The future of work

[BillyCarpenter]

Just to follow up on face-to-face vs. telephone prospecting.

Copier sales has always been a numbers game and it will always be a numbers game. Unlike some other products, the vast majority of copiers are under lease. If you get in your car and visit 20 businesses, and lets say you're fortunate enough to talk to 25% of the decision makers for said 20 businesses. What you're gonna find out is that 95% of those machines are under lease. That means 95% of the those businesses aren't in the buying window and that means no sale. The numbers aren't in the salesman's favor.


Here's what I do.

I have a person and all she does is qualify/disqualify sales leads over the phone. She normally makes about 100 phone calls per day and her only goal is to gather information. She finds out the following:

1. Make/Model of machine
2. Under lease or no and the lease expiration date.
3. Number of copies per month.
4. Who's the decision maker.
5. Color or B/W.

From there all this info is entered into a sales data base and I follow up on the qualified leads that are in the buying window. And I have all of the lease expiration dates that are 1-year out. 2-years out, ect. and I follow up with them when they reach the buying window.

When I say I follow up on the qualified leads, what I mean is that I call and ask for the decision maker and set up an appointment rather than walk in his office unannounced. I want them to set up a block of time to where I'm not rushed and can make an effective sales pitch.

In my humble opinion this is a much more effective way of selling.

[SalesServiceGuy]

The purpose of cold calls is not to expect to walk in the door and sell something. As leases expire on average every 60 months, if you make 20 cold calls a day, there is a 1 in five chance that a salesperson will enter a business that has a lease expire that month. Over five days, if you can maintain that pace, you will get 2-3 opportunities to quote a copier per week. As you say, it is a numbers game that goes into a sales funnel of potential opportunities.

The purpose of cold calls is to gather the same information you described in your previous post while attempting to build some personal familiarity/ empathy with both the gate keeper and the decision maker that a telemarketer will never acquire.

It is not uncommon to have to make six or more return calls on a gate keeper before you get to see the Decision maker each time building up a little more information on the account plus people in an account can often change over five years.

It is great that you have an effective telemarketer working for you. Most dealers do not.

Of course, because of COVID-19 this well established sales practise has now been turned upside down for many copier sales people so they have to focus on alternative ways to prospect and find new customers.

For many industries well beyond copiers, COVID-19 has turned their sales process upside down which has resulted in the entire economy contracting.

It is now extra difficult for new sales people to get started in the copier business and earn enough income to support themselves. Besides all of the product knowledge required, few young people have a personality that allows themselves to be rejected up to 100 times per week.

[BillyCarpenter]

The purpose of cold calls is not to expect to walk in the door and sell something. As leases expire on average every 60 months, if you make 20 cold calls a day, there is a 1 in five chance that a salesperson will enter a business that has a lease expire that month. Over five days, if you can maintain that pace, you will get 2-3 opportunities to quote a copier per week. As you say, it is a numbers game that goes into a sales funnel of potential opportunities.

The purpose of cold calls is to gather the same information you described in your previous post while attempting to build some personal familiarity/ empathy with both the gate keeper and the decision maker that a telemarketer will never acquire.

It is not uncommon to have to make six or more return calls on a gate keeper before you get to see the Decision maker each time building up a little more information on the account plus people in an account can often change over five years.

It is great that you have an effective telemarketer working for you. Most dealers do not.

Of course, because of COVID-19 this well established sales practise has now been turned upside down for many copier sales people so they have to focus on alternative ways to prospect and find new customers.

For many industries well beyond copiers, COVID-19 has turned their sales process upside down which has resulted in the entire economy contracting.

It is now extra difficult for new sales people to get started in the copier business and earn enough income to support themselves. Besides all of the product knowledge required, few young people have a personality that allows themselves to be rejected up to 100 times per week.

I disagree with your numbers that you're gonna make 20 cold calls per day and find 1 in 5 businesses that are in the buying window. But lets assume that's true. You're only making 20 face to face visits per day. And you said these 20 calls are fact finding missions.

Instead of driving from business to business, wouldn't you be better served spending your time in front of qualified buyers? You can gather all of that information over the phone. I didn't always have a person gathering the info. for me. I did it for years myself. Then I figured out that time is money and that it's more effective if I hired someone to gather information for me while I concentrated on actual sales.

