Mastering Lead Flow: Building a Sales Pipeline That Never Stops

Episode Transcript

John (00:00):
Build a nonstop lead flow machine.
You need consistent lead flow.
The irony of being the world'sgreatest closer is you will sell
nothing to anyone if you can'tget in front of a client to
sell.
The number one most importantthing you must have as a
salesperson is a customer.
This is more important thanhaving a product or service to
sell.
If you have the world's greatestproduct but nobody to sell it to

(00:20):
you'll never sell anything atall.
But if you have hundreds orthousands of customers you can
always ask them what they wantor need to find a product or
service that they already want.
This is why companies likeFacebook, Google, YouTube,
Instagram, TikTok, and Amazon,among others, view the
acquisition of clients, even fora free service, as their biggest
asset.
The first step that they alltook was to find anything they

(00:41):
could to get a user base, andthen build additional products
and services they could monetizeto that customer base.
They all understand onefundamental truth.
Without a customer, you have nobusiness.
And if you don't have acustomer, and you don't have
their attention, you have no wayto sell them anything, anytime,
or anywhere, at any price.
As salesmen, we instinctivelyunderstand this more than our
CEOs, more than the marketingdepartment, more than our sales

(01:02):
managers, more than HR andoperations.
We understand that our abilityto make more money Then
virtually anyone in our company,regardless of how many fancy
degrees and how large themountains of college debt they
carry are, is 100 percentdependent upon our ability to
get in front of, pitch, and sellto customers.
The flow of new prospects thatenter the top of our funnel is

(01:23):
what most of us refer to as ourlead flow.
Why is it important to have notjust leads, but lead flow?
Anyone can have leads, but tohave a consistent and
predictable flow of leads is theholy grail of making consistent
money in sales.
How many sales jobs have youapplied to where in the first
round of interviews, theinterviewer sends you a
spreadsheet to fill out?
The exercise is there to haveyou build up a database of your

(01:45):
circle of influence.
People who are most likely topick up the phone and answer the
call.
And most importantly, listen toyou when you tell them about the
new company that you're workingfor and the amazing product or
service that you offer.
Now, if you're lucky, you wereable to fill out that listing of
all of your family, neighbors,college roommates, and the kids
you grew up with back in yourhometown.
You finished your list andrealized that you had at least

(02:06):
50 people you could call whenyou originally thought you would
only be able to list like 10.
You started the job and yourmanager tells you it's time to
call your leads now, and yourealize that what you have
aren't leads, they are barelyeven prospects, and most
importantly, they're your familyand your friends, and once you
run out of them, you need a planfor what's next.
Leads, prospects, and circles.
Your sales managers often callanyone you can potentially have

(02:29):
a conversation with a lead.
Of course, as a sales rock star,you understand that only some of
the people are actually leads,and most are barely even
prospects.
Your target market, this is theunwashed masses, everyone who
exists in your market.
who may have a want or a needfor your service but doesn't
know you exist or has notexpressed interest.
Sell Ford cars.
This is everyone in a 50 mileradius that is open to the idea

(02:51):
of someday at least consideringa Ford.
Sphere.
This is people you know that mayhave a want or a need for your
service or who can introduce youto someone who does.
This is family, friends, pastclients, and people you meet
carrying on your lifetime inbusiness.
Leads, people from your targetmarket and sphere who have been
identified as a potential timelymatch for your product or

(03:12):
services, and who you haveidentified with a plan to
engage.
Prospects, a lead with which youhave an interaction with an
expression of interest orstarted at least some steps in
the sales process.
Customers have made a purchase,and current clients are someone
who is likely to do repeatbusiness or refer you for
additional customers.
The thing is the salespersonthat you need to be spending

(03:35):
much of your time as humanlypossible with prospects
customers and clients This iswhere your cash flow is But in
order to have them you have tocreate them from your sphere and
leads The more timely targetedleads you have, the more
prospects you will turn intocustomers and clients, even a
terrible salesperson with enoughprospects can make a killing in
sales.
But a closer, a closer can sellmore to a smaller number of

(03:56):
prospects or an insane amount toa larger number of prospects.
Next, you should take a fewminutes and think about the
numbers that you need to hitwithin your industry.
I'm going to take real estatefor example.
If you are a realtor averaging 2percent per sale after broker's
fees and you want to make aquarter million dollars a year
in gross commission income, orGCI, you need to sell 12.
5 million dollars in total.

(04:17):
If your market averages 200, 000dollars per sale, you need to
sell 62.
5 homes with a single side ofthe transaction, or 31 14 homes
if you both listed the home.
Let's assume you handle bothsides, sometimes, maybe you need
to sell a total of 50 homes ayear.
That's 4 or 5 homes per month,average for an entire year.
In order to do this, you need asubstantial flow of leads.

(04:40):
If 1 out of every 10 prospectsyou talk to ends up buying or
selling a home, you need 50brand new prospects in your
pipeline each and every month.
Realtors do this by acombination of keeping their
sphere warm at all times throughphone calls, mailers, social
media, and just being present inthe lives of their sphere year
round.
In real estate, family, friends,and past clients are one of the

(05:00):
best sources of quality leads.
Realtors also often purchaseleads from sources such as
Zillow and Realtor.
com, as well as running socialmedia advertising campaigns,
holding open houses, Yard signs,higher performing realtors will
become a well known brand withnames within their communities,
buying billboards, sponsoringlocal events, and essentially
becoming a name within theirtarget market that simply cannot

(05:23):
be ignored.
If you aren't a realtor, I willbet that you know every single
person within your social mediacircle who is even a moderately
successful realtor because youknow you simply can't miss them.
You may be annoyed by it, youmay be entertained or even
amused, but you will know thatthey are realtors and you will
know that they are listing andselling homes regularly.
And when the time comes to buyor sell a home, you very well

(05:44):
might call them or even refer afriend to them if you are ever
asked if you know someone in thebusiness.
The Annoying Omnipresent Realtorhas one thing that is very
important.
Your attention.
And if you're a realtor readingthis and you don't have your
friend's attention, you arelosing sales.
You are losing 100 percent freeleads that will drop in your lap
infrequently and unpredictably,but will drop in if you gain and

(06:04):
keep enough of your sphere'sattention.
And you're reading this rightnow saying, but John, I have
been posting on social media andhounding my sphere, and I still
don't get 50 leads per month.
Heck with my sphere, there is noway I'll get even 50 qualified
leads per year.
This is where real estate andall other industries become
suddenly the same.
When you watch Mad Men, yourealize that Don Draper is
simply the best salesperson onTV.

(06:26):
He sells hard, he sellssmoothly, and he sells big.
He commands attention andcapitalizes on it.
But the thing is, if you lookone level deeper, the very
product he's selling is sales.
He sells advertising campaignsfor big companies to convert The
unaware public into leads,prospects, customers, and
clients.
He does this better than anyonein the dreary wood paneled smoke

(06:47):
filled whiskey centered officewithout computers, cell phones,
social media, and other toolsthat we take for granted every
day.
The key thing here is he isexemplifying the very thing his
clients want and need.
And that is attention, actionand sales.
What he really sells is himself.
His ideas, his confidence in hisideas, and the results his ideas
will gain for his clients.

