call lists can prove very damaging to your company as legal action against you is a possibility.

Once you have created and populated your databases and lists you will need to work out a kind of script which will be read by employees or you to the potential clients. Now when making your script you are going to want to make it very interesting and make sure that you will be able to grab a prospects attention. The first 30 seconds are the most crucial in a telemarketing phone call and can make or break your telemarketing plans. You will want to try and make your product or service stand out from the rest of the competition which may have called them before you. You need to make sure you and your staff are friendly on the phone. Now the next part and a very vital one at that is that you will need to make sure everyone making these phone calls is trained fully in the product or service that you are selling. You need to make sure that everyone is prepared and ready to answer any questions that the prospect may have. Think about it if you are explaining your product or service over the phone to a prospect and they decide “hang on a minute I have a few questions” you need to make sure that you and your staff can answer them quickly and confidently otherwise you do risk losing your prospects interest and trust in you.

Remember in telemarketing it may not happen within a few phone calls but if you keep trying your list or databases you are more than likely to come up trumps very often, especially if your salespeople are confident and well educated on the product or service. It may take return calls and relationship building with many prospects before you manage to secure a sale, but this is why you keep at it and keep tweaking your scripts trying to add some variety on your mission to find the perfect script.

Good luck and remember it takes work but if executed properly, telemarketing can have an amazing boost on your revenue and your company image.

Studies show that the number one issue facing small or large business owners today is not having enough qualified prospects. Every business owner would like to have more high-quality prospects, but most either don’t have the time, or just do not have the expertise!

In any given industry, there are a myriad of potential lead sources that can be used to supply your business with highly-qualified sales leads. Some are very simple and inexpensive to set-up, others are more involved. Some will give you a trickle of leads, others will produce a flood.

In this article I’ll cover the best practices for lead generation that take the least amount of effort. You can choose which ones you want to use for your own unique business needs.

What Would the “Ultimate” Lead Generation System Look Like?

A great lead generation system should have the following elements…

Require little manual effort to effectively run it with the ability to be put almost entirely on “autopilot.”
Generates names, addresses, and even email addresses of people who respond and are interested in knowing more about your specific product or service.
People who respond give you permission to contact them and give your best sales presentation about your specific product or service.
Creates a positive relationship of trust and generates a perception that you are “the” authority in your industry about your product or service. (Tells your story.)
Generates predictable results. The system works like a radio volume control that increases your business when turned up and maintains your business when turned down.

The Basics of Lead Generation

Basics of Lead Generation

Target Best Buyers If you look at a financial statement that shows income generated from all your clients, you’ll find that the “80/20 Rule” is working within your business. That is, just 20 percent of your clients are giving you 80 percent of the business and profitability. These are your “Best Buyers” or “Dream Clients.” What does this mean to you? It means you should target and concentrate on these “Best Buyers” first, because this will be the easiest way to grow your business and profitability. So take a few minutes now to create a profile of who your most “Dream Client” is.
Being Proactive With Your Leads is Your Key to Success Most companies spend an enormous amount of time, effort, and capital to get a few people from a big audience to “raise their hand” (respond) and become a new lead. Yet, most won’t invest the time or the attention to follow-up in a diligent, timely, and continuous manner. Every day that a lead goes unattended you are eroding the viability of that opportunity by a huge amount. They would not have responded and become a lead if they were not interested in the benefit your product or service offers. The key to success with handling leads is to have an aggressive and proactive system in place, even if it’s a simple as picking up the phone and calling your lead. Each new lead responded to you because they were interested, so pounce on each opportunity.

The Top 5 Lead Generation Systems

Direct Mail to your Best Buyers The fastest way to build your business is to target the best customers with a “laser-focused” approach with direct mail to your “best buyers.” This strategy alone has helped many businesses literally double their revenues in just 12 to 18 months (or less). This disarmingly simple strategy is one of the most effective and least expensive ways to market and grow your business… fast! Let me explain how. Every market has what we call: “Best buyers.” Those are the clients who will buy the most of what it is you offer. In essence, they are your “dream clients.” So identify and select a target group who will now hear from you at least once per month. Most of the people on your list will throw the letter away the first four or five times that they receive it, but remember that you are committed to building a great reputation in the market, AND gaining clients. It’s a numbers game. The first thing you’re going to do is to send them a letter introducing yourself in giving an offer they cannot refuse. Then, send something out to these people each and every month, even if it’s only a letter or a flyer offering a free consultation or free service of some kind. Over the next 12 months, these people are going to hear from you each and every month. And that’s how they’ll go from saying: “I’ve never heard of this company before”, to… “Who’s this company I keep hearing about”, to… “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of (your company)”, to… “Yes, we buy from them.” Remember, This easy and inexpensive strategy alone can double your revenues in just 12 to 18 months (or less). So, do it NOW, and do it consistently every single month!
Buy leads from lead brokers and leads companies Another great way to generate hot “ready to buy” leads is to purchase them from lead brokers and lead companies. These company’s sole focus is to generate leads and them sell them to companies like you who want a great source of consistent new business. For example, I have a client who is a very successful life insurance professional. His main source of business and income comes from buying leads from the leads companies. Since this is a “numbers game” with ebbs and flows, he always buys leads from 3 different sources to keep his leads and sales numbers consistent. In average, each lead costs about $ 25 and he closes about 20% of the leads that he buys. This strategy alone has makes him a top producer that makes a very nice living for himself and his family. So, if you don’t currently buy leads, adding this strategy alone can increase your business by 50-75% or more! It just doesn’t get any easier than this, so buy leads and grow your business.
Buy leads from the Internet Search Engines One of the most effective online strategies for generating leads is by attracting targeted traffic to your Website with the “Pay-Per-Click” Search Engines (PPCSEs). PPCSEs can and should become an indispensable part of your lead generating arsenal. PPCSEs allow you to tap into the searches occurring in your industry and put your site directly in front of customers who are actively searching for what you’re selling. You set your budget, set the price you are willing to pay for each sales lead, and pay only when your customers click through to your site. You are guaranteed to receive “hot prospects” because you only pay for performance – pre-qualified clicks and visitors.