As far as building rapport with the prospect....that's all done on the appointment that I set with the decision maker.

Every sales strategy has it's plus and minuses but no company I ever worked for sent their sales force out on 20 face to face colds calls per day. Nope. They set us down in front of the phone and said get after it.

[BillyCarpenter]

PS - The only face-to-face cold calls I do works like this:

Before I go to an appointment, I print out a list from my CRM (Customer Relation Management Software) for all the prospects that I've talked to that are close by the appointment that I'm going to. I'm armed with the DM and gatekeepers name. They know who I am from speaking with them on the phone.

And I wouldn't even call them "cold" calls. They're warm calls.

[SalesServiceGuy]

It does take a determined effort to make 20 calls in a day. New sales reps are expected to make 30. These people are usually motivated because they want/ need to earn a higher income, much higher (X2+) than a copier technician.

You go to one area and walk from business to business.

You can complete this prospecting task by early afternoon and focus on other tasks later in the day that might require driving.

Sales reps develop what I call "emotional armour" that they put on every morning to help them get past 100 no's to find that 1 yes.

Often a sales call will only be 1-2 minutes but you can learn a lot being inside a lobby and just looking around and asking only a few quick questions identifying who you are, what kind of copier they have, if they are happy with the service and when they might next be in the market for a copier.

What is key is to keep good notes after each call and database those notes end of day.

These 1-2 minute calls are followed up with a return visit approx every six months. Gate keepers are trained to say no to everyone who comes through the door as they know most sales reps will not come back. The ones that do come back they might give a chance if the need to replace their office equipment is within six months.

Most dealers give their sales reps some part of their database that corresponds to their territory so that they have some idea where to go if a lease will expire that year. Upgrading copiers early in a lease is not uncommon.

[BillyCarpenter]

It is easy to make 20 calls in a day. New sales reps are expected to make 30.

You go to one area and walk from business to business.

You can complete this prospecting task by early afternoon and focus on other tasks later in the day that might require driving.

Sales reps develop what I call "emotional armour" that they put on every morning to help them get past 100 no's to find that 1 yes.

Often a sales call will only be 1-2 minutes but you can learn a lot being inside a lobby and just looking around.

What is key is to keep good notes after each call and database those notes end of day.

These 1-2 minute calls are followed up with a return visit approx every six months. Gate keepers are trained to say no to everyone who comes through the door as they know most sales reps will not come back. The ones that do come back they might give a chance if the need to replace their office equipment is within six months.

Most dealers give their sales reps some part of their database that corresponds to their territory so that they have some idea where to go if a lease will expire that year. Upgrading copiers early in a lease is not uncommon.

You covered a lot of ground so I'll try to address all of it and give my thoughts. I enjoy the discussion.

1. No matter how fast you can make 20 face to face calls, I can make 10x that and get the information that I need.

2. "Emotional Armor", as you put it, (I like to call it Fear of Rejection) only comes from hearing the word 'NO' over and over. The more sales rep. hears 'NO', the more desensitized they become to hearing no. Some people aren't cut out for sales and they never get used to rejection. Hell, some times it gets to me and I've been in some form of sales for 30 years.

3. Yes, going into an office does offer some advantages to the phone but they are far outweighed by the benefits of using the phone.

4. I disagree that cold calling an office multiple times greatly increases odds for getting in front of the Decision Maker. I suppose you may get lucky sooner or later.

5. Good notes are vital. Agree.

6. You say you re-visit an office every 6-months? That doesn't make sense as all prospects are at a different point in the sales process. If the lease is up in 10-12 months, I'm gonna contact them way before six months and multiple times. Too many sales reps think they'll be viewed as being pushy. But constant contact is critical when the buying window is open - 10 to 12 months. Now, if they're 3 years out, then 6-months is acceptable.

7. Yes, most dealers use a CRM that should have valuable data on the businesses in their territory. However, this info is totally dependent on the sales rep who entered the information and there's a high turnover in sales.Much of that info is totally useless I have found.

Edit: One last note:

I never leave a meeting without first setting up the next meeting. Any contact with a prospect, whether fact-to-face or telephone should not be left before establishing a CLEAR NEXT STEP. That means setting a date and time for next meeting/phone call.

By the way, I would get rid of the bulk mail-outs and use a drip email campaign. I use Mail Chimp. There are many others.