(07:08):
The ad boards, demographics, thenumbers, they're all just a
backdrop to what the customer isreally buying.
And that is Don Draper.
No matter what industry you'rein or what you're selling, if
it's B2B or B2C, you need yourcustomers to know you exist and
want to be the kind of personthat they will buy from because
they believe that not only arethey buying what you are

(07:28):
selling, but they are buying.
You.
The two most effective methodshistorically to acquire clients
attention have been advertisingand direct sales, a.
k.
a.
cold calling, both in person andover the phone.
Advertising versus cold calling.
Every salesman loves a steadysupply of qualified, motivated
leads, and throughout thehistory of sales, there have
been two tried and true methodsof getting them, advertising and

(07:50):
cold calling.
Now, as much as we salespeoplelove talking to prospects, we
hate talking to leads.
Prospects are friendly,interested, know our name, laugh
at our jokes, and make us feelmostly warm and fuzzy inside.
While leads hang up on us, callus names, dodge our calls, and
are generally there just to makeus feel like never picking up
the phone again.
Now, depending on your industryand employer, you may have a

(08:11):
steady stream of companysupplied prospects that are
highly motivated calling you atjust the right time, or you may
be dialing for dollars 100percent responsible for
developing your own leads,prospects, and customers.
If advertising gives us what wewant consistently without the
pain of cold calling.
Why don't we all just do thatall the time?
Well, because cold calling ischeap and effective while

(08:32):
advertising is expensive andineffective.
For anyone starting out with astrong current flow of leads,
cold calling or outboundactivity is often the closest
thing that you can have to asale.
Advertising and marketing areeffective at long term.
But require cash flow up frontto generate leads.
This is one reason the mostsuccessful and entrenched
players in your industry arealso often the biggest

(08:54):
advertisers.
Now depending on your industryand employer, you may be reliant
100 percent on advertising andfollowing up on inbound leads
100 percent outbound activitybased hunting your own business
or somewhere in between.

Mixcast 4-7 (09:06):
Chapter 12, lead generation.
Lead generation is the processof generating lead flow.
Unless you want to spend yourlife making outbound cold calls,
you need to engage in consistentlead generation activities.
Some of these are moreappropriate if you are a
business owner.
However, if you are a leadingsalesperson whose commission
structure supports individuallead generation at volume, then
these apply to you as well.

(09:27):
The common types of leadgeneration sources include
sphere of influence, family,friends, former clients, former
coworkers, acquaintances, Ifthis is relevant to your
industry, one of the quickestways to get in front of
qualified buyers is to open upyour address book, your
Facebook, and your heart, andyou start talking to each and
every person in your sphere inorder to let them know what you
are doing, what you are selling,and this is important, do not

(09:50):
try to sell them.
Just call them, have a nice nonself centered conversation, talk
about them 80 percent of thetime and yourself 20%.
Schedule lunches, coffeemeetings, a phone call, a Zoom,
or a FaceTime, but just get incontact and let them know that
you're thinking about them.
And when they ask what you'redoing, you can tell them.
Maybe they have a need, maybethey don't, maybe they know

(10:11):
someone else who does.
When working with your sphere,don't go in headfirst like some
MLM hun blabbing about thenewest, greatest product in the
world and being pushy.
Just genuinely connect andcasually work in what you're
doing, and if the time arisesusually if you focus on your
friend with great interest, itwill come up.
One of the most effective waysis simply keep your social media

(10:32):
circles engaged in what you aredoing as a person.
Share your personal life,professional accomplishments,
and how those things coincide.
There's nothing more annoyingthan the realtor that makes
their personal Facebook allabout their real estate job,
begging for listings everysingle day year round.
While this lets your circle knowthat you're a realtor, it isn't
doing anything to make you amore likable person.
Instead, share yourself.

(10:53):
Who you really are and includewhat you do along with that.
Basically, be genuine.
Make sure that it's apparentthat you are in the business.
And then, when your friends needyou, they'll let you know.
When thinking about marketingcampaigns, it's important to
start with your goal in mind.
Marketing needs to be designedto support your ultimate goal.
If that goal is a purchase onyour website with no human
interaction, then design it forthat.

(11:15):
If it's to get you brandawareness on your marketplace,
design it for that.
If it's to generate requests forinformation that you or your
salespeople can follow up on,design it for that.
If it's to build authority inyour marketplace, setting you up
with a particular reputation asan expert or a leader in your
field, design it for that.
Set a budget and a timeframe andthen track the results.
Don't be afraid to modify themessage, increase the budget, or

(11:37):
even pull back completely.
Anytime the marketing is pullingyou farther away from the goal.
People often confuse marketingwith advertising.
While they are both connectingyou with new people who don't
already know about you, they canboth work within very similar
medium and methods.
The key difference is thatmarketing is used strategically
while advertising is usedtactically.
Basically, marketing supportslong term, broad based goals

(11:59):
advertising.
is the shorter term tool thatyou use to achieve your
immediate results.
Advertising for a salesperson isbest used to get inquiries.
Build a marketing list, setappointments, and get inbound
calls or even full fledgedwebsite orders.
When advertising, you will runshort term campaigns tracking
your Total ad spend and resultsrunning AB test on things like

(12:19):
your ad messages, upsells, costper customer acquired, and the
lifetime value of a customer.
These metrics will allow you toadjust your ad purchases and
offers to maximize your leadflow and profits per ad dollar
spent.
Marketing is used in sales tobuild longer term value in terms
of name recognition and databaseof less targeted cold leads that
can be repeatedly marketed tountil they are warm.

(12:40):
If you are looking to build aconsistent, predictable sales
income, the most importantingredient is a consistent flow
of warm or even hot leads.
When I was building tbhost inthe late 90s and early 2000s,
one way we achieved consistent100 percent compounded sales
growth for 10 straight years wasby having a strong lead flow
through referrals.
80 percent of our referrals camefrom a few key partners, many of

(13:01):
whom were affiliate partners.
In other words, individuals whopromoted our services in
exchange for a recurringcommission for every sale that
we made On our end, we paid onlyfor those leads that turned into
sales and on our partner's end,they got paid a lifetime
residual, which meant they couldvisibly see how well we took
care of their customers becausethey would stay for years.

(13:21):
This incentivized our partnersto more enthusiastically market
and recommend our products andservices, and in turn increased
our lead flow and sales whilekeeping our marketing costs
directly in line with ourrevenue.
We had affiliate partners makingstrong six figure incomes just
for referring clients to us, andwe found other partners we could
refer our clients to withcomplementary services and a
similar revenue sharingagreement, increasing our profit

(13:44):
per customer as well as ourvalue to our customers by having
additional offerings.
In one trusted place, you may bein an industry where affiliate
program types of arrangementswon't work.
You can still build a referralnetwork that can provide you a
steady source of leads andcustomers at a very low cost per
lead.
One of the most effectivemethods is to build a joint
venture with another companythat provides a non competitive

(14:05):
approach.
Peting mutually complementaryproduct or service and then
provide leads back and forthbetween one another.
The benefit here is that byproviding a lead for your
partner, you are strengtheningyour own offering by
recommending a product orservice that your customers will
want in concert with your ownproducts.
Your partner will have the samebenefit and you will each enjoy
a cross pollination of new leadsin a consistent basis.

(14:26):
An excellent example of this isin real estate where it's
illegal in most states to payfor many types of referrals as
well as illegal to charge for areferral to a partner.
Successful agents providereferrals to mortgage lenders,
insurance agents, attorneys,accountants, landscapers, and
anyone else who may have aninside track on when one of
their own clients may beentering the market to buy or

(14:47):
sell a home.
For the realtor, having anetwork of trusted local experts
that can be referred to a clientbuilds trust and loyalty and
value for the REALTOR.
For the partners, it's a goodsource of leads that they don't
have to generate the hard way.
They only have to take greatcare of the client to keep more
referrals coming.
When the mortgage lender,insurance agent, or accountant
has a client who mentionsmoving, they provide a lead to

(15:08):
the REALTOR and the REALTORtakes great care of the
referral.
Thereby solidifying therelationship with the client and
the referrer.
Each side helps the other byproviding both a lead and a
service that helps the otherside successfully service their
own clients.
It's a true win-win situation.
Joint ventures do not work whenthe partner should not both
giving equal value.

