The POWER of WORDS

What's up? I don't know about you, but if you actively
sell a product or solution you surely HAVE to make a
PHONE CALL or send an EMAIL to grow your business? Right?

There is POWER IN WORDS. For proof, watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgi0t2ap-us

If this resonates with you, then perhaps you STRONGLY AGREE
that the words you use and WHAT YOU SAY in an EMAIL WILL
determine whether (or not) your PROSPECT RESPONDS TO YOUR
EMAIL.

My last prospecting cold call meeting started like this:
"Well, Scott, I get quite a few sales emails, as you can
imagine, being a PUBLISHER of a LEADING MAGAZINE. Your
email is the BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN." From that point
forward the meeting went like clockwork with the publisher
saying he is interested in a customized proposal next week.

Can you say CA-CHING?! :-)

If you ever have pressure to HIT QUOTA, you know full well
that you MUST GET THAT KEY APPOINTMENT to GET THE DEAL.

HOW YOU BEGIN often DETERMINES HOW YOU END!

I developed a system I teach in my innovative
Cold to GoldTM Mind Spark SessionTM Workshops that helps
people LEARN HOW TO BEGIN RIGHT.

Gain comfort and confidence making calls and learn how to
draw prospects to your door, without resistance. Best of
all, LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN EMAIL that OPENS DOORS!

The next COLD to GOLD Mind Spark Session workshop starts on
May 17, 2011 from 10:00 AM PST to 11:15AM PST.
Sign up now at http://www.coldtogold.com/ to reserve your seat.

We guarantee the program, too. So, you have everything to
win and nothing to lose. What you gain from Cold to Gold is
like smashing open Fort Knox's vault and leaving you in there
for a few hours without a camera or security guard
watching you. It almost isn't fair. ;-) I kid around, but I think
you get the idea.

Go here to sign up:
http://coldtogold.eventbrite.com/

To your success,
Scott

________________________________________

Copyright © 2006-2018 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.

Cold to Gold Workshop in April - 2011

Attention: the next Cold to Gold Mind Spark SessionTM is scheduled for April 19, 2011, at 10:00AM PST.
Registration for this powerful online workshop will close one hour prior to the start of workshop. Only 25 seats are available for this session, which runs each day from Tuesday through Thursday, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:15 a.m. PST. Sign up while you can still get in!

Cold to Gold is a system of selling to increase prospecting and the ability to PULL prospects to you, created by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

You'll gain access to the mind shift, techniques, and methods that help you get in the door, form better qualified meetings, and highly successful business relationships. These are the techniques used by Scott to land multimillion deals with IBM, EMC2, Data General, and other sales organizations. For example, Scott wrote Jay Leno a letter and Jay returned Scott's call personally. Scott never met Jay prior to sending the letter. You'll learn the techniques Scott uses to get responses like this. Can your business use a lift?

To sign up for this workshop, please visit http://www.coldtogold.com/
________________________________________

Copyright © 1999-2011 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

No More Call Reluctance

If you are in sales, you must know the term "call reluctance" as it related to cold calling, right?

What the term means is you are AFRAID or RELUCTANT to make calls, that you KNOW could lead to getting an appointment or making money. But you don't do it. Why?

Well, if you're like most sales people, you HATE COLD CALLING!

Yep, I said it. And that is PRECISELY why I created Cold to Gold Mind Spark Session sales training workshops. You see, the reason why most people HATE COLD CALLING is because they do not have a SYSTEM to help them prospect more effectively and efficiently. Not only that, they also do not usually have a system to DRAW MORE PROSPECTS to your door. Do you have such a system? I do! It makes a WORLD of difference to my business, too.

Now, the system I created for turning cold calls into GOLD CALLS is a 12 step process I teach in Cold to Gold sales training workshops. I also review the mental thought process, the approach, the strategies, how to plan, and the technical ways people just never think of to help you get in the door. You also learn how to sell to the C-level, and other creative strategies.

Well, I can't spill all the beans here, but if you're interested it is likely because you know you NEED training like this. Guess what? I'm hosting my next workshop August 16, 2010. It lasts five days, M-T-W-TH-F and is scheduled from 10:00AM til 11:00AM PST August 16 through the 20. You can sign up here:

Announcing COLD TO GOLD ONLINE workshop August 16, 2010 – August 20, 2010 (held 10:00AM PST – 11:00AM PST each day M – F) is the way to go. Here is the link for the ONLINE August 16 – 20 workshop:

http://fb.eventpal.com/PurchaseTicket.aspx?eid=2087

Once you purchase your ticket, you’ll receive information about the workshop from me within 24 hours. I look forward to seeing you at the registration or online! If you have any questions, or for a group discount, please email me directly. This workshop is sure to sell out, so act quickly while tickets are still available.

Scott – your Trainer
805.459.6939
ARRiiVE.com
ColdtoGold.com

Cold to Gold: Mind Spark Sessions - OVERCOME the FEAR of COLD CALLING and get the POWER to GET IN THE DOOR SUCCESSFULLY.

“Gain the confidence to call and savvy to market -- 30% More Qualified Meetings (Sales Growth) in 30 Days or the Workshop is FREE.”

Look forward to seeing you on the call - stop hating cold calling are start loving GOLD calling. It's a world of difference.
________________________________________
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Can Work Ethic Be Coached?

You can coach work ethic by demonstrating it and encouraging people to care in order to achieve progress. The best way to do this is to emulate it yourself, and COACH people who underperform by inspiring them by ROLE MODELS who succeed and have proven sales process in the organization.


Example: A manager I once coached ran a personnel recruiting office where a certain salesperson was underperforming. Recruiters conduct much of their business over the phone. The calls they make and the effort they put out matters. Well, the manager's salesman had a GREAT speaking voice: low, deep, and authoritative. Yet, he was on her "black list" to replace!

I asked the manager, "Why are you going to fire Tony?"

She answered, "Because he comes in late, he takes long lunches, leaves at 5PM regularly, and does not seem to understand our selling process."

