Prospecting Seminar DVD Now Available

With the release of my new DVD, Prospecting Skills That Work, I’d like to thank everyone for their feedback and comments over the past year about my earlier audio program on effective prospecting, Don’t Count The Yes’s, Count The No’s. It was the success of that program which prompted me to do an educational (and entertaining) hour-long seminar on prospecting and have it released on DVD. Make sure to check out the video clip below. You can also for the purchase page.

In my new video, you’ll learn to:

• Overcome call reluctance to always reach your goal.
• Develop a powerful script for setting more appointments.
• Use an accountability system that is easy to implement and use.
• Handle objections more effectively than ever before.
• Stay consistently motivated and form positive new habits.
• And much more …

Prospecting Seminar DVD Now Available

Length: 3:30

Prospecting Skills That Work – Clip #3

In this clip, from the upcoming sales training video Prospecting Skills That Work , Warren brings home a point about preparation and prospecting.

Video no longer available.

Developing and Finding Leads

I just received an interesting email from a reader. His name is Jonathan and he has a question about prospecting, a favorite subject of mine. More specifically it’s about developing and finding quality leads. He wrote:

Warren,

Good day. I purchased your “Don’t count the yes’s, count the No’s " audio program. I’ve listened to the audio often and I’m ready to begin making calls. Before I got your program I planned to call companies from the local yellow pages. After listening to your program, it appears that’s not the best way to do this. Can you tell me what’s the best way to get quality leads and do you recommend any companies? Thank you for any information you can give me.

Best Regards,

Jonathan

First of all, it’s not that I don’t recommend the Yellow Pages; it’s just that I consider it a last resort. The first thing you need to do when starting out your prospecting effort is to figure out who you want to call. Develop a client profile that specifically describes what types of clients and people you want to deal with.

For example:

• What kind of companies are you looking for (size, industries, maybe even location)?
• Who will be your contact person? A purchasing manager; VP level; Middle management. If you don’t know who you’re looking for, it’s going to be real hard to find them.

Cold calls are another last resort. But if you don’t have any clients, hot leads or referrals, you better start making some cold calls in order to develop your own hot leads and referrals.

When I first started my speaking business over 21 years ago, I was mostly conducting sales seminars, so my plan was to approach companies that were very sales oriented. Right off the bat, the first thing that came to my mind was the life insurance industry: an abundance of salespeople; new ones being hired every day; plus it was an industry that was not afraid to spend money on training.

So every Sunday, I picked up the New York Times and went to the help-wanted section and looked under “Sales Help Wanted.” I found numerous ads placed by local sales offices of large life insurance companies. Not only were they advertising for salespeople, but there was also a contact name (usually the sales manager) and a phone number.

First thing Monday morning, I would call, ask for the sales manager (the perfect contact person for me) and when asked by the receptionist, “What is this in reference to?” I would say, “The Sales Help Wanted ad in yesterday’s Times.”

Naturally, I was connected to the Sales Manager. Once on the phone I would say, “I’m not looking for a job, but since you are hiring all these new salespeople, you’re going to need someone to train them. Let me tell you about my services.” I would get the appointment and, very often close the deal to train their agents.

But here’s the best part! Every one of those sales managers knew other sales managers in other offices and it was real easy to pick up at least 3 or 4 referrals every time I did a session.

Once you get the ball rolling, and, of course, deliver a good product or service, cold calling becomes less of a factor in developing new business. as you now have a hot new source of referrals.

To learn more about how to get tons of referrals, read these past articles:

Referrals: The Lifeblood of Sales Part I
Referrals: The Lifeblood of Sales Part II
Winning Referrals

Podcast: How to Increase Sales

Warren was invited back to Rima McDonald’s Business Resources podcast where they discussed how to increase sales in this informative interview. Don’t miss it!

Click here for the show page.

Franchise Interviews Radio Show

Warren was the featured guest on Franchise Interviews, a radio show dedicated to educating and motivating aspiring entrepreneurs on franchising. Franchise Interviews is hosted by Marty McDermott, a Business Professor at Kaplan University and Gibbs College, and Don Johnson, President of Diamond Financial Services of New Jersey.

You can download or stream the episode by clicking this link (MP3 links are at the bottom of the episode page).

BusinessWeek’s Savvy Selling Interview

Warren was the featured guest on BusinessWeek’s Savvy Selling Podcast, hosted by BW.com columnist Michelle Nichols, where they discussed The Secrets to Cold Calling. (click the link for show information)

You can also download the podcast by right-clicking this MP3 link and selecting "Save Target As," which will allow you to save and download it to your desktop for convenient playback. Don’t miss it!