(15:28):
For instance, if a referralreferred 30 clients to a
mortgage lender and the lenderrefers only two clients back,
the realtor will likely belooking for a new partner who is
willing to give as well as takein the lead department.
Likewise, if you don't take careof the clients, you will not be
on the referral list for longbecause the number one thing I
or anyone else cares about whenreferring a client of mine to

(15:49):
someone else is that they aretreated as well if not better
than I could have treated themmyself.
Always be mindful that theperson that your partner refers
to you is their client and it'syour responsibility to make them
feel thankful they refer thebusiness to you by making them
look good.
Don't offer competing productsor services.
Don't refer to competitors ofyour partner.

(16:11):
Don't do anything to sour thatrelationship.
And always do your best toprovide more value to your JV
partner.
Then you got in return.
Again, keep track of your leads,your referrals, and your
revenues.
Reward your strongest JVpartners as well as you can
within the framework of what'sethical and legal within your
industry.
When I started real estate, myvery first listing came as a

(16:31):
result of attending a smallbusiness networking event.
I met a person who was in themortgage business lending money
to house flippers.
We chatted about his businessand how he could help clients
that I would come across in thefuture.
We exchanged contacts, connectedon LinkedIn and went our
separate ways.
A few days later, I got a phonecall from him because he had a
client that was in my area thatwas thinking of selling one of
his flips.

(16:52):
I thanked him, contacted theclient, and listed the home the
next day.
I marketed the home, and we soldit in a down market at a price
20 percent higher than it wasappraised for within two weeks.
The lender was thrilled becausehis client was thrilled.
I was happy because I enlistedand sold a home within weeks of
getting my license from a warmreferral.

(17:13):
And I've done many more realestate sales with that client
and remain friends to this day.
I've referred him homeimprovement projects, hired him
to do renovations on home I wasselling myself, and to family
members.
I referred many clients to theoriginal lender and we all got
much more value, both monetarilyand personally, than just a
single transaction because allthree of us had focused on

(17:35):
giving the best service possibleto each other and just genuinely
caring about one another aspeople.
Another lead source a lot of usrely on is purchase leads.
In real estate, the big sourcesare web aggregators like
Realtor, Zillow, and Trulia.
Insurance companies pay leadgenerators like QuoteWizard, and
home repair people are payingAngie's List and Home Advisors,
among others.

(17:56):
Again, if you go to sales forumsfor the respective industries,
you'll see countless argumentsthat these lead sources are
killing the markets, ruining theindustries, and making people go
broke paying for leads that justdon't convert.
All of these things are true,and none of these things are
true.
The number one thing you need todo when you start paying for
leads is close the fucking sale.
If you can do this consistentlyand at a predictable pace, you

(18:17):
can track your numbers and knowyour ROI and budget according to
scale your business.
For example, in real estate,realtors consistently complain
about how they pay thousands ofdollars to Zillow and get junk
leads that don't close.
Meanwhile, they neglect to saythat they have no CRM, no 10
month follow up plan with dozensof fully scripted touches across
phone, social media.
Text message and mail to keepthe leads warm until they are

(18:39):
serious.
They don't have a consistentsales process to effectively
convince the buyer to work withthem exclusively and guide the
client to a purchase.
They don't tell you that it tookthem so long to contact most of
the leads back that they hadalready moved on to another
realtor long before they evenhad the chance.
You won't hear this because therealtors that actually do those
things are busy showing housesto those customers, filing

(19:01):
paperwork with lenders and titleagencies, and following up with
the same people the whiningagents are complaining about
being a junk lead.
Now I'm not saying that everylead that comes through Zillow
is a great lead.
Even Zillow's own salespeoplewill tell you that leads only
convert around 10 percent, butif they average out to convert
at 10 percent on average, thensome people are closing them at
3 percent, some at 5, some at10, and some at 15 or even 20

(19:23):
percent.
Now, if you think about therealtors that are closing them
closer to 15 to 20 percent orcomplaining, you would be wrong,
unless they were trying toconvince other weaker agents
that it's not worth the effortto reduce their own competition.
As a matter of fact, they won'tbe saying much most of the time
because they'll simply be toobusy closing the very leads that
the others are complainingabout.
Now, the thing with paid leadsis that not all of them are

(19:45):
equal.
There are different levels oftemperature, ranging from ice
cold age leads to burning hotpre qualified ready to sign on
the dotted line right here rightnow for the first person that
answered the phone leads.
Some services charge differentrates based on the temperature
of the leads that they provide,as well as varying costs for
levels of exclusivity, urgency,and even live transfers.
The key with paying for leads isyou 100 percent absolutely need

(20:07):
to have a plan and how you'regoing to handle them from start
to follow up for asking foradditional referrals after the
sale.
You have to have a budget and ascript and be ready to execute
when you turn the flow on.
Do this, practice, perfect, andrepeat or else you'll be wasting
your money like the negativeNellies you hear complaining on
the forums.
Developing this plan is veryindustry specific and beyond the

(20:28):
scope of the this particularbook.
However, we do offer individualand small group coaching and
plan development atsalescoachinglab.
com.
If you are responsible forgenerating your own leads, it is
important that you are focusingon two things, quantity of your
leads and quality of your leads.
Without sufficient quantity ofleads, every single pitch takes
on the importance of a life ordeath struggle.

(20:49):
And without the quality of yourleads, you'll soon be burned out
from losing the sale over andover and over.
In order to balance these two,you will need a solid plan
customized to your specificproduct, service, price point,
customer base, and valueproposition.
The full scope of developingyour own lead generation, again,
is specific to your exactindustry, location, product, and
budget.
It's beyond what this book candeliver.

(21:10):
However, I do offer consultingservices at salescoachinglab.
com, along with a small groupmastermind for the highest
achieving salespeople in avariety of industries, where we
collaborate and develop a fullyfleshed out generate the
generation plan that grows andchanges with you over time,
specifically tailored to you andyour specific situation
together.

Mixcast 4-8 (21:30):
Chapter 13, outbound reach, aka cold
calling.
Most sales people hate outboundcold calling.
Go on any sales related forum,bulletin board, or social media
group, and you'll undoubtedlysee someone saying something to
the effect that real sales isdoor knocking or cold calling.
And while these are great andvaluable elements to your sales
arsenal, depending on yoursituation, they may range from

(21:51):
the only way you get leads andmake sales to something that you
rarely, if ever, do.
In my career, I have cold calledinto small businesses, Fortune
500 companies, government,financial industries, and
homeowners.
And for many years, I spent mydays making 100 manual outbound
dials per day, battlinggatekeepers and doing whatever
it took.
To get a decision maker on thephone, I've showed up
unannounced at a business or ahome and introduced myself with

(22:13):
a smile and asked for anappointment right then and
there, then pitched and sold onthe spot.
I have also worked in situationswhere there were systems in
place that supplemented myoutbound reach with inbound
leads and in industries where 99percent of all the leads were
inbound and generated throughadvertising and other sources.
The biggest thing to understandthat is if you do not have a
lead flow machine set up thatprovides you with a consistent

(22:36):
stream of leads, then you willhave to spend a large segment of
your day on outbound reach.
The two basic type of outboundsales campaigns are door to door
sales and telephone coldcalling.
While they are very different inexecution, they are very similar
in process and function.
They are both designed to getyou in front of a potential
prospect that you have likelynever met before and who
probably knows nothing about youor your product or service, who