I asked, "Who is the best rep at that branch?" She gave me her name.

I then said, "What does she do to set her apart?"

She said, "Rachel schedules the bulk of her new calls DURING the morning, lunch, and afternoon drive time when clients are most likely to pick up their phone directly. She schedules all her follow-up calls during the rest of the day. She takes lunch and breaks at outside times and usually schedules these breaks as meetings with clients. She works late at least twice a week and does her reporting Sunday night."

I asked her "Have you explained to Tony what makes Rachel exemplary?"

She said, "Not exactly."

I replied, "Then, if you fire him, why don't you fire yourself in the process. You hired him, yet you aren't coaching him on what you really want. So, if he fails, you failed him. Because you haven't made it clear to him what a "star performer" does to earn those honors. I would suggest a meeting with Tony, and in that meeting let him know you hired him because you think he has the potential to be a "star performer" on your team. ASK HIM how his numbers would look if he were a manager. Then agree that performance is below par, but have him explain why he thinks that might be. Then share your insights and especially share what Rachel said that makes her a consistent star performer. Suggest that you believe he could experience much higher success by emulating Rachel's tactics. End the meeting by encouraging him and sharing how much you look forward to him rockin' it!"

She did this, exactly. Within two weeks this "slacker" transitioned from the bottom numbers to challenging Rachel for top rep at that branch and never looked back.

Yes, you can teach BOTH work ethic and sales process to turnaround poor performers. As a manager, it is imperative to dig for the process that the best use to succeed, and then share that process with the team. With good coaching, a manager can turn many bottom performers into top performers.

Do you have an example of a turnaround on your team? Or perhaps a struggle you'd like to share? Feel free to comment. (Please, no "link spam" - thank you!)
________________________________________
 
Scott Andrews, Author, is CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions and Founder of AspireNow.com. He also is the creator of the innovative "Cold to Gold: How to Overcome Fear and Get In The Door Successfully" sales training program (http://www.coldtogold.com/). This article is published with all rights reserved. If you wish to publish, please contact info [at] ARRiiVE.com.
 
Copyright © 1999-2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. SUBSCRIBE. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

New Sales Training Workshops

Part of growing your business often includes learning new methods how to get in the door and network better.

Join me as I host a class through ARRiiVE Business Solutions, called "Cold to Gold: How to Overcome the Fear of Cold Calling and Get In The Door Successfully" as a "Mind Spark Session" workshop.

Next workshops:
IN PERSON: July 1, 2010 from 1P - 5P in San Luis Obispo, CA, at KCBXnet - for a discounted $397.00 per person (normally $497 pp).

WEBINAR: For those who do not live close to San Luis Obispo, you will want to sign up for the webinar this coming June 15. The webinar is one hour a day and runs from Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 am to 11:00 am each day for four (4) days. You need to sign up by June 13th. There will be another webinar mid-July, too. Webinar format Cold to Gold is just $297 per person.

"Cold to Gold offers a clear and dynamic system to help people 'get in the door' and skyrocket sales success." -- Alan Harris, Former Senior Program Manager Remedy

You do more than learn how to open the door; you learn how to interact with prospects in ways that lead to a sale. Because how you relate to your prospect is as important as the solutions you create or offer your prospect.

Cold to Gold is the only course that breaks down both the mental process and each step of customer attraction, from “push” methods, such as calling or email to “pull” methods such as events, speaking, and networking. This program weaves ARRiiVE Training's proven principles of success into every session for maximum takeaway. In the end, you will learn how to go from “Cold” to “Gold” with your prospects through our unique Mind Spark Session TM workshops.

Who Should AttendSales people - whether they are new hires or have been on the job for a while. Cold to Gold will turn you into a sales leader because it develops you from sales person into confidante.
You Will Be Able To:

• Build sales strategy to map your approach to prospects buying method and cycle
• Learn better communications skills to connect with decision makers
• Drop the fear of cold calling through a warm system of interaction
• Learn headlines and copy that creates higher open rates, return calls, and letter opens
• Display confidence in yourself and your company and build credibility instantly
• Ask the right questions to determine qualified solution opportunities
• Gain tools to immediately win commitment to productive meetings
• Influence the conversation so that it reaches a mutually beneficial conclusion
• Follow up in a way that creates additional sales opportunities

Sign up your team for a Cold to Gold workshop at http://www.coldtogold.com/, or call 805-459-6939 to discuss a group discount.

________________________________________

Copyright © 1999-2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

Draw Prospects To You

If you're a subscriber to ARRiiVE: Innovations In Business, you more than likely either run a business or contribute to a business in the capacity of sales, marketing, or management.

As such, your position demands you to build relationships. There is no way around it: you have to send emails, make phone calls, meet people at networking or business mixers, and also might be blogging, tweeting, and need ways to improve your success to maximize your time.

Sound familiar? This is why I created Cold to Gold Mind Spark SessionsTM - the whole idea is to provide a short, effective, and efficient workshops where I personally teach you my methods to get in the door with phone, email, mail, and other tactics, and how I draw prospects to me through my blog, radio show, videos, and more. This is EXACTLY the INFORMATION YOU NEED to help you SELL MORE!

I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO SIGN UP if you need these skills! If you're running a team, I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO SIGN UP YOUR TEAM. There is no program in the market place of sales training available today that so quickly and effectively teaches you how to get in the door and build long-lasting successful business relationships in such a powerful and memorable way.

And, for the months of April and May, 2010, I'm offering a special ten for eight discount - in other words, just enter "10for8" in the discount field at ColdtoGold.com (click "Start Now" to order) or CLICK THIS LINK:

http://coldtogold.eventbrite.com/?discount=10for8

It is simple and easy - each class starts on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. PST through 11:00 a.m. PST and runs every day through Friday of the week you start. If you miss a class, each class if recorded. That's four sessions, across four days - so you never even have to leave the field or your office to learn this information!

Again, just use this link and sign up today:
http://www.coldtogold.com/

or for a team of 10, use this link:
http://coldtogold.eventbrite.com/?discount=10for8

Call me at 805.459.6939 with any questions.

