Why do sports teams (who profess to play for ‘fun’) concentrate on practicing basic fundamentals skills (Art) and then specific plays (Best Practices) until they are second nature, yet we, who profess to belong to the ‘profession’ of sales insist on ‘winging’ it?
Let’s take baseball or softball for an example. From a coaching perspective, we want our players to react instinctively (call it second nature) when certain things happen during a game. If our players have to stop and think about how to react, the play will have passed them by before they are able to react. For instance, a hard hit ground ball to a third baseman does not allow time for a lot of thought. We either are up on the balls of our feet when the ball meets the bat and are already moving forward to meet the ball or it will most likely eat us up for an error. When there is a runner on first and second with less than two outs and the batter hits a fly ball to the center fielder, we know that the center fielder’s first option is to throw to the cut-off man between second and third base to keep the runner on second from tagging up and going to third. We also know that the shortstop should be lining up on a direct line between third base and the center fielder, and that the third baseman should be verbally helping the shortstop accomplish that task. Ever watched a little league game and watch the throw come in behind the runner to second base…and how often the lead runner therefore winds up on third instead remaining on second?
Anyway, I digress. The point is that on that play there were several moving parts. During practice fielders learn the fundamental skills of how to catch and throw (what we call Art in appointment setting), and then learn how to execute plays (what we’d call Best Practices) when certain things happen. The way they learn? Drill after drill after drill. If you’ve ever played baseball or softball or watched your kids practice, you know exactly what I mean.
Now I will admit that practicing a sport that we love to play is somewhat more fun than practicing our appointment making skills. However, it does not change the fact that there are great similarities and that the task is necessary.
They call third base the hot corner in baseball and softball because the ball gets there so quickly. When receiving a negative response when asking for an appointment, the action is no different. We’re all playing the hot corner. The ‘no’ comes at us like a Nolan Ryan fastball (I’m having so much fun with these baseball analogies). Unless we first know how to handle that hard hit ground ball, we’re doomed unless we get really lucky and the ball miraculously finds its way into our glove. And even if we know what to do, unless we’ve practiced that skill so that it is second nature, we’ll be depressed over the fact that one more target said no and we couldn’t counter it. On the cold call, unless our responses roll off the tongue like natural conversation, we’re going to be sitting on the bench (couldn’t resist).
And if we don’t get the appointment, we’re either making way more calls than necessary, or our paychecks are way smaller than we’d like. Or, in this economy, need I say we might be looking for a job.
So if we manage a sales team, how does this translate into what we should be doing to help our teams more efficiently and effectively prospect and specifically cold call? First, find a methodology (Art) that fits you (like The Formula™) and teach the team to use it. Then create a set of Best Practices that contain what we’ll say to the most common negative responses we hear) and then practice it and practice it (role play at each sales meeting) until it becomes second nature.
Until our sales professionals reach the place where they actually welcome those negative responses because they know they’re so good at turning them into conversations where they can deliver our value propositions, we need to be either working with them on improving those Best Practices or practicing them until they’re all making the minimum number of dials possible and investing more of their time in front of prospects actually selling!
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called The Prospector’s Academy™ under the brand name Coldcalling101. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations – the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 214 483-5800 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.
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