(22:59):
did not ask to be contacted, andlikely expressed no prior
interest, then set anappointment or make a sale right
then or there.
Door to door sales is a long,hard, thankless work that has.
Being given a bad reputation bymany of the unscrupulous
characters that have come beforeus.
Today, when going door to door,you're faced with cameras, and
talking doorbells, and nosyneighbors, and even local laws

(23:20):
prohibiting solicitation withouta permit.
You walk and knock in the rain,the sun, the snow, you wear out
countless pairs of shoes, getbarked at, yelled at stopped by
the police, and if you keep itup long enough and are good at
it.
Enough sales to keep youknocking again tomorrow.
Some of the highest paidsalespeople in the country are
door to door salespeople.
On glamorous, blue collar, hardworking men and women selling

(23:40):
new roofs, solar panels,freezers full of meat, homes,
schools, candy drives, andinsurance, door to door is still
going strong in the B2B sales,with people selling industrial
products, payroll services,accounting, business consulting,
alarm systems, employeebenefits, and the list is nearly
endless.
If I left you off, please don'tbe offended.
The book can only be so long,and the fact is that for all of

(24:01):
the hate it gets, door to doorsales is a skill set.
That once acquired will allowyou to make a living in a
variety of industries for therest of your life.
Telephone cold calling used tobe the 900 pound gorilla in the
room and the phone was simplythe number one most effective
tool in the world to get salesand get them quickly in pretty
much every B2B and B2C industryand in practically every country

(24:23):
in the world.
Modern technology and changingsocial norms is changing how we
use our phones.
Back in the days of landlines,it was considered rude to let
the home phone ring for morethan four times before you
answered.
You answered every call becausethere was no caller ID and no
answering machine.
Over the last few decades, thesimple act of answering a phone
from a number you don't know hasgradually gone away.

(24:43):
Text messaging, robodialers,spam voicemails, and address
books built into our phones hascaused many consumers to simply
stop answering a phone foranyone they don't already know.
Additionally, in youngergenerations, social norms are
shifting to the point thatinstead of being rude to not
answer a call, it's consideredrude to call without texting
first.
Countless people have heraldedthe death of the cold call, but

(25:04):
it's premature to count it outjust yet.
In B2B sales in particular, alot of business is done over the
phone, and gatekeepers stillexist.
In B2C, it's getting harder toget in touch with people by
calling, but if they areinterested in what you are
selling, a well worded voicemailmay garner a callback.
You can get lucky often enoughto start a conversation and even
set an appointment.

(25:25):
And I still, as I write thisbook, call strangers on the
phone who don't know me andweren't expecting my call, then
sell them insurance over thephone with a one call close.
So while outbound reach isgetting more difficult in some
ways, it does take a largeroutbound dialing volume to have
the same number of conversationsas you may have had 10 or 20
years ago.
And You can do it with moreefficient tools and in reality,

(25:48):
achieve much the same resultsnow as you would have before.
Eight tips for success andoutbound sales.
Number one, set a schedule andfollow it.
Number two, focus outbound reachon people who are in your target
market.
Number three, qualify first.
Sell second.
Number four, get theappointment.
Number five, follow a veryspecific script or process that

(26:10):
allows you to control the callwith confidence.
Number six, track your numbers.
Dials, knocks, prospectscontacted, prospects converted
to leads, appointment set,appointments made, sales made,
revenue generated, commissionearned.
Know all of these.
Number seven, track and adjustyour plan to meet your sales
goals.
Always follow up with somethingphysical or email to remember
you by.

(26:30):
A flyer, brochure, additionalinformation supporting your
value to the client.
Now let's go through each ofthese in detail.
1.
Set a schedule and follow it.
This should be obvious, but thenumber one reason that people
fail at outbound sales is simplynot following a set schedule.
Set a time in stone in yourdaily schedule and hold yourself
accountable to never miss itunder any circumstances.
Remember, the seeds you planttoday are the seeds you harvest

(26:53):
tomorrow.
Every single time that youdeviate from your outreach
schedule, you are sabotagingyour own harvest.
Number two, focus outbound reachon people who are in your target
market.
Blindly dialing just to feelbusy is another reason a lot of
people fail in sales.
Being busy is not the same asworking hard.
Time spent reaching out to andconnecting with people who are

(27:14):
not in your market wastes bothyour time and theirs.
Systemize a way to reach yourtarget customers and connect
with them, and only them.
Rainmakers spend their time notjust cold calling, but cold
calling the right people.
Number three, qualify first,sell second.
Congratulations.
Someone answered your call.
And they want to talk.

(27:35):
This is the part where we loseour heads and get overly excited
about having someone actuallytake our call that we forget
this step.
Your top priority, now that youhave a human on the phone, is to
quickly determine if this personis someone who is qualified to
do business with you.
Do they need or use a product orservice like yours?
Do they have money to spend?
Is there some reason that youwill be unable to provide your

(27:56):
product to them?
Find this out quickly and ifthey qualify, move them into
your pipeline.
And if they don't, move them outas fast as possible so you won't
waste your valuable time chasingthem now or in the future.
Early in your call, you haveexactly two priorities.
Do some basic discovery to findout if the lead has a capacity
to purchase and find out if theyhave a need for your product.

(28:17):
For example, if you're a realtorand you find someone is
interested in buying or sellinga home, you need to quickly make
sure the person you're speakingwith is not already working with
another realtor.
Are they pre qualified for amortgage?
Do they have the ability to buyor sell a house now or in the
future?
If you work in a car dealership,getting a quick sense of the
client's creditworthiness cansave you hours of sales process

(28:37):
for someone who will never beable to finance a car.
There's literally nothing worsethan spending an extended amount
of time with a customer only tofind out after whining and
dining them that you'll bedeclining them.
Remember, a fast no is alwaysbetter than a slow maybe because
in sales, time spent with nonbuyers is time you'll regret not
spending doing somethingproductive.
Number four, get theappointment.

(28:58):
You found the prospect, prequalified them, identified a
reason to talk further.
Now you want to move on to doyour best to get the
appointment.
If you do in person, complex,multi step, B2B sales, in home
sales, real estate, etc., youmay be looking to set an in
person appointment to come outand visit them.
In car sales or otherindustries, where the client
comes to you, you will besetting a place and a time for

(29:18):
them to come to you.
In phone sales, you may set afollow up time or even simply
make a commitment to moveforward with your sales process
right then and there over thephone.
No matter what you are selling,there is always a commitment to
move forward to the next step ofthe process.
It can be physical place, time,or just a transition in the pace
or tone of the type ofconversation that you are

(29:39):
having.
But there must always be atransition from introduction and
prequalification into thediscovery, presentation, and
closing process.
You must do this consistentlyeach and every time with your
client to make sure that bothyou and they know that you're
moving along to that next step.
While this may sound complicatedlaid out this way, it really is
just simple, honestcommunication.

(30:00):
In real estate, Mr.
Smith, I think that in order forme to get the full picture on
how I will be able to help yousell your home and provide you
with an accurate fair marketvalue for your home, I will need
to see it in person.
I'll prepare a report withrecent comparable sales and take
some photos to send to my preapproved buyers list.
You'll also be able to learnmore about me and my proven
process for helping you sellyour home quickly for fair

(30:21):
value.
Will Tuesday afternoon orWednesday evening work best for
you?
Auto sales.
Mr.
Smith, thank you for filling outyour credit app online.
That's going to save you a lotof time.
If you find a car that you wantto purchase, the next step is to
come in and see the vehicle inperson, take it for a long no
obligation test drive.
So you'll have plenty of time todecide if it meets your needs.
And only if you absolutely loveit, we can talk numbers.