Most companies have NOT been training their supposed "sales experts" on cold calling, how to get in the door, and such - they focus on product knowledge. How can your sales team show what you have to offer if they never get the appointment? Don't make that mistake, sign up today:

http://www.coldtogold.com/

For a team of 10, use this link and get a discount:
http://coldtogold.eventbrite.com/?discount=10for8
________________________________________

Copyright © 1999-2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.
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Cold Calling Is Not Dead

One of my competitors often writes about how "Cold Calling is Dead." Oddly, I still receive plenty of phone calls in my business. How about you? Therefore, Cold Calling is NOT dead!

However, I will point out that if you start blindly calling people without a plan, you are likely to run into frustration. In addition, frustration leads to anger, which builds resentment, and creates an unhappy employee. We do not ever want to be unhappy in our job, right? Therefore, you ought to call from a PLAN.

One of the ways I improve my cold calls through a plan is to turn cold calls into  WARM CALLS. The best way to do that is to find out information about the person or company you are calling. It is much like using a "prop" when a single man approaches a single girl. One of my friends is a master at this technique of what dating experts call "The Approach". He uses props to open the conversation. For example: "How is the food here? Good? I love that dish! I make a similar recipe... have you tried that, too?" and bingo, he is in a conversation with a pretty brunette about gourmet cooking. It happens most women love a man who can cook, so at the same time he opened one of his own favorite convesations. That creates passion. If you can create conversations where both parties are PASSIONATE about the topic, both will likely walk away stronger friends.

I tried it the following day at a bookstore. I noticed a cute woman thumbing through a book. I stop and asked her "How is the book? Any good?" and we were immediately talking about something SHE was interested in discussing. The book sounded interesting, and I love reading, too, so it was easy to talk about the book with her. The reason this works is because you are aligning yourself iwth your prospect's interests.

The business world is a LITTLE different than dating, but not much. I will tell you why: forming conversations with ANY person always starts with what THEY are interested in discussing. So, you must learn about your prospect's interests in order to RELATE to them. And, more importantly, for them to RELATE to you.

Try this technique the next time you make a cold call to attempt to turn it into a warm call. Do enough research to feel like you know something interesting about the person you call. Look them up at LinkedIn. Look up their company and read their last five press releases, annual report, and product descriptions. Start to identify with them, and you will find that your opportunity to cold call is not dead, but in fact that opportunity is alive and well. Cold calling is never dead if you can relate to your prospect.

Find ways to relate to your prospect and your prospect will likely RELATE back with you.

You'll gain training like this and information of this caliber, and much more, when you sign up for Cold to Gold: Mind Spark SessionTM sales training workshops. These communication workshops help sales executives and others who wish to "get in the door" to learn how to open doors more successfully and build long lasting business relationships. Learn more at ColdtoGold.com.
________________________________________

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Why Salespeople Fail

There are essentially a number of reasons why salespeople miss their quotas. Do you know what they are?

I've heard managers say "my salespeople aren't making enough calls" and "my salespeople make calls but they don't sell anything - I think they're just making friends with everyone of their prospects" and "my salespeople make calls but don't sell what I want them to sell" and all sorts of other things.

The truth of the matter is that most salespeople miss their quota for one reason:

MOST SALESPEOPLE FAIL TO PLAN.

It might sound silly, but it really is true. Do you know how I know this? Because whenever managers tell their salespeople they need an account review to write a sales territory plan of how they're going to hit their quota they all go into scramble mode! I recall the frantic "Scott, you know how to plan... can you please HELP ME!" phone calls I used to receive when I worked in the High Tech industry selling services. Oddly, I'd usually walk out of my own account review meeting beaming, having received kudos for a great plan, along with the words, "now just execute upon that plan and we'll all be even happier next year" (execution of the sales plan is the #2 reason people fail, coincidentally). And, yes, I'd go hit my numbers year after year after year.

"FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL."

My first boss out of college had a great expression: "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail." He would often put this up on the slide projector at the start of meetings. It stuck. It's true! The guy knew what he was doing - he turned a $300K sales team into a $1MM+ sales team in ONE YEAR. I think if every manager copied his formula for success they'd have more success. His original formula used with that team was a winner. I'm going to put it into a program for sales managers later in 2010, so stay tuned on that one... anyway, my point is that planning is vital to success.

An often quoted statement is about the 3% of a graduating class at Harvard or Yale who wrote down their goals achieved more than the other 97% combined. I don't know if that story is true or not - it has not been substantiated from what I've seen. However, I did see a study from the Dominican University that there is an increase from 4.28 (unwritten goals) to 7.6 (written goals with progress reports to a friend or mentor). So, writing the goal down, including milestones, and reporting back on progress is a great idea if you want to be twice as good as the "typical" salesperson (who I've already explained is too lazy to write down their plan).

So, make a plan. If you're not sure how to write a territory plan, I've written instructions before on the blog and at AspireNow.com I think I posted an article in the past. You can hire someone to write one for you. But I believe there is value in writing your own plan. You may not work the plan (execute) if you don't write it. Take the time. Make the effort. Write a plan you can use to succeed.

If you want help with your plan, I've written a ton of sales plans and had CEO's and Sr. VP's tell me my plans are the best they've ever seen in their life. I've been hired off a sales plan I wrote for two different jobs. My plans are *that* powerful.

What are the keys to a good plan? Well, you must include the following:

1. Non-disclosure agreement & Executive Overview
2. Mission
3. Objectives
4. Understanding of Ideal Client
5. Definition of Product (what are you selling to them and why)
6. Strategy to achieve objectives
7. Territory - definition of borders, vertical, geographical markets
8. Ways you intend to differentiate and add value to prospects in that territory
9. The math of how you will achieve your quota
10. Milestones to hit to make sure you're on plan
11. Statement of known and unknown factors of risk

Only share #10 milestones with a boss if you intend for the boss to start measuring you on those milestones and you intend to hit them. If you're going to fluff your way through success, don't list that. But frankly, if you're going to succeed, you ought to list things you know you can achieve.

