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Welcome to this week's
NeverColdCall.com Newsletter
by #1 Bestselling Author
Frank Rumbauskas
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FROM:
Frank Rumbauskas
I was trying to decide upon what to write about this week when
the following email came in:
"Frank, I need to make my quota this month, help!"
Well ................
I think you and I both know the odds of turning things around that
quickly, considering the fact that we're already into the month, are
slim to none. This brings me to the topic I'd like to discuss - the
importance of being organized, having organized plans that you stick
with, and I'd like to touch once again on the concept of using
systems and your overall "system of systems."
Probably the single biggest reason I struggled in my early days of
selling was simply my lack of organization. I carried a scheduler
just like everyone else, and would have defined blocks of time set
aside for meetings, appointments, training, and other things that
were pre-set. The rest of my schedule I simply left blank with the
intention of using it to prospect for new business, but of course
those hours were spent aimlessly thanks to the lack of any real
planning.
Next, I read somewhere that you should block out specific hours for
cold calling much like you would for appointments. So I began doing
just that. The problem was, I still had no plan to carry out during
those hours. Not to mention the fact that cold calling never got any
real results in the first place. So I'd waste those hours wandering
around trying to decide which buildings to hit or fooling around in
the office shuffling leads and doing all the other things we're all
guilty of doing in order to avoid real work.
Then I decided to hold myself accountable for doing a fixed number
of cold calls during my set prospecting hours. This is how I
accidentally discovered that leaving behind a well-written marketing
piece on a cold call, rather than simply getting a contact name and
leaving, triples or quadruples response rates. I drafted and copied
a one-page flyer solely for the purpose of keeping track of how many
cold calls I had done each day. In other words, if I committed to 50
calls, I'd copy 50 flyers and not stop until I had run out. Or if I
ran out of time, I could count the remaining flyers and know exactly
how many quality calls I had done.
(By quality calls, I mean the
ones that accepted my marketing piece and forwarded it to a decision
maker. This kept the "no soliciting, get out or we'll call security"
ones out of my daily count.)
At this point I finally began to see some measurable results from my
efforts. Interestingly, they all came in the form of a call-back or
fax-back from my flyers, rather than any progress or set
appointments on the cold calls themselves. This is precisely when
the light bulb went on in my head and the realization that there are
dozens of better ways to acquire qualified prospects than cold
calling.
In any case, getting back to my point about being organized and
systematic, this is how I first learned about it, and unfortunately,
I had to learn it by trial-and-error. I could have saved myself a
lot of time, money, and misery if someone would have simply told me
this from the start, which is why I'm now so committed to teaching
these principles to salespeople. If I can save just one person from
going through what I had to go through (being broke, fired, put on
plan, job-hopping, etc.), then my efforts will be worth it to me in
the end.
Moving on, I'm sure we've all been required to write a 'business
plan' as part of our job requirements. As far as I can remember, I
had to do it every January in every sales job I've had. Typically,
what managers wanted to see in these 'business plans' wasn't
really a business plan at all. It was the old "I plan to make this
many calls to get this many appointments to make this many
presentations to get this many sales." That's not a true business
plan - that's the old, worn-out sales training model that worked
once upon a time but is now outdated and obsolete. Granted, it makes
sense in theory, but if most salespeople are brutally honest with
themselves about how many cold calls it takes to get a qualified
appointment who is in a buying mode, and what their true close ratio
really is, they'll see that there simply aren't enough hours in the
day to make that model work once you figure in time for meetings,
conducting appointments, drafting proposals, doing expense reports
and other routine duties, etc.
What I'd like to see more salespeople do is write a real business
plan. This will ensure your success. Chances are, your manager will
be quite impressed with it and happy to see you making such a
calculated effort to succeed. Even if that's not the case and you're
required to present the time-worn, waste-of-time "I'm going to make
this many calls to get this many appointments" crap, you still need
to have a real business plan for yourself. Give your managers what
they want to see, but use your real plan to attain the success you
desire.
Creating this plan goes back to the concept of having a "system of
systems." Before you can create your master plan, you must first
write plans for each of your individual prospecting systems you
intend to use. Whether you're using the individual systems I teach,
systems you've learned on your own, or systems learned elsewhere,
it's very important to have each and every one planned out in
writing. Then, and only then, can you write a master plan that ties
everything together into one overall business plan that will work
for you to achieve the goals you've set out for yourself.
Going back to our friend who said "I need to make quota this month,"
what I've just explained should show why neither myself nor anyone
else can help someone who is out to make quota this month when we're
already well into the month and that person has already fallen
behind. A clear plan needs to be
outlined and followed in order to achieve any sales goals, whether
it's a small ramp-up quota, or whether you're already a top producer
who is now setting out to exceed 500%. Personally, I think each and
every salesperson out there should draft a complete business plan,
consisting of a system of systems, to attain 200% of quota. Even if
all doesn't go as planned and a lot of people flake out on you after
committing to buy, you'll still be fairly certain of attaining at
least 150% by doing so. Why not go for it? It's really a lot easier
than you think if you go about it in such a well-organized,
well-planned manner.
If you're looking for ideas as to what, specifically, you can
implement as to your individual lead-generating systems, please take
a look at my "Cold Calling Is A Waste Of Time: Sales Success In The
Information Age" program. It contains explanations of all the
individual systems I used to achieve tremendous sales numbers in my
career. It also shows you how to piece everything together to form
your "system of systems" and also contains plenty of general sales
tips and ideas that can help anyone regardless of where they are
today. These are all practical ideas that anyone can start using
right away, and after you've built it all into your master business
plan, you'll begin to see astounding results. Order it right now at:
Order 'Cold Calling Is A Waste Of Time' right
now
You'll have the e-book
in your hands in about one minute, along with a bonus package of
over $300 in amazing products that will have you selling more
immediately! (The book and CDs will ship within one business
day.)
(To order by phone please call (602)231-6711, 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.)
Be sure to send in any questions you'd like to see
answered in a future mailbag. The email address is:
newsletter@nevercoldcall.com
And keep the success stories
coming. Include "Success Story" as the subject
line and send to:
successstories@nevercoldcall.com
I read those first!
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Thanks once again for your time and thank you for
reading. Good luck and happy selling!
To your success,
Frank J. Rumbauskas, Jr.
PS: Imagine what it would be like if you never
had to make a cold call - ever again. You'll be able to do exactly
that with "Cold Calling Is A Waste Of Time: Sales Success In The
Information Age" - get it right now:
Order 'Cold Calling Is A Waste Of Time' right
now
Copyright 2008 Frank J. Rumbauskas, Jr. and FJR
Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. "Cold Calling
Is A Waste Of Time: Sales Success In The Information
Age" and "Never Cold Call Again" are registered
trademarks of FJR Advisors, LLC.
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