Sample Voicemail #1 While Prospecting or Cold Calling for Sales

Hey everyone! I hope you’re having a great year so far.

I’ve been asked several times by people on what to say if they have to leave a voicemail when prospecting or cold calling for new business.

Before I call someone, I tend to send an email first. Some people prefer to communicate by phone, others prefer to communicate by email.

Here’s my first voicemail that I will leave a prospect:

“Hello ____, Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. I’m following up on an email i sent you recently. I noticed your LinkedIn profile and thought it might make sense to talk. Please call me back at ____. Again that number is ____.”

(This is assuming your prospect has a LinkedIn profile of course.)

The voicemail is short, sweet and to the point and hopefully arouses curiosity. I also want the prospect to go to his or her email and look for my mine as well. Sometimes when you send an email and the person is no longer there, it doesn’t always bounce back. Sometimes the person’s automatic responder will be on with their signature and direct phone number which is helpful so that you don’t have to call the main number and get screened out by the gatekeeper. You can leave a voicemail directly with the prospect.

Hope this helps. I’ll send out another sample soon. I have 4 more samples to share.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000.

 

3 Great Opening Questions on a Sales Call

I came across this recent blog post by Mike Weinberg who I follow on Twitter and read his book a few years ago.

Here it is:

Key takeaway: After you’ve gotten a meeting with a sales prospect and have exchanged pleasantries, ask this:

“I’m just curious, why did you invite us in to visit with you?”

THEN, shut your dang mouth and no matter how awkward and quiet it is, be patient and wait it out.

If the prospect says ” “You’re kidding, right? You’ve been beating down this door for a year — phone calls, voicemails, birthday cards, referrals. I finally relented just so you’d stop.” 

Your response should be something like ““Yup, it took some pretty serious effort to get you to agree to visit with me. But you still invited me in. So what’s going in your world that you decided it was worth your time to meet with me? And what would you like to get out of our conversation today?”

If that doesn’t work try these other 2 opening lines:

1. “Mr. Prospect, you’re a busy person and get contacted from people like me all the time. What prompted you to respond to us.”

OR

2. Mr. Prospect, was there a compelling event that prompted you to respond to us?”

Hope this helps! I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000.

3 Social Media Figures I Found Interesting

I’m curious to how many sales can be traced directly back to blogging.

The challenge is that many small business owners aren’t going up against the competition mainly but I would say against lots of social media noise.

I did some quick research and here’s what I found.

1. There are about 300 million LinkedIn profiles.

2. There are 1.28 billion Facebook users

3. In the United States alone, there are 31 million bloggers.

That’s a lot of noise and social media to compete with!

Unless you have major marketing and advertising dollars, how do small firms compete?

Does blogging have a measurable return on investment that some companies put a lot of time effort into?

I’m interested in hearing from you!

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000.

What I’m loving this month!

I subscribe to the magazine Fast Company and they periodically interview people and one of the categories is “What I’m Loving This Month” and the person shares whatever it is.

I’m an avid reader and have a Nook that I get a lot of reading done on at a cost effective rate.

Here are 3 books on failure that I’m currently reading:

“Bouncing Back” by Bill Bartmann

It’s an autobiography of an entrepreneur who went from high school drop out to billionaire.

“The Upside of Down” by Megan McArdle

Another book on failure.

“Failing Forward” by John Maxwell

Another book on failure.

You may be thinking this is morbid and depressing. Actually it’s not. As a small business owner and entrepreneur, we are going to experience more failures than successes and more “no’s” than “yes’s”.

I find these books motivational and inspiring and knowing that I’m not alone in my journey.

Check them out and read them if they interest you.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Happy reading!

 

The Magic Question

I read this article on http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2774012&spid=24698 and came across this helpful little sales tool.