Most sales plans don't include #11 - but good business plans do. Why? Because this covers your butt if you MISS your quota, despite doing everything right, due to something weird happening. For example, if you missed a quota when the economy tanked. Some companies will give up on you if they think you aren't working your plan. But if you can demonstrate you are working your plan and can show prospects that indicate success is around the corner, that may buy you time to keep your job and thrive in the future. It's all about achievement of the numbers to most of these bosses, so you must show progress towards those numbers.

And, regarding achieving, it's all about your quota, in the end, for any boss. So, every boss will examine #6 with a fine toothpick and comb if they're worth their salt. Put the numbers they need to see there. But, for your OWN benefit, take THEIR quota numbers and then figure out how to DOUBLE that goal. Because that is the goal you ought to work for - reason being that if you miss YOUR quota you will still hit THEIR quota.

Besides the plan itself, doubling your quota is the #1 key to ensuring you always hit your quota. It proves that success is largely a MENTAL thing - you must condition your mind to BELIEVE YOU CAN. Take their quota, double it, figure out how to accomplish THAT goal, then work towards THOSE numbers. As long as you're adding value, selling the right number of deals to the right prospects, and focused on that higher number, you will pretty much always blow away your goals. There are other reasons salespeople miss quota I identify and discuss in Cold to Gold Mind Spark SessionsTM (my sales workshops). I'm offering these workshops for a limited time prior to selling Cold to Gold online, so don't wait if you're looking to explode your success in 2010 - many of the techniques I'm offering for a limited time and they are not offered anywhere else.

To register a group of 20 or more, send me an email to info@ARRiiVE.com. Otherwise, sign up directly at ColdtoGold.com

Check out additional articles on "Cold Call Tips For Effective Cold Calling"
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Cold to Gold Mind Spark Session

Attention: the next Cold to Gold Mind Spark SessionTM is scheduled for April 6, 2010, at 10:00AM.

Registration for this powerful online workshop will close one hour prior to the start of workshop. Only 25 seats are available for this session, which runs each day from Tuesday through Friday next week, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. So, hurry while you can still get in!

Cold to Gold is a system of selling created by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

You'll gain access to the mind shift, techniques, and methods that help you get in the door, form better qualified meetings, and highly successful business relationships. These are the techniques used by Scott to land multimillion deals with IBM, EMC2, Data General, and other sales organizations. For example, Scott wrote Jay Leno a letter and Jay returned Scott's call personally. Scott never met Jay prior to sending the letter. You'll learn the techniques Scott uses to get responses like this. Can your business use a lift?

To sign up for this workshop, please visit http://www.coldtogold.com/
________________________________________

Copyright © 1999-2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.
Please note: The disclaimer re: warranty or terms is listed at ColdtoGold.com re: any assumption or statement of earnings you may make from ColdtoGold.
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Stop Thief! Headlines Increase Open Rates

Have you ever had someone yell "stop thief" on a street you near where you were standing? What do you do? You stop and take a look to see what is going on, right?

Well, good sales copy headlines produce the same result: people stop and open the email. Yet, how many salespeople pay attention to their email headlines? Most do not.

Sales executives often get lazy, too. They simply say what it is...

For example:

"Following up about ____"
"Here's my report for your review"
"Read our white paper on ____"
"Check out our new blabber widget"

Isn't this how most sales emails read that come across your inbox? Do these work for you? Or do you think they're boring? There's a better way. I've been studying email marketing and personally developing email campaigns for about ten years now. The first thing I notice about an email is the headline. Without a good headline, your open rate, or "opens", is low. With a good headline, your open rate increases.

The quality of your list can also dictate your success with open rates, too. However, for now, let us just say you have an average quality list of prospects that both know you and do not know you and you are trying to build a relationship so that over time, they decide to move in deeper and buy your products and services. That is why you have a list, right? How can you influence your success with that list?

Well, if they only read 20% of your emails, the odds of them making it to "buy" go down dramatically. You need your prospects to open your emails. PERIOD. Your headlines matter!

So, think about your headlines. If you are wondering what headlines work, watch what other marketers do - especially Internet Marketers. Study the best: Frank Kern, John Reese, David DeAngelo, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, and John Carlton. Learn from them. In addition, especially, pay attention to what they teach about headlines. I "borrowed" the phrase "Stop Thief" from a headline Frank Kern used a few months ago. And, I'm pretty sure he borrowed it from another great writer. It works, right? You would not be reading this free training right now, if it didn't work for you. Of course, the headline ALSO must apply to your topic, so make sure to use relevant headlines, too.

This is part of what I teach in Cold to Gold. I help you understand the types of headlines that work, and those that do not (and why).

What do you think is better:

"Check out my keynote on 'The Biggest Mistakes Sales Executives Make'"

or "Oops! You just fouled up!"

Hey- maybe I'll use that one! Haha...

When you start to understand your headlines, you will approach your email in a completely new way. A previous manager (a CEO, no less) get mad at me for teaching my team how to write better letters. Frankly, he was crazy! If your team cannot write a good letter, how do you know they can communicate with their email, or follow up properly? Seriously! Improving our communication skills is the number one way to improve our ability to sell. Writing powerful headlines means you know the right words and phrases that convey ideas, trigger people to buy, and excite people to take their sales engine, ignite that engine, and send it zipping down the racetrack!

So, how is your sales engine? Is it zippy? Or, does it feel a quart low on oil? The best way to keep the sales engine firing on all cylinders is to maintain it properly. In the world of selling, that means education. You can read it in a book, or you can get the information from direct from the trainer.

Right now, for a limited time, you have an opportunity to learn more about how to shift thinking, what you say does matter, and more in Cold to Gold Mind Spark Sessions TM (http://www.coldtogold.com/). Visit the website, or call me and we will talk about how to work with your team to impact higher results.

Until then, enjoy the free training I just gave you and have a great day!