The 2 best PPCSEs are…

Google AdWords http://www.google.com/ads/

Overture http://www.overture.com/

Here is an example of what can be accomplished with PPCSEs. The owner of a small, highly-profitable software firm has built his business success almost entirely with only 2 marketing tools.

Having a Website where he offers a free 30-day trial version of his software.
Purchasing traffic from PPCSEs like Google AdWords and Overture.com.
He spends up to $ 3.50 per click for precisely-targeted keywords and makes a high return on his investment. In fact, for every dollar he spends on keywords, he makes $ 5.00 to $ 7.00 back. This calculates out to being approximately a 500-700% return on investment. Not bad!

Advertise

Studies show that 50% of all purchasing is motivated by advertising. Advertising is also one of the best tactics for generating leads that a company can deploy. Plus, it’s also the great way to build name recognition in the market which can get you publicity, “word of mouth” advertising, and other great benefits.

Here are a few tips for running an advertising campaign that brings you a high return on investment…

Place ads in the most targeted publications that your target market reads. Consider inexpensive ads in e-mail newsletters and Web Sites that your target market reads. Use direct response ads – always ask the reader of your ad to respond for more information by phone, mail or via your Web Site. Be proactive. Have a follow-up system in place to get maximum results from your advertising dollar. Use a compelling headline that introduces the biggest benefits your product or service offers your client. Make them an offer that they’d be crazy to refuse so they’ll respond and become a new long-term client.

Referrals Referral marketing is one of the most effective techniques for creating steady streams of prospects and clients. Plus, according to a recent Jupiter Media Metrix survey, 70% of Internet users are compelled to visit new web sites through referrals.

Referral-generated customers are most cost efficient, profitable, and loyal source of new business leads you can generate. And, they tend to buy quicker, negotiate less, buy larger quantities, and refer more business to you.

I’m sure you get many referrals already, but the best way to get more referrals is with proactive referral systems that you add to your marketing and business procedures. You can easily set up these referral systems that are fool-proof strategies for increasing your profits. Here are a few tips…

Give your customers an incentive or additional products or services in return for referring others to you.

Use a “Give a Gift” referral system where you invite your clients to give a free sample of your product or service to others as a gift. Referral gift certificates are great tools for this.

Use a “Loss Leader” referral system. Here’s how it works… Advertise a free sample to get new clients to try out your product or service. This alone will get you more sales. Plus, you can build a perpetual referral generator by giving each person who tries your freebie 3 or more referral gift certificates to give away to their friends and family. Then, watch your new referral system take off and bring you a steady flow of new customers!

Along with your mailed or e-mailed invoices to clients, include surveys that ask for feedback about how to improve company’s product or service. Be sure to ask for referrals in the survey as well. This works!

Identify and create relationships with non-competitive companies and people who already serve your target market. Then partner with them and have them automatically refer you to their database of clients. Give them an incentive if possible and watch your business grow!

Conclusion

Adding new lead generation systems is the fastest way to build your business. The 5 I’ve listed in this article take the least amount of effort and will get you the biggest results in the shortest amount of time. Now take action and follow through and your business will thrive.

All the new inventions that are marketable and are expected to make profits must be protected and an online patent attorney is the best person to help you get that protection.

You have successfully come out with a new invention. You are sure that your invention is going to create a good market and fetch you profits. There is a great chance that your idea can be copied and misappropriated by others. To safeguard your invention from such misuse, get it patented with the help of an online patent attorney.

What Is Patent Law?

This Law protects the novel idea of an inventor by providing him the exclusive property rights on his invention. The absolute rights given to the inventor are called patent rights. It thereby prevents theft and abuse of the patented idea and helps the inventor face the competition. In case anyone disobeys the rules, the inventor holds the right to sue the offender.

Any inventor can apply for a patent- either directly or through a patent attorney. Applying and getting it is a mind-numbing process. It may take years to get your application cleared. Seeking the help of an experienced lawyer to deal with such cases will prove beneficial. It will reduce the cost and time of acquisition.

How To Choose

A counsel plays a crucial role in acquiring a patent. He will represent you and your idea. Hence, it is necessary to approach the right person. It will be useless to appoint a person who does not have any knowledge in the field of your invention. Advocates differ from each other regarding the skills that are required in different fields. A patent lawyer with a background in biology cannot help you in any way for your invention that is related to the field of engineering. A specialized lawyer with a technical background can help you in a better way. Make sure to enquire about the qualifications and credentials before making a selection. You can conduct a simple search on the USPTO website and select a registered online patent attorney with the requisite capabilities to deal with your case. An experienced professional may charge you a higher fee.

Although there are many options to select a counsel, the best and easiest would be to choose an online patent attorney. Online dealing is quite fast and reduces the time involved. You can save the time that is wasted on the number of visits to the lawyer’s office every time.

Once you approach an expert, he will conduct a thorough enquiry regarding the uniqueness of your invention. If he finds it satisfactory, he will take up the case and proceed to acquire the rights as soon as possible. Hence, a patent lawyer is considered an inventor’s best friend.