(30:44):
I have Tuesday afternoon orevening available.
Which works best for you?
Phone sales.
Mr.
Smith, thank you for answeringthose initial questions.
I feel very strongly we have agreat solution for your needs.
Let's take a few more minutesright now to dive in a little
deeper into this while I build acustom solution I think you'll
really like.
In each of these examples, thesalesperson is moving the
conversation to the nextnecessary step required to pitch

(31:06):
the client.
It's telling the client thatthis is what's intended and
making the intention to make asales appointment completely
clear.
This approach is respectful,informative, and honest with the
customer and results in minimalpushback from reasonably
motivated customers.
If you get objections to theappointment, ask a clarifying
question to find out the reasonthat they're unwilling to move
forward.

(31:26):
Something like, Mr.
Smith, we seem to have a productor service that works well for
you and seems to fit your needswith the information we have so
far.
Is there any reason that you'rehesitating to explore the next
steps?
Listen to their answer carefullyand just talk to them about the
benefits of moving to the nextstep.
And if they are a hard no, findout what common ground you can
to move forward at a differentdate or time and set the

(31:48):
appointment for a time theylike, even if it's far into the
future.
If you can't secure anappointment to discover,
present, and close, at least setan appointment to call back to
pick up where you left off.
We will go over objectionhandling techniques in more
depth later in the book, but themain thing you need to do is get
the appointment, and if that'simpossible, get permission to
follow up and set a clearexpectation of your next steps

(32:11):
together.
Number five, follow a veryspecific script or process that
allows you to control the callwith confidence.
We're going to go over scriptingin more detail in another
chapter.
The key thing I'm going tomention here is that script is
not a bad word.
Need proof?
It's six letters long, so it'snone of those three or four
letter bad words everyone isafraid of.
So why are scripts looked downupon so strongly in the sales

(32:32):
community?
Every time I brought on a newsales hire, I always gave them a
well planned out script.
However, almost 100 percent ofmy new hire's reaction was, I
don't want to read from ascript.
I get it.
Salespeople are an independentminded bunch.
We tend to lean more intooverconfidence and, dare I say,
arrogance.
And one thing we almostuniversally hate is reading some
boring, awkward script over andover on our sales calls.

(32:53):
So if you hate it as much as Ido, here's my simple advice.
Don't make the script boring.
Read it.
Understand it.
Internalize it.
And most importantly, own it.
Work that script so hard you'llwin an Oscar.
You don't have to feel like arobot.
You don't have to sound exactlylike everyone else.
As a matter of fact, I recommendvarying the script a little.
You can change a few words hereand there, adjust the tone and

(33:15):
the pace, let the customer andtheir needs guide you along the
way.
But most importantly, have yourscript built in a way that it
brings you back on track andkeeps you there.
Scripts are your friend becausescripts make sure that you don't
skip a step and have to end upworking three times as hard as
you needed to get the sale.
Number six, track your numbers.
We've already gone over a lot ofdetail on the subject of why

(33:37):
it's so important to track yournumbers.
Go back and read those sectionsagain.
If you don't know your numbersand you can't set your goals,
Know what you need to change ormeasure your progress.
It's safe to say, I believeknowing your numbers is one of
your most basic requiredcompetencies if you plan to
succeed in sales, number seven,track and adjust your plan to
meet your sales goals.

(33:58):
If you aren't hitting your salesgoals, adjust your activity
levels, adjust your script,adjust your objection handling,
adjust your target market orlead source, adjust anything you
can that is in your control andthat you are tracking numbers so
that you have the data to showwhat You are changing is working
or not.
It's just as important to notbreak what is working as it is

(34:19):
to fix what's not.
And having a 100 percentconsistent approach backed up by
data gives you the tools thatyou need to fix any step in your
process that is costing yousales.
Number eight, always follow upwith something physical or email
to remember you by.
A flyer, brochure, additionalinformation supporting value to
your client.
A lot of people advise againstthis.

(34:39):
I've heard plenty of peoplesuggest a hard close, like,
instead of sending you some moreinformation, how about we just
send you the contract after wefinish up?
While in certain cases, forimpulse purchase type sales,
this may work, for larger, morecomplex purchases, it may be in
your best interest toproactively send the customer
more information.
We live in a world wherecustomers have more power than

(35:00):
they have ever had before.
Customers read reviews online,leave reviews online, and want
to feel secure in both theproducts and the people they are
working with.
Customers in today's age expectto be treated with respect.
Give them the ability toresearch your company and
support their buying decisions.
And you will increase both salesand retention when a customer
asked me to send moreinformation or see something in

(35:21):
writing.
I simply ask what information dothey need and why do they need
it?
The answer is usually somethingsimple, like I feel overwhelmed
by all the information you'vegiven me over the phone, and I'm
just really more of a visualperson in that case.
I simply ask them if they'reable to check their email right
now, because.
The information is alreadythere, and I'll be glad to go
over it with them in detailright now.

(35:42):
If the person was telling me thetruth, they really just do feel
more comfortable seeing thingsin writing, they'll be very
thankful, and we will discusseverything I just sent them.
Alternatively, if the requestwas for more of a stalling
tactic, or a customer isattempting to be polite just to
get me off the phone, when I askthem what information and why
they need it, They'll usuallyjust give me an objection like I

(36:04):
just need more time or I need toprint this out and show it to
some non present person like aspouse or just some random made
up excuse that makes no sensewhatsoever.
Either way, you have to put theperson on the spot, keep
yourself in the driver's seatwith a push to either move
forward right now or get to theroot of the real objection.
Customers assumptive tone thatyou'll have when you're sending

(36:26):
the information immediately anddirectly begin to go over
everything with them.
It breaks down a social norm andthey haven't practiced dealing
with that response.
You'll be surprised how far thissimple courtesy will take you.
If you are simply setting an inperson appointment, and the
customer is asking for moreinformation instead of an
appointment, Simply ask whatinformation they need and why.
Listen to their answer and thenlet them know you'll drop it off

(36:47):
in person.
Ask if Tuesday morning orWednesday afternoon works best
since you'll be handing to thempersonally and will only need
five minutes of their time toquickly explain the information
you're dropping off and will beout of their hair quickly and
they can have all the time theylike.
Take the sales pitch out of theequation, but still set an
appointment.
An appointment to give theminformation they want before

(37:07):
setting the appointment.
When you drop the informationoff, stick to the five minute
promise and offer to leave.
If the customer has any interestat that point, they will usually
offer to let you stick aroundlonger.
If they don't have interest,they usually will refuse to even
grant you the five minutes.
Drop the information off anyway,and respect your customer if you
want a chance to sell them againin the future.
If your customer is not ready topurchase right now, still send

(37:29):
the information, like abrochure, depending on the
profit per sale, a free gift ofsome kind, or company swag that
will keep your name fresh intheir mind someday when they are
ready to purchase.
If you are setting a meeting ata future date, sending them some
informational content can go along way towards priming the
customer to be ready topurchase, since it will
eliminate an objection inadvance.

(37:50):
If you get objections at anystage of the appointment setting
process.
Simply follow a low pressureobjection handling process where
you softly probe for the reasonfor the objection and offer a
customer benefit focusedsolution.
When cold calling, it'simportant to remember that in
order to move from a cold callto a warm call to an appointment
to a sale, the customer has towant to keep talking to you.