Your friend in selling and life success,

Scott Andrews, CEO
ARRiiVE Business Solutions
http://www.coldtogold.com/

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Is Cold Calling Frustrating You?

If you're trying to grow your sales revenue success, I'm sure you may be frustrated with cold calling. I can understand why. So many people SOUND like a SALESPERSON. It almost makes you want to hang up on them! For instance, from the last five salespeople who called me regarding "Event Hosting" and "Sales Force Automation" software, FOUR of the FIVE sales people started their call with this question:

"How are you today?"

Seriously. They were that bad! How did they know how I would respond? I could have been having a really bad day! Asking "How are you today" makes you sound like a salesman from the first sentence. That's not something you want to do, is it?

Cold calling is not easy - especially if you don't have a system. Fortunately, you don't have to fret any more, as I've created a system to help you remove the fear of cold calling and get in the door, called Cold to Gold Mind Spark SessionsTM.

Introducing:

Cold to Gold Mind Spark Sessions TM

Rapid Learning Workshops SM

I call my workshops "Mind Spark Sessions" because I've created a rapid learning workshop system that is the closest thing to a "Vulcan Mind Meld" - truly exchanging the my ideas from my head to your head - over four different sessions (modules) that offer the highest impact transfer of learning, interactive workshop, testing, and proof of concept available in education. Mind Spark Sessions go beyond a workshop - they impact your results immediately. The last company I taught Cold to Gold information signed the largest deal in their history just three months later. Now, success like that is cause for celebration.

Cold to Gold Mind Spark Sessions go beyond sales skill training and enter the domain beyond persuasion by offering each participant or sales representative information that contains the secrets to sales superstar special powers. Yet, almost anyone can learn these secrets to immediately increase sales:

First, I focus on the mental shift that must occur to help you make a successful call. This is also equally critical in sending a cold email, or in showing up at a prospect's door unannounced. It is even critical to your website design, so, Marketing people ought to listen up (or attend), too. What's cool about this mental shift is you start to have fun selling again, too. Shouldn't sales be more fun?

I first taught this mental shift to Tim G. while at DecisionOne fifteen years ago. Tim later went blew away his quota the first year selling, then continued skyrocketing his stellar success with Compaq and then HP!

Second, I teach something that is practically NEVER taught in sales training courses, yet is the SINGLE MOST POWERFUL KEY TO SUCCESS and creates a FLOOD of PROSPECTS in your sales funnel. This key, alone, will open more doors to you, make your website more powerful, help you create better sales emails, letters, phone scripts, and communicate LIKE A SALES GOD with your prospects.

Every time I've taught this concept to a sales team, that sales team starts increasing their success almost overnight. Now, for the first time ever, I'm teaching it in Cold to Gold Mind Spark Sessions.

Third, I show you personal tactics to not just cold call, but actually GET IN THE DOOR. Learn some of my personal NINJA METHODS I've used to successfully dial into the Senior Executive's office - without them ever giving me their phone number. One of my tactics I teach will reveal the senior executive's phone number over 80% of the time! Do you have that kind of system now? If you're selling in an enterprise environment, especially, you'll gain new abilities that give you the confidence to truly RID the DREADED FEAR of COLD CALLING FOREVER! Well, at the very least, you'll be more confident and a lot less afraid to call ANYONE and know you have a high chance to succeed at building a relationship with that person. You may not win them all, but wouldn't it matter if you could win just a few more? I'm sure you know what it means when you WIN MORE.... you MAKE MORE!

I once wrote a letter to Jay Leno. Yes, the head of NBC's Tonight Show returned my call PERSONALLY. Can you write a letter that does that? You will have the ability to write letters that open doors you would think totally closed to you before learning Cold to Gold. Does it always work? Of course not - nothing does - however, you'd be surprised at HOW MUCH MORE SUCCESS  you'll have in both SALES and MANAGEMENT when you learn Cold to GOLD.

In addition, I not only teach push techniques, such as making a phone call, sending an email, or mailing a letter, but also PULL techniques, which create something I'll call "Cat String Theory" - where the cat is the prospect and the string is your system and the CATNIP is in your hand! The whole point of cat string theory is to turn the table where instead of chasing after prospects, the PROSPECT CHASES YOU! It's powerful, it works, and they LOVE you for it. HOW COOL is THAT?! Your prospect becomes a customer as you deliver a solution not as a salesperson, but as YOU BECOME THEIR TRUSTED ADVISOR, expert, or even CONFIDANTE. If you don't know how to do this, then this module in Cold to Gold alone is worth the price of admission, which, by the way, is only $297 US for a Mind Spark Session (online workshop price, plus ticket fee from EventBrite) as of March, 2010. Move quickly - this won't be offered at this price for long.

Last, we put it all together. Each piece of the puzzle is carefully laid out so you can see how to better plan, strategize, target, and then DESIGN A CAMPAIGN that attracts your IDEAL customer to you and repels the prospects who will waste your time. If you're like me, the last thing you want is a prospect who won't buy wasting your time, right? Well, this CHANGES where ONLY PROSPECTS WHO BUY - or at least a lot higher percentage of them - are the people attracted into your money making machine. I'm a huge fan of qualifying prospects so only the best prospects end up in my pipeline or on my forecast. As a result of utilizing Cold to Gold, your pipeline will grow more reliable and the time wasters go "goodbye". Speaking of wasting time, the worst mistake you can make is to learn about a system that can change your life and..... wait.... and wait... or worse yet, do nothing. You're not that person, though, right? I mean, if someone showed you that you had gold in your very own backyard, and how to mine for it, would you be digging a hole right now or would you simply walk by and leave it there? That's what I thought. Go to Cold to Gold and click "Start Now" to begin - right now.

Cold to Gold sessions are started on Tuesdays, and continue each day of the week through Friday. So, not only are Mind Spark Sessions different - but they are simple and easy - you don't even have to leave the "field" or fly anywhere or sit in boring hotel conference rooms to learn this information. You can learn everything from your home office or even the comfort of your home.

