Posts

How to Handle Early Sales Objections, According to Science [VIDEO]

How to Handle Early Sales Objections, According to Science [VIDEO]

/in /by

Objection: “Just send me some info…”

How to Respond:

“Sure, I want to make sure I send the right info. Tell me more about…”

Why it Works:

  • This uses the ‘Context Effect’ in psychology.
  • The context surrounding an event affects how it’s perceived.

Related: How to Spot a “Requested More Information” in Every Sales Objection

 

Objection: “We already work with your competitor.”

How to Respond:

“That’s great. What results are you getting?”

Why it Works:

  • This response reverses the direction of change.
  • It’s the best way to overcome status quo bias.

Related: Telemarketing: Why Singaporean Prospects Turn You Down

 

Objection: “Call me back in 6 months…”

How to Respond:

“What are your company’s other priorities right now?”

Why it Works:

  • Prioritizing activities is better than time management.
  • Best-selling author Rory Vaden shows this approach defeats procrastination.

Related: The Follow-up Strategies in Cold Calling to Counter the Five “NOs”

 

Objection: “We don’t have any budget right now.”

How to Respond:

“That’s okay. I’m not calling to sell you anything today.
But if I could ask you about…”

Why it Works:

  • This response shows empathy.
  • Harvard neuroscience research finds that trust depends on empathy.

Related: How to make Prospect Realize They Need your Product or Services

 

Try these tactics out for yourself
…and take the conversation to the next level.

 

 

5 Email Opening Tips to Conquer Shorter Attention Spans [VIDEO]

5 Email Opening Tips to Conquer Shorter Attention Spans [VIDEO]

/in /by

Attention spans are getting shorter.
One study claims it’s shorter than a goldfish’s.

But this doesn’t mean people now have fishlike intelligence.
We simply got smarter at spending our attention.

That’s the key to getting your emails opened and read.
You have to show they’re worth people’s attention
… and you only have 8 seconds to do this.

Follow these proven tips to make each crucial second count.

#1 Figure out the best sending schedule

Send times affect email engagement rates.

Research shows mid-morning on weekdays work best.

Tweak your send times based on your own campaign and audience.

Related: A Visual Guide to Email Marketing Analytics [INFOGRAPHIC]

#2 Spend extra effort crafting your subject line

47% of recipients open emails based on subject lines alone.

Good subject lines use recipients’ curiosity and self-interest.

Come up with 2 to 3 subject line ideas and test each one.

Related: How to Make Sure Your Cold Emails Make it to the Inbox [VIDEO]

#3 Avoid starting with “Hi, my name is…”

Opening lines affect whether your emails get read.

Your email won’t be worth reading if it starts off by talking about you.

Hook your prospects by making the opening about them.

Related: 40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every Situation [Free PDF]

#4 Show that you really did your homework

Personalized emails fetch 29% more opens and 41% higher CTRs than generic emails.

But deeper personalization improves conversion by up to 360%.

Open by mentioning a recent trigger event or a shared background.

Related: Email Marketing Series: How to Make your Emails Impossible to Ignore [Video]

#5 Pay attention to layout and formatting

Recipients spend only 5 seconds scanning an email.

In one glance, your prospect should know what the message is about.

Break the body into smaller chunks and make key items stand out.

Related: 5 Things Every Prospecting Email Must Have Before Hitting ‘Send’

But as attention spans continue to dwindle,
this is the best way to email prospects:

Seek respect, not attention.
It lasts longer.

–Z. Abdelnour

How to Make Sure Your Cold Emails Make it to the Inbox [VIDEO]

How to Make Sure Your Cold Emails Make it to the Inbox [VIDEO]

/in /by
 

1 in 5 commercial emails sent never reaches the inbox.

  • 6% end up in the spam folder
  • 14% are blocked by ISPs entirely.

For cold emails, inbox placement becomes even more challenging.

That’s because…

  • You don’t have a relationship with your recipient yet.
  • You’re sending unsolicited messages.

But this doesn’t mean cold emails are spam.