Verbatim from the article:

“True prospects will put you on their calendar for a next step. Information seekers will let (or make) you chase them down. Chris Lytle and I teach a technique called “The Magic Question.” The Magic Question to determine if you are working with a prospect or information seeker is: “Are you willing to work with me on a calendar basis?” Since they have never heard that question before, they are likely to give you an awkward look. You simply say, “You’re very busy, I’m very busy, rather than me trying to chase you down let’s schedule an appointment to have our next conversation.”

The amount of prospects you have on your calendar is the best indicator of your future success. Securing appointments is how you turn hope into success. Do you want to waste your time chasing down information seekers, or do you want to invest your time calling on true prospects? The Magic Question will help.”

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Hope this helps!

 

Is that email address correct?

Today’s email tip of the day:

Just because you send an email and it doesn’t bounce back, doesn’t mean they received it.

I reached out to this prospect and sent an email as well but it never bounced back.

I decided one day to verify the prospect’s email address with his executive assistant.

She gave me the correct email address.

The worst the assistant will tell you is “We don’t give out email addresses.”

Another good reason to follow up with a prospect by phone after emailing them.

Does that employee still work there?

My wife was a paralegal at the same law firm the past 7 years. She left in July 2013 to stay home with my 4 year old daughter and 1 year old son.

For grins recently, I decided to call her direct number, and sure enough my wife’s voice and message were still there. The company hadn’t changed it at all.

I called a prospect the other day and his profile was still listed on the corporate website, his direct phone still had his name on it, BUT when I emailed him, the auto responder simply stated he was no longer with the company.

If you’re having trouble getting hold of a prospect, there’s a chance that person may no longer be with the company.

I did a recent CRM cleanup and between 19-22% of my prospects were no longer there. I’m talking about C-level Officers, Vice Presidents, and Directors. Not exactly mid level people.

When in doubt, call the main number, ask to speak to your targeted person and if the receptionist says  that person is no longer there, it’s one less person to follow up on.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000 and hope you find this tip useful!

 

Are Your Salespeople Still Cold Calling? The Ugly Truth

I came across an article that you may find helpful.

Here’s the link:

www.omghub.com/salesdevelopmentblog/tabid/5809/bid/76911/are-your-salespeople-still-cold-calling-the-ugly-truth.aspx

Here’s 3 simple sentences verbatim from the article that ring true:

1. You can’t control the number of inbound leads your salespeople will get.

2. You can’t control the number of introductions you receive from your clients, customers or your social network.

3.  You can control the number of cold calls you or your salespeople make.

Short but true principles!

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000!



Sales Prospecting and Priorities

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope 2016 is off to a great start for you!

You’re probably thinking that this blog post is about how sales prospecting should be a priority this year.

Well, it’s not! Got you! We all know sales prospecting should be a priority.

I read David Newman’s book recently titled “Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition”

One of the chapters talked about follow up and how it can be tedious, yet necessary.

To get your prospects to a quick “yes” or “no” on whether they should schedule a meeting with you, ask them a question about their priorities.

Examples:

Is using walkthrough data for instructional improvement a priority this year?

Is adding a mobile app to expand your audience reach and increase your advertising revenue a priority this year?

Mine: Is getting your sales team in front of more qualified prospects a priority this year?

It’s a yes or no question. If their answer is no, move on because no amount of arm twisting is going to work because companies and businesses have many competing priorities.

If their answer is yes, get them to expound: How so? Tell me more? How long have you had this problem?

Get them to verbally throw up on the table! Hope this tip helps!

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Wishing you a prosperous 2016!

What do Super Bowl ads and lead generation campaigns have in common?

The Super Bowl is next month folks!

Answer: Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they bring in substantial leads and increased revenue. Sometimes they don’t.

The funny thing about sales, marketing and advertising is that some campaigns works. Some don’t.

Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s bad timing. Or the wrong audience. Or just part of life.

When a $3 – $4M Super Bowl ad becomes a dud, the network doesn’t return the money.

Just because a Super Bowl ad doesn’t work (Groupon a few years ago), does that mean you never run another one? Of course not.

Same way with lead generation campaigns.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Happy Friday to you!