Cold to Gold is the system you've been looking for to help your rocket blast off! I'm teaching Mind Spark Sessions personally, and also including a FREE special bonus "Gold Map" to help map out the whole process and in addition I'll include a FREE special KEYNOTE for the first 10 people who sign up right now!

Sound cool? I think it does. There are very few trainers in the industry focusing on this segment - yet improving PROSPECTING SKILLS is the HIGHEST IMPROVEMENT area to IMPROVE YOUR SALES RESULTS. Not only that, but if you learn this system correctly, not only does your FORECAST SIZE INCREASE, but also your forecast becomes MUCH MORE ACCURATE! Putting aside the numbers that sales management wants to see, moving beyond cold calling to Cold to Gold creates a system that simply PUTS MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. It's almost like receiving a LICENSE TO PRINT MONEY.

Now, we both know that with the FTC laws I cannot technically guarantee that you'll have as much sales success as I've had or even as other people who give me testimonials. In fact, I'd like to think you might sell more than me; however, I can't really say what will happen - your success is up to you and what you're able to do with it. One thing I can guarantee is that you'll love Cold to Gold and find it useful. If you don't love it and find it useful, simple send me an email within 30 days of your final workshop and I'll send the money back (less any expenses). It is that simple - you don't have anything to lose with a guarantee like that! You don't even have to send anything back. Just tell me, and that's that.

It's like going to a restaurant, ordering calamari, then filet mignon, lobster, and asparagus, enjoying a fine bottle of wine, then topping it off with tiramisu and a 20 year old glass of port for dessert, then walking out and paying nothing! I mean, really, it's that crazy - at least, that's what one of my competitors told me!

Can you guess why I'd offer a guarantee for Cold to Gold Mind Spark Sessions like that?

You got it - I believe in my program that much - I KNOW THIS WORKS. I know that you will love it and find it highly useful to your success at overcoming the fear of cold calling, getting in the door with prospects you previously did not even know at all, and building long lasting successful business relationships. You will likely even form more friendships and create some fans along the way! It's that powerful.

Cold to Gold isn't perfect nor is it for everybody. I mean, if you're the person who thinks every system of selling ought to dial the phone for you, write the letter for you, or meet your prospect for you, I'm sorry, but Cold to Gold probably isn't for you. Perhaps you're in the wrong profession! Seriously, you will have your part in this. But if you're the person who hears life changing information and puts it into play, then Cold to Gold will be music to your ears. And, it's only getting better, as each Mind Spark Session turns up new information (disguised as feedback) I use to make the content even BETTER.

Suppose your gut is saying to you "you know, Scott might have something here.... this just might help me"...well...LISTEN TO YOUR GUT! It's been right before. It is right now. Let's stop making the foolish mistakes that other salespeople make. Let's stop sounding like a salesperson. Let's stop blowing cold calls and start blowing away quotas! I can help you do it. We can do it together. I'm a big believer in having fun, learning some things that change people's lives for the better, and doing something that makes sales a heck of a lot more fun for everyone. The world needs more salespeople we can trust. Heck - the world needs PEOPLE we can trust, can I get an amen? Hahaha... seriously, with Cold to Gold, you gain the confidence you need to sell from integrity, honesty, and clearly, in a way that empowers you to be your best self, where clients love you, and you make more money. That's why I wrote this program. I truly want to see you succeed to the best of your capability. I love helping people get there.

For those of you reading this who normally come here for management advise, blogging advice, or team-building, well, you form relationships, don't you? Even if you don't buy, you know that I care about you and your success. Thanks for bearing with me as I share Cold to Gold - it's so exciting to me to release this to you. Without my readers I woudn't have my success. Without you, I'm nothing. So, I must say I am so grateful for you. I am so thrilled that you're in my life.

Well, I better get back to work. Talking about Cold Calling, for me, is fun - because it is no longer frustrating to make cold calls.... why? Because I have a process called Cold to Gold that turns a crappy frustration into a fun, exciting, and dynamic system that creates more relationships, friends, fans, and customers. I look forward to seeing you in the next Mind Spark Session. Let's learn this together. Let's have some fun. Let's rock our business success to a new level. Sign up for your own workshop at http://coldtogold.com/ by clicking START NOW.

To your success!

Scott

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Copyright © 1999-2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.

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My Sales Team Is A Bunch Of Order Takers

Do you need more sales? Are your sales people good at taking orders but failing at making the numbers?  Have you ever said "Why won't my salespeople pick up the phone and grow some new accounts for us?"

Or, have you ever caught yourself saying "My Sales Team Is A Bunch Of Order Takers"?!

You're not alone. It is why I created Cold to Gold TM (www.ColdtoGold.com). The truth is that salespeople lack a system for getting in the door. Companies, thinking salespeople need to be trained on how to make a sale, spend tons of money on consultative selling processes and company product knowledge training sessions. Your salespeople could have all the knowledge in the world, but if they lack a system to help them actually get in the door, make a call, send an email, or get the appointment, they never get the meeting in the first place!

After realizing I knew how to get in the door AND how little companies were spending on this valuable service, I developed Cold to Gold specifically to meet this need. Cold to Gold breaks down the problem most companies have with their approach to prospecting. We analyze the error in how salespeople approach the entire prospecting process: from strategy to research, practice, cold calls, emails, letters, phone techniques, and move each Mind Spark Session TM participant from guesswork approaches that fail to surefire methods that win. Some salespeople will DOUBLE their production within just days after learning Cold to Gold.

Mind Spark Sessions are a system of learning I discovered by studying the best teachers and learning systems in the world. It is based on 4-hour workshops. I call them mind spark sessions because of the way the information is taught is the fastest way of getting the information in my brain into your brain short of a "Vulcan Mind Meld"! Mind Spark Sessions are highly effective and efficient - as a salesperson, myself, I *hate* spending time in BORING sales training workshops. But I LOVE learning when the people teaching me GET IT: my time is valuable - give it to me straight, quickly, and in a way that INSPIRES ME. Thus - Mind Spark Sessions. Your team won't even have to leave "the field" of selling to learn!