(38:11):
You called them.
You've interrupted their day andthey didn't want to talk to you
in the first place.
Make sure that they understandyou respect that and quickly
focus on what you can do forthem, not what they can do for
you.
Make sure that they understandthat you want to be respectful
of their time.
This goes a long way.
I often lead cold calls with aphrase like, I realize you
weren't expecting to hear fromme today, and if you're like me,

(38:32):
you're sick of getting bombardedwith cold calls.
I promise to be efficient withyour time.
I am just going to ask you threequick questions to see if it
even makes sense to talkfurther.
And if not, I'll take you off mylist and you'll never hear from
me again.
Fair enough?
Try something like this.
Modify it.
Make it your own, but try everytime.
With, say, the next 20 peopleyou cold call, and then decide

(38:52):
if it works for you like it doesfor me.
The key, no matter what you sayon the phone or who you are
calling, is to have a firm,friendly, relaxed, and confident
tone.
Whenever you're cold calling,you want the customer to be able
to feel through the phone thatyou are not some pushy, slimy,
dishonest salesperson who isonly interested in their
checkbook.
When calling your clients, youneed to internalize the belief

(39:13):
that you are calling thembecause you have something to
offer them that is in their bestinterest to hear about.
You also need to understand thatit's not up to you to push them
into seeing things your way, butto confidently lead them in a
way that they choose to followyou to that conclusion in a way
that feels like it was theiridea all along.
The more savvy and sophisticatedand analytical your target

(39:35):
market is, the more importantthis becomes.
Summary.
the key to being effective atcold calling, whether over the
phone or door to door, is to beconsistent.
Consistent effort, tone, bodylanguage, schedule, script,
closing.
Objection handling, follow up,most people I see fail at cold
calling or door to door knockingfail because they simply lack

(39:58):
the discipline to generate aplan, follow that plan, and then
do it again exactly the same wayday after day.
The most successful salespeopleI know are like machines.
They do it exactly the same wayevery day without fail.
People that make excuses,procrastinate, don't follow a
consistent schedule, and allowdistractions to get in the way
of picking up the phone.
And dialing or getting in thecar and knocking that first door

(40:20):
every single day, no matterwhat, will almost always fail.

John (40:23):
Chapter 14, Double Your Appointments.
You have leads.
Now you need to bring themdeeper into your sales pipeline
to convert a lead into aprospect.
The first step is setting theappointment.
What is an appointment?
Most of us think of anappointment as setting a time
and place in person over thephone or through a virtual
meeting, such as a Zoom meeting.
An appointment is really justany time or place in which the

(40:44):
customer has given youpermission to speak with them
about your product or service.
This doesn't have to be at afuture date.
It can be right here and rightnow.
As a matter of fact, the sooneryou are able to actually conduct
the appointment, the better yourchances are of making the sale.
The longer the time between yourinitial contact and the
appointment grows, The loweryour chance of making the sale
gets.

(41:04):
Remember one of the mostimportant factors in making the
sale is timing.
Customers are most likely tomake a purchase when they feel
an urgent want or need.
They usually will inquire abouta product or service when they
start to feel the need growing.
Some products and services havea long lead time, stretching
into months or years, while someare more immediate.
For example, a client interestedin a high end luxury car with

(41:25):
six months remaining on hislease may spend several months
researching various options andreach out for information
relatively early in the process.
His sense of urgency is notthere, but his interest is.
A low credit budget car buyerwho has no way to get to work
tomorrow, if he can't get a cartoday, has a high sense of
urgency right now.
And the main question he willask is, what car can I qualify

(41:48):
for today?
Both buyers need to be treatedwith respect and given what they
want, when they want it.
And it is the salesman's job tofind out if the timing of their
perceived need and provide valuecorresponding to that timeline.
And most importantly, setappointments to gather
information, provideinformation, keep the lead warm,
and then present it at a timewhen the buyer is most likely to

(42:10):
feel the greatest sense ofurgency.
The single most important thingyou can do to convert leads into
prospects is to build a rocksolid lead follow up process.
One that gives you apredictable, consistent outcome
is executed flawlessly everytime and moves them down the
sales pipeline the same wayevery time.
This is the top weapon in yourarsenal and is what separates
the top dog from the stray pups.

(42:31):
The main type of leads we getare web leads, inbound leads,
walk in, outbound calls, socialmedia, referrals, past age leads
and dead leads.
It doesn't matter how you getthe lead.
The key thing you need to do inevery single sales opportunity
is to build authority, urgency,and direction into the process.
And most importantly Keep itfun.
Authority.

(42:52):
Establish yourself as an expert.
People follow leaders, so be aleader in every sense that you
can be.
Provide information not justabout your product and your
company, but about your ownpersonal qualification as the
right person for them to trustto fix this particular problem.
Statements like, I've solvedsimilar problems for over 400
clients, including myself, overthe last five years.

(43:13):
And I'll make recommendationsfor you based on both my clients
feedback and my own personalexperience for you today.
Urgency.
A good time to talk about yourproduct or service is soon.
A better time is now.
And the best time is right now.
Provide a valid reason whyhesitation may not be in your
client's best interest.
Are prices increasing orunpredictable?

(43:34):
Is there a supply and demandissue?
A lead time they need to beaware of?
If so, make sure and let themknow so that they don't fall
victim to the belief that thesame deal will always be there
giving them unlimited time tomake a decision.
Think about it.
If you have planned to go to anice place for dinner, but you
show up at 1pm right afteryou've eaten your lunch, you'll
browse the menu, think aboutwhat you might want to eat, and

(43:55):
7pm, you'll get serious aboutfinally choosing your top 3
picks from the menu.
However, if you show up at 645for a 7pm dinner that needs to
be over by 8pm so that yourparty can make their flight out
of town, you'll make a decisionafter a quick glance and your
primary concern will be whetheror not the dinner can be made
quickly enough for you to meetyour deadline.
Similarly, if you find out whenyou get there that they have as

(44:18):
much chicken left as anyonecould ever want, but they are
down to the last steak, you'llmost likely order steak, even if
you were on the fence just soyou won't miss out in the event
that you were eventually goingto choose the steak.
If you hate steak, you'll stillorder the chicken, but if you
were even remotely on the fence,there's a damn good chance
you'll order that steak.
Statements that build urgencyinclude, this is the only one

(44:40):
we've had available and we'renot sure when we'll get another
one in stock again.
The factory has a limited timeincentive on this particular
model that is ending today.
If you are on the fence, this isthe time to get off it while
there's still time.
Or, we're closing in 15 minutes.
We still have time to get thisprocess before we close, but
only if we make a decision now.
Direction.
The key thing to do is not letthings stay the same.

(45:04):
Sagnation is the enemy of sold.
Without direction in your salesprocess, your sales will become
unreliable.
You can't get lost in theconversation, allow your
customer to take you ontangents, or simply allow things
to simmer while the customer isthinking about ways to
manipulate you instead of youleading the customer.
You must have a planned processthat keeps things moving along a

(45:24):
predetermined path towards anappointment or a sale.
It must be customer need basedand focused on what you need
from the customer in order tomeet those needs.
Finally, it must possess a callto action that asks for the
appointment at a definite timeand date and sets the next
steps.
Fun.
Think of a time when you boughtsomething just because you had a
smile on your face.

(45:45):
Now think of a time that youbought something when you were
tuned out, bored, annoyed,angry.
Or just really not into it.
Chances are, you can easilythink of many times you had fun
and ended up buying something orspending more than you planned,
or bought something extra.
Maybe even sent your friends,family, or professional contacts
to that particular company orestablishment.
I'll bet you can also think of atime when you started out

(46:06):
interested in something andwalked away, because something
just rubbed you the wrong way.
Maybe you even bought something,but regretted it.
Left a bad review and toldeveryone you knew to avoid that
place like the plague.
Fun is an important ingredientin setting the appointment and
in every step along the path toyour sale.
Really connect with your clienton a personal level.
Find as much enjoyment alongthat path to the sale as you can

(46:28):
for both of you.
What do you do to make yourappointment setting experience
or sales process fun for yourclient?
Do you have any pre planned,rehearsed icebreakers?
Do you go out of your way tofind humor and a smile?
Do you treat them like a friendyou are so lucky to meet for the
first time?
Do you have any unusual featuresor benefits that you just really
enjoy demonstrating?
Think about opportunities inwhich you can build a fun vibe

(46:49):
around your appointment settingprocess.
In order to build authority,urgency, direction, and fun, We
first have to know a little bitabout our customer and their
motivation.
The best way to start out withan advantage here is to have a
qualified lead, i.
e., you have a lot ofinformation about them.
A qualified lead is a lead inwhich you know their contact
information, their interest inwhat they are looking for, their

(47:11):
budget, this can include thingslike credit worthiness, Their
timeline, their purchasemotivation, I call this the why,
as in why are they looking, andmost importantly, their
attention.
If they ain't listening, theyain't buying.
A few examples.
A realtor gets a buyer off ofZillow, a referral, or for their
own personal website.
It doesn't matter where the leadcame from.