[SalesServiceGuy]

You covered a lot of ground so I'll try to address all of it and give my thoughts. I enjoy the discussion.

1. No matter how fast you can make 20 face to face calls, I can make 10x that and get the information that I need.

2. "Emotional Armor", as you put it, (I like to call it Fear of Rejection) only comes from hearing the word 'NO' over and over. The more sales rep. hears 'NO', the more desensitized they become to hearing no. Some people aren't cut out for sales and they never get used to rejection. Hell, some times it gets to me and I've been in some form of sales for 30 years.

3. Yes, going into an office does offer some advantages to the phone but they are far outweighed by the benefits of using the phone.

4. I disagree that cold calling an office multiple times greatly increases odds for getting in front of the Decision Maker. I suppose you may get lucky sooner or later.

5. Good notes are vital. Agree.

6. You say you re-visit an office every 6-months? That doesn't make sense as all prospects are at a different point in the sales process. If the lease is up in 10-12 months, I'm gonna contact them way before six months and multiple times. Too many sales reps think they'll be viewed as being pushy. But constant contact is critical when the buying window is open - 10 to 12 months. Now, if they're 3 years out, then 6-months is acceptable.

7. Yes, most dealers use a CRM that should have valuable data on the businesses in their territory. However, this info is totally dependent on the sales rep who entered the information and there's a high turnover in sales.Much of that info is totally useless I have found.

Edit: One last note:

I never leave a meeting without first setting up the next meeting. Any contact with a prospect, whether fact-to-face or telephone should not be left before establishing a CLEAR NEXT STEP. That means setting a date and time for next meeting/phone call.

By the way, I would get rid of the bulk mail-outs and use a drip email campaign. I use Mail Chimp. There are many others.

There is no right or wrong way to prospect for new customers, you have your way, I have mine.

During COVID-19, decision makers have been bombarded with inbound telemarketing campaigns. We have better luck when we make the effort to get in front of customers. I cannot listen to another sales guru on a webinar telling me how to sell over the phone during COVID-19.

In Canada, it is illegal to send unsolicited marketing emails without prior permission. The fines can be quite heavy if found guilty not only against the sales rep but also against the President/CEO personally no hiding behind a Ltd or Corp.

[BillyCarpenter]

There is no right or wrong way to prospect for new customers, you have your way, I have mine.

During COVID-19, decision makers have been bombarded with inbound telemarketing campaigns. We have better luck when we make the effort to get in front of customers. I cannot listen to another sales guru on a webinar telling me how to sell over the phone during COVID-19.

In Canada, it is illegal to send unsolicited marketing emails without prior permission. The fines can be quite heavy if found guilty not only against the sales rep but also against the President/CEO personally no hiding behind a Ltd or Corp.

Speaking of sales gurus....

The new thing being pushed on inexperienced sales people is selling thru social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, ect. They promise that a sales person no longer has to pick up the phone or make face to face calls. All they need to do is spend their time on social media and they'll make more sales than they can handle. It's all bullshit and they prey on the fears sales people have of contacting strangers.

With that said, I do a little of everything: telephone (90%), B2B (5%) social media (5%) And I have someone to do our email campaign.

It's always good to talk to another sales person. Cheers.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Speaking of sales gurus....

The new thing being pushed on inexperienced sales people is selling thru social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, ect. They promise that a sales person no longer has to pick up the phone or make face to face calls. All they need to do is spend their time on social media and they'll make more sales than they can handle. It's all bullshit and they prey on the fears sales people have of contacting strangers.

With that said, I do a little of everything: telephone (90%), B2B (5%) social media (5%) And I have someone to do our email campaign.

It's always good to talk to another sales person. Cheers.

The industry and my employer encouraged me to increase my social media presence. During the worst of COVID-19, since I could not go anywhere, I put a lot of effort into it, refreshing my websites while optimizing for SEO, creating a YouTube channel and constantly posting on Linkedin. I cannot say that social media, other than increasing my awareness amongst industry insiders, has driven any new sales.

It is now part of my daily routine and I will continue to put some effort into it.

[Bix]

I believe it is essential to have a website and certainly social media allow you to get new customers. Do you manage your page on Google Maps through Google Business? This is very important because if one is looking for an office printer, I would like my company to appear at the top on Google Maps. You can also pay for Google Ads to do this.