If I'm singing your song, visit http://www.ColdtoGold.com, and sign up your new hires in a Mind Spark Session (webinar). If they report back they love it, enroll the whole sales team! Try it out - I guarantee you'll get the bang for your buck. Even your salespeople who aren't "order takers" will learn some new ideas that will grow their sales, too.

Cheers! ~ Scott

P.S. - For a limited time, I'm offering corporate sponsorships for Cold to Gold. If this might apply to your firm, drop me a note at info (at) ARRiiVE [dot] com.

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Copyright © 1999-2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.
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Are Sales and Relationships Synonymous Terms

I am talking to a bank manager about the possibility of creating a sales training program for her bank.

It's an intriguing opportunity, for several reasons. For one, she mentioned to me that she likes the idea, because her firm currently does not have any formal sales training.

"We call it customer relationship skills but same thing," she corrected herself.

"Is it?" I replied.

"Well, in the end, we want more business," the bank manager said.

This comment is causing me to think about sales in the way my client thinks of sales: where each sell is not really so much about the sell, itself, but about the relationship with each client.

Are sales and relationships synonymous terms?

You see, if the bank has built a strong relationship with you, any time you need to store money (most current "savings accounts"), transact money (checking accounts), save money (with "money market" accounts), or get more money (such as through loans) you will likely consider the bank where you handle your checking or savings account for that new transaction. Am I right or wrong? So, it IS about the relationship!

Imagine if banking approached sales from the perspective of "wham, bam, thank you Ma'am!" and just got their money and then got out, how would they ever succeed? Rather, the bank must deliver upon the promise of (1) being there, (2) offering good rates, and (3) offering outstanding service. If a bank does these three things, and does a better job of building relationships than peer banks, they are likely to grow.

There's more to it than that. The bank also has to offer unique banking products at the right time. But no matter what products they offer, if you don't know who they are how will they sell you anything? It starts with relationship!

But when we think of sales as a relationship building process, or even a "relationship" in simple terms, how else might that impact the way we approach the sales process?

When I consider how to answer this question, I realize that a bank relationship could be like any relationship we build with our friends. How do we form friendships? We find things in common, right? We do things together! If a bank is to be a friend, we must find ways to "relate" to each other. How many times to friends invite each other over or out to do things? With that being the case, banks ought to invite people over. Perhaps having an "open-house" for businesses. Or, participating in "Art After Dark" nights... or having "meet our new business" breakfasts. Anything like this would be valuable, from the relationship-building perspective.

What other things do we do to build relationships? Do we compliment each other? If a bank runs a newsletter, the bank ought to compliment certain customers. Perhaps awards for various things like innovation, creativity, good use of money, outstanding accounting habits, or other creative things like this would be valuable in the process of strengthening a relationship.

When do people need banks the most? This is another area I feel needs focus.

When prospecting, how would banks prospect? If I were a banker, I think I'd be looking for who moved to the area, for one. Or, perhaps, the bank could seek out families who just gave birth to a child. Maybe they could offer a "new child college fund" to parents in the area. Or, parents of kids entering 1st grade could be offered a "first account for a first grader" program. As we know, the earlier you start a savings account, the more that account will be worth by the time the child enters college.

I remember how Citibank built their credit card program by offering cards to college graduates. At the time, many banks wouldn't issue you a credit card unless you already had one (an oxymoron, huh?) and Citibank saw the wisdom in being the first bank to offer you a card, you'd likely keep their card for the longest time. It was true, I had my Citibank card longer than any other credit card.

These are all things I'm starting to think about regarding this program for the bank. What ways is your business unique? How can you relate it to other parts of life? This is how we must think when we are selling. Because sales and relationships can by synonymous.

Do you run a sales team? Are you seeking innovative ways to help your people succeed more?

Implementing a sales training program is a wise idea. The most successful organizations I've ever been part of or led always offer people who interface their customers training. It is a key to your success. I'm going to relaunch Concepts of SellingTM and Cold To GoldTM in the next month (November 2009), so stay tuned for ways ARRiiVE Business Solutions might assist you in this process.
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Above photo courtesy SXC. Copyright © 1999-2009 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.

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Mistakes Cold Calling And Getting It Right with CEO Scott Andrews

After a few awesome guest shows, I'm hosting this week's ARRiiVE: Innovations In Business show. Broadcasting at a unique time of 8:30 A.M. PST, I've created a custom topic just for this show:

Mistakes Cold Calling and Getting It Right

ARRiiVE: Innovations In Business Radio Show features Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

NOTE: I'm doing this earlier than usual!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 8:30 AM PST / 11:30 AM EST

Don't miss out on learning mistakes people make cold calling and ways to get past and correct them to blast your sales success through the roof (or at least get a heck of a lot more qualified appointments). Cold calling doesn't have to be chilly. Defrost your cold-calling and get your customers warmed up to you quickly. Learn about:

GREETING - WARM-UP - REASON - QUICK LOGIC/EMOTION TRIGGERS - NAME DROPPING - ACTION REQUESTS and MORE! Heat up your cold calls and turn them from Cold to Gold! (yep, this is part of my Cold To Gold Program http://www.coldtogold.com/) - free as a special introduction.

It's educational, fun, and easy to participate.

Simple Ways To Listen & Participate:

1. Visit Talkshoe (http://www.talkshoe.com/): Enter Talkshoe show ID 37798 to text comments and listen to the show from your computer.

2. Call in to join the show: Dial (724) 444-7444, enter show 37798 # 1 # if you wish to ask questions of the host or guest.

Also, you may click here to visit/follow the show: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/37798 or http://www.arriive.com/arriive_liive.htm or listen in after completion of the show.
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Copyright © 2008 ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All rights reserved. Want more? SUBSCRIBE.

5 Myths of Sales Prospecting

Sales Prospecting.

When you see those two words, what do you think about?


In my training sessions and talks on Cold To Gold: Prospecting Methods to Overcome Fear and Build Long-lasting Successful Relationships, I find people have some misconceptions about prospecting.