(47:32):
The important thing is apotential buyer filled out a
form or otherwise expressedinterest in purchasing a home.
For our example, we're going toassume this was a non exclusive
web based lead like you wouldget from Zillow, Trulia, or some
other aggregator.
The realtor gets an email.
or text message notificationthat a lead has come in.
At the same time, it is likelythat several other realtors have
gotten the same lead expressingan interest in the same

(47:53):
property.
80 percent of buyers will gladlyset an appointment with the
first realtor who contacts themback to schedule a showing.
So in this instance, the mostimportant thing you can do is
reply to the lead nearlyinstantaneously.
These leads often include somebasic information including
contact information and a veryspecific property they are
interested in.
However, it's up to the Realtorto gather the rest of the

(48:15):
information and convert the leadinto an appointment.
I train Realtors to reply byemail and phone at the same time
whenever possible and get thecommunication with your client
started before the competition.
Once you get the client on thephone or communicating by email,
you must fill in the gaps andget the information most
importantly.
on their budget?
Are they pre approved for apurchase in this price range?

(48:37):
Are there other homes that theywould like to see?
And why are they looking?
Are they already working withanother agent?
If so, do they have a buyer'sagency agreement signed?
If the answers look like a goodfit for working with you, set
the appointment and meet them inperson to pitch yourself as an
exclusive buyer's agent ASAP.
And if they are not a fit, letthem go and become someone
else's client or problem.

(48:57):
In auto sales, you often get aweb lead that will be a client
requesting information on aspecific car on the lot.
Again, send them an emailimmediately and call them on the
phone within two minutes of thelead coming in.
If you want the best chance ofconnecting with them, you'll
usually have a name, a phonenumber, and an email address
along with one car that theyhave an interest in.
Fill in the blanks and set anappointment.

(49:18):
Find out why they like that car.
Are there others that they maybe interested in?
Similar models?
Maybe they requested info on thesports car, but they really need
an SUV.
Find out and get them into yourshowroom to show them the
vehicles and get the deal doneas soon as possible.
An in person example.
i.
e.
setting the appointment righthere, right now, and closing the

(49:39):
sale.
Think about a time when you werelooking at something that you
were seriously interested inbuying.
You might have been interestedin a new TV and found yourself
at a big box store with an eagernon commissioned based employee
who was happy to answer all thequestions you have about a new
TV.
You asked about resolution,smart features, and gaming
performance.
The associate filled you in onthe refresh rates and some
advanced features you didn'teven know were a thing.

(50:01):
Soon you were overwhelmed andhad just looked at every single
TV in the place, and never oncewere asked for a sale.
You may have bought a TV, or youmay have walked out frustrated,
drove home and looked up somecustomer reviews online.
While you went there interestedand motivated and ready to make
a purchase, the randomness ofthe interaction, the lack of
direction left you feelingalone.
An unsure of your decision.

(50:22):
Now let's say instead, youwalked into a smaller family
owned store with commissionedsalespeople.
You walk in, start showinginterest in TVs, and a friendly,
knowledgeable salesperson asksyou, If you are looking for
product information, pricinginformation, or both.
You answer, you aren't sure.
So he asks you, why are youlooking for a new TV today?

(50:43):
You explain that your old one ismuch too small, the picture's
not great, and the sound isanemic.
You want something that betterfills your room, and you can
actually enjoy watching.
He may ask you about yourtimeline.
You reply that if you find theright thing, you'll buy today,
but you're in no hurry.
He asks you about how big isyour room.
And you tell him.
And then he asks you what kindof things you watch.

(51:04):
You, of course, like actionmovies and sports.
He inquires about your budgetand you tell him, you know, 800.
He informs you the TV you'relooking at, while in your
budget, are much too small andnot high enough quality to fit
your needs.
He does have one just a fewdollars above that will get you
closer He takes you over to theone that is a few inches bigger

(51:25):
and eight hundred and fiftydollars Just a few dollars
higher than you wanted But itlooks and sounds pretty, pretty
good.
Upon seeing your interest, hesays, Now, if you can stretch
your budget just a tiny bitmore, there's one over here that
I think you'll like a lot more.
It's called the Above AverageTech 4K.
It's about 950, but the qualitydifference is immediately

(51:48):
apparent.
He tells you he's sure you'vefound the one.
Now let's go look at soundsystems that coordinate with
this TV.
On the way to the sound systems,there's a solitary TV called the
XL Diamond Pro 9000, set up thatlooks It's just like it's on a
different level than the others.
You don't see a price, but youask the salesman about this one.

(52:09):
He informs you that this one isbeyond your budget, but is
definitely one that would exceednot just your needs, but your
wildest dreams.
He then begins to show you ademo of this TV and all its
bells and whistles, and youforget that you're in a TV
store.
Convinced you're in an IMAXtheater, then he pulls you away
to go to the sound systems.
You ask again about pricing.

(52:30):
He states it's well above yourbudget and continues the sound
systems.
Shows you a few and you're blownaway by the setup they have in
the sound room and definitelyneed surround sound now that you
didn't even know you wanted whenyou walked in.
He walks you back to the TV youchose.
Right past the TV of your dreamsand starts to write up the sales
ticket.

(52:50):
And you ask one more time aboutthe other TV's price.
The XL Diamond Pro 9000 is 3,000, which is why I didn't
mention it earlier.
He says now I spend more thanthat on a lot of things.
I enjoy a lot less than this SoI figured for me it was worth
the investment.
I am starting to see that it isfor you, too Which TV do you

(53:10):
really want the above averagetech 4k or the XL diamond pro
9000 if you're like me Youwalked out with the TV that was
three times your budget and asurround sound system to go with
it this happened to my mom and Iwhen I was still in high school.
We went to look at a TV toreplace our 20 inch dinosaur.
We went to Sears first, then toa family owned place called B&

(53:31):
B, and walked out with a 4, 600rear projection by NEC, a full
surround system, and 32 yearslater, we still remember our
salesman, Flint, who used thisexact technique to finesse and
upsell us into a purchase wenever once regretted.
Well, my dad may have regrettedit when he found out the price,
but He ended up loving that TVso much that he ended up going
back a few years later to haveFlint help him with a TV when

(53:54):
they moved to a new house.
The difference in approachbetween the big box and Flint is
that Flint had a plan.
He asked questions, showed usoptions, directed us to
solutions that he felt met ourneeds first and our budget
second, offered cross sales thatmet our needs and upsold us in a
way that was so low key that weupsold ourselves because we felt
that he believed that he had theright solution for us.