Here's the Top 5 Sales Prospecting Myths:


1. Prospecting is a numbers game.


This isn't completely true. It is about the QUALITY of the numbers. If you are marketing to people who can't afford what you're selling, you'll probably not make as many deals as you would marketing to people who CAN afford what you're selling. When I sold time shares, this was proven true on more than one occasion. If people were allowed to tour who didn't meet the minimum income, they usually didn't buy. Why? They had a hard enough time just keeping a roof over their heads and food in their kids' mouths! Not only that, but if we didn't qualify the tour properly, we might lose a chance to sell. For example, if only one of the partners in a marriage was present, our odds of making a sale went down to almost nil. So, we'd NQ (not qualified) the tour.


You could have a huge leads list, and poor leads, and a small leads list, and great leads. The key to good prospecting is to have a QUALITY list. Working to build your list is the goal of the expert marketer. When you combine great marketing with great prospecting and great selling, the only other things you need are great products and great service.


2. Prospecting is the same as selling.


I actually see marketing, prospecting, and selling as three separate activities. Marketing is the activity you do to discover prospects. This might be an ad, a radio show appearance, or a trade show. Those activities are all marketing related; they are meant to attract people to your company. Prospecting, on the other hand, is outbound activity you make DIRECTLY to targeted companies or individuals who you believe might have an interested in your company's products and services. If you do not prospect, your odds of making a lot of sales by sheer marketing go down dramatically. Selling is the activity of what happens once you have the appointment (telephone, webinar, face-to-face meeting) to determine the prospect's needs and pitch your solution.

Notice: I didn't say you ought to pitch in your prospecting activities. My direct experience indicates you'll have more success by RELATING to your prospect and finding out something that they need than you will by pitching to them. The best way to do this is to share a story, filled with a few key nuggets on how they might benefit, then asking how they might need something similar.


3. All prospects are worth selling to.


In fact, many suspects are simply that. Suspects. You really don't know if someone is a prospect until you've spoken with them. Even then, you might want to disqualify them prior to meeting. After you meet, they still can disqualify themselves. If you are honed in on what people need, and your solution meets that need, then you need to match those two together. Anything outside of that is either a custom solution or not a prospect at this time. Your time is valuable. We can only make so many calls and if you're getting nowhere, move on. Just remember that 90% of sales are made after the 6th contact with a suspect, not the 1st.


4. Strategy and scripting is for newbies.


Strategy and a Prospecting Script are both important to prospecting success. I don't believe you should sound like a rote telemarketer, I just think you ought to know what you're going to say, choose your words carefully, then follow that plan. When I've been most successful, I followed a script. Why? Because I was the most focused and knew why I was doing each step of the prospecting process.


Your strategy is something like this:


a. Get lead from marketer
b. Determine quality of lead
c. Find commonality with prospect (research)
d. Write a letter
e. Make a phone call of introduction
f. Follow-up phone call with a gift


Your script ought to be something more like this:


Example phone call:


ME: "Hello John? I'm glad I reached you. I just spoke to one of your counterparts, Jane Doe, in the Rotary association who indicated you're struggling with some of the similar problems she has at ACME corporation. When we worked with Jane, we helped her grow sales by over 50% in just six months. Her sales team was missing their quota routinely before working with us. Do you have similar challenges with your sales team?"

PROSPECT: "Yes, we do... we're actually having some challenges with sales here, too... who is this I'm speaking with?"


ME: "Thanks for asking. I'm Scott Andrews, from ARRiiVE Business Solutions. John, would you mind sharing, briefly, what type of challenges are you having with hitting sales objectives?"


PROSPECT: "Sure. We're missing quotas. Not only that, but sales people are having a hard time completing their weekly activities. We're seeing a lot of the same prospects week after week. I'm pretty sure they're not picking up the phone enough. My boss wants me to fire half the team, but I know we have good people. They're just not getting enough activity happening."


ME: "Ah. So, the challenge is in getting your team focused on better methods of prospecting, then, would you say?"

and so on. As you can tell, I have a script, but I'm willing to modify it depending upon what my prospect says. I'm not immediately trying to close for an appointment. And, I'm trying to determine if my prospect is, in fact, a qualified prospect, rather than just a suspect. If I value my time, my prospects will value it, too.


I share the scripting process in much more detail in my Cold To Gold sales training program.


5. Propecting is a time-consuming, grueling process.


Actually, prospecting doesn't have to take too long, if you know what you want to accomplish.


When you're blocking out time for prospecting, make sure you dedicate that time to the process of calling prospecting clients. Pick up the phone and ask for them, directly. Get in and talk with them as if they were an old friend. Don't be too chummy, be professional. But, you may find that when you call people you ought to aim to discover what they need more than worrying about whether or not you have the appointment.


Frankly, I'd rather not meet with someone who is only meeting to be nice. If they don't know they need what I offer, and are ready to buy if I meet their need, then they might be wasting me time. Be aware of what they tell you. Ask them if they will buy your solution if you meet their need and offer an price that meets their budget. If they say "no" to this question, you've got an obstacle. You've either got to clear the obstacle or clear meeting with them in lieu of meeting with someone who will actually buy from you.


Prospecting can be fun, if you give yourself little rewards. For example, when I'm making calls, I'll block out a four hour stretch. I break this down in to one hour segments. Then, I work each hour to get into three companies. If I can get into a total of 12 companies, I had a pretty productive prospecting session.


Try to focus on what you want, begin with a strategy, script your call around what the prospect needs, and then block out time to make your calls. See if this doesn't help you turn around your new sales appointments and improve the quality of your sales calls.
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Post by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

ARRiiVE Business Solutions helps executives improve sales, launch products and services, and build dynamic, cross-functional collaborative teams. For more information, contact info (at) ARRiiVE (dot) com or call us at 1 (805) 459-6939. Visit Cold To Gold for our newest sales training program.

Copyright © 2007 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. You may republish this article only if you publish in WHOLE with the COPYRIGHT and ALL ACTIVE LINKS intact.

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