(54:17):
It was a planned, repeatableprocess that I saw him perform
on other customers when I wasback in the store at a later
time, and even once more with mewhen I bought a small 20 inch TV
for my college needs.
He kept things moving, not justfor the sake of moving down a
predefined, natural path thatled us directly to the sale.
To the upsell and the crosssell, all while keeping the

(54:38):
entire process fun.
This meant that he not only gota bigger commission that day by
upselling and cross selling, butalso earned multiple follow up
sales from us as well asreferrals from my family to
others.
By being consultative andprofessional, focusing on our
wants and needs, and thenpresenting solutions, he was
able to turn a prospect into acustomer and then into a client.

Mixcast 4-12 (55:00):
Chapter 15.
Car sales appointment settingscript.
Incoming lead auto appointmentsetting script.
When you are spending money onmarketing and advertising, it's
important that you have aconsistent process to get the
leads generated into your salesprocess.
Below is a script template thatI have used successfully in
building automotive call centersfor name brand retail
dealerships.
The key thing is that thisprocess is easy to teach, easy
to follow, and does not requirerigid robotic word for word

(55:23):
scripts.
It requires our BDCs to think ontheir feet, gather information
about prospects, wants and needsthat the sales staff would later
use to help sell the vehicle,and most importantly, set the
appointment to get the lead intothe showroom.
Key incoming call scriptconcepts.
A short introduction, then rightinto discovery phase, focusing
on the vehicle they inquiredabout, the reason for the call

(55:45):
first, allows them to connectwith you and keeps them invested
in the rest of the call.
Needs discovery comesimmediately after you have
gathered information about thevehicle they inquired about in
order to find out if the vehicleis really the one that they
want, or if you have multipleoptions that fit their needs.
Discovery is designed to buildflexibility in things like
vehicle color, style, andbudget.

(56:06):
Often a vehicle will sell beforea client's appointment and
having a backup or two preppedand ready can save a sale and
sometimes even fit the client'sneeds better than the original
car.
After discovery, always restatethe client's needs back to them
to reinforce that you are on thesame page.
GIve only 2 or 3 options onappointment availability, and
keep narrowing down to aspecific date and time.

(56:27):
Clients often balk at, can yoube here at 2.
30 on Wednesday, but willrespond positively to does
morning or afternoon onWednesday work best for you?
Afternoon?
Okay, I have a 1pm and a 3pm,which do you prefer?
IT takes two to three steps tonarrow down a specific time.
You can ask the customer, doesTuesday or Wednesday work best
for you?

(56:48):
They'll say something like, um,Tuesday, morning or afternoon,
afternoon.
I have a 115 and a 345available.
Which works best for you?
345.
This works more reliably andwith fewer objections than
asking, When can you come in?
They'll say, Um, I'm busy, I'llcall back.
Lead the customer to theappointment while allowing them

(57:09):
to feel in control.
This gives you more control andleads to a more consistent
outcome.
Always give the client yourcontact information to reinforce
that you are a real person andcreate two way accountability.
If the client thinks of you as arandom voice on the phone, they
will be more likely to lie toyou, verbally abuse you, and
flake on your appointment.
But giving you a quick exchangeof information and introducing
yourself as a real human willmake your customer more likely

(57:32):
to behave more predictablyfollowing social norms.
Get a backup phone number andemail address in case the client
does not answer their primaryphone.
Clients will often not answertheir phone, but will respond if
you reach out using multiplemedia.
Always follow up to confirmappointments the day before and
the day of the appointment.
Stuff happens.
Your client may forget, havesomething come up, or change
their mind.
Following up keeps appointmentson track, makes the client feel

(57:54):
accountable to you, andincreases the likelihood that
they will show up, and reducesthe likelihood that you'll have
a full calendar in an emptyoffice.
Use whatever technology you haveto do this.
Email, text messages, calendarinvites, etc.
Make sure that your appointmentis not something that they can
just forget.
Knowing that you are a realperson who has set time aside
and put effort into meeting withthem also makes the client more

(58:17):
likely to not want to stand youup versus viewing you as a
random retail employee who willbe there anyways.
The script can be modified forpretty much any lead follow up
industry.
Play with the order of steps,the number of steps, and find
what works for you.
Don't forget to test multipleversions to find out the one
that gives you the highestreturn on investment.
Modify your script for everylead type you have.

(58:38):
Incoming call, fresh web lead,new car, used car, service
appointments, aged lead, etc.
Develop follow up scripts tokeep your leads engaged.
First call one day, two days,four days, one week, two weeks,
three weeks, four weeks, twomonths, three months, four
months, etc.
Keep following up until the leadis purchased from you, purchased
elsewhere, is no longer in themarket, or has asked you to
stop.

(58:58):
Follow up by every media thatyou have available.
Phone, email, postal mail,social media, ad retargeting,
etc.
Incoming call guide BDC.
First step is your introduction.
Thank you for calling XYZMotors.
This is John, how may I assistyou?
Client will say, I am callingfor information about the black
truck you have advertised.
Step two, personalize.
Great! First things first, ifyou have a pen and paper handy,

(59:20):
I want to give you my name anddirect number, so if anything
happens to our call, we caneasily reconnect.
Let me know when you are ready.
Step three, get basic clientinformation.
Next, I need to verify yourinformation is correct.
Your last name is spelled blank,and your first name is Blank.
Step 4.
Initial Discovery.
Identify the advertised vehicleand enter it into your CRM.

(59:40):
Which car specifically were youcalling about?
What was the year, make, andmodel?
Oh, that is a very nice car.
Next, add something specific andpositive about the vehicle to
validate the client's interest.
I really liked the performancepackage on that one.
So where did you see the ad?
Step five, needs discovery.
What interested you in thisparticular vehicle?
Step six, determine primarymotivation.

(01:00:01):
Which is more important, styleor price?
Create flexibility.
If I had other vehicles in thatsimilar style or price range,
would you be interested inseeing those as well?
What equipment are you lookingfor?
Do you prefer vehicles withlighter color or darker colors?
Why is that important to you?
Step 7.
Restate needs.
It sounds like you're lookingfor a convertible with a

(01:00:22):
performance package.
Did I miss anything?
Step 8.
Check availability and get therest of your client info.
I'm going to have to check myavailability to make sure we
have a vehicle that meets yourneeds.
This may take a few moments.
What is the best number to reachyou if we get disconnected?
Step 9.
Verify inventory.
Okay, thanks.
Perhaps I can speed up theprocess.
Would you mind if I place you ona brief hold?

(01:00:43):
Step 10.
Availability.
Review and set specificappointment.
Okay, so would Tuesday afternoonor Wednesday morning work best
for you?
Early morning or late morning?
Would 8 15?
Or work better for you.
Step 11, give drivingdirections.
We're located at 123 mainstreet.
So you'll be coming from theeast.

(01:01:04):
That means when you get there,you're going to turn left into
our driveway.
We are the building on the left,come directly into the door in
the center, and we will beexpecting you.
Now, I also would like to sendyou an email with the details.
Uh, what was your email addressagain?
Step 12, set expectations forthe appointment.
I'll have the vehicle ready andpulled up front.
If you're running late, justgive me a call, okay?
And I'll return the courtesy ifsomething comes up on my end.

(01:01:27):
If I can't reach you at thisnumber, what's the next best way
to reach you?
Thank you.
See you Tuesday at 1045 a.
m.
Create a lively positive personato make the script work for you
Robotically following the scriptmay not yield the best results
on any given call So test theorder of the steps, modify the
wording, and create a naturallyflowing conversation that leads
to the appointment.

(01:01:48):
The important thing is in orderfor the process to be effective,
you have to aim to hit everysingle point on every single
call.
You also must have a plan inadvance for how things could not
go according to plan.
For example, if the vehicle isunavailable or the customer does
not want to set an appointment.
Need a script process developedfor your specific needs in
industry?
We offer custom scriptdevelopment for any industry and

(01:02:11):
need at salescoachinglab.
com.