That’s why they belong to the inbox, not the junk folder.

Follow these steps to make sure things stay that way…

A Visual Guide to Email Marketing Analytics [INFOGRAPHIC]

40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every Situation [Free PDF]

 

Step 1: Scrub your list thoroughly

Your cold outreach’s success depends on the quality of your list.

  • Use list cleaning tools and services to remove bad addresses
  • Run a double opt-in campaign, especially when using a third-party list

Related: Get Rid of Dead Leads on your Database in Singapore [Slideshow]

Step 2: Check your copy for spam triggers

Your email’s content and design can set off spam alerts in dozens of ways.

  • Limit your use of known spam words
  • Maintain a 60-40 text-to-image ratio
  • Link exclusively to reputable domains

Related: 5 Things Every Prospecting Email Must Have Before Hitting ‘Send’

Step 3: Segment and personalize your campaign

In the eyes of ISPs, there’s a fine line between non-personalized bulk emails and spam.

  • Add some prospect-specific snippets to your email templates
  • Segment your list and customize the message for each group

Related: Utilize Customer Profiling and Buyer Personas to Achieve Revenue Goals

Step 4: Let ISPs know you’re someone they can trust

Sender authentication tools and services can help you improve deliverability.

  • Setup SPF, DKIM, and DMARC anti-spoofing
  • Sign up for sender and email certification audits

Step 5: Watch how you use your sending IP

Once your sending IP and domain get blacklisted, your emails no longer reach recipients.

  • Send emails in small batches each day and gradually increase the volume
  • Use a dedicated IP for your sending server
  • Keep hard bounces below 5% and spam reports below 0.1%

Remember, cold emails are not spam unless you make them that way.

Related: 7 Stats that Says Email Marketing is the BEST Among Other Channels [INFOGRAPHIC]

4 Ways to Get Past Gatekeepers and Reach Prospects Every Time [VIDEO]

4 Ways to Get Past Gatekeepers and Reach Prospects Every Time [VIDEO]

/in /by

On average, seasoned reps get past gatekeepers only 13% of the time.
For newcomers, that number goes down to 1%.

With the 4 proven sales call best practices in this video,
you’ll be able to reach prospects every time you dial.

But first, let’s understand what gatekeepers really do.

When gatekeepers screen out calls,
they’re really just doing two things:

  1. Keeping the wrong person away from the boss
  2. Letting the right person reach the boss

Clearly, you want to find yourself in the second scenario.

Here are 4 ways to make this happen…

#1 Get yourself referred

The top 2 reasons why executives meet with sales reps are:

  1. Referrals from people in their companies
  2. Referrals from trusted external sources

So, leverage your network and ask for an introduction.

#2 Connect with the prospect before calling

Avoid gatekeepers by making prospects expect your call

  • Send a short intro email
  • Ask for industry-specific advice via LinkedIn or Twitter

The point is to build a relationship well before dialing.

Related: The Follow-up Strategies in Cold Calling to Counter the Five “NOs”

#3 Mention something you learned about the prospect

Show gatekeepers you’re someone who knows about the prospect

  • Point out a recent award, published post, or announcement by the decision-maker
  • Explain how your call relates to the prospect’s role

The idea is to avoid sounding like you just called out of nowhere.

Related: Utilize Customer Profiling and Buyer Personas to Achieve Revenue Goals

#4 Stay in charge but be diplomatic

Keep in mind that the person who asks the questions controls the call

  • Always redirect with a question
  • Resist the itch to pitch

Gatekeepers don’t have the authority to approve your offer, so stay firmly in control.

Now, try these 4 ideas out on your next sales call.

Related: Telemarketing: Why Singaporean Prospects Turn You Down

How to Reach Prospects in Asia with Less Effort and 3x Results with Multi-Channel Marketing

Reach Prospects in Asia with Less Effort and 3x Results [VIDEO]

/in /by

Transcript:

Multi-channel marketing is a way to reach out and interact with potential customers through voice, email, social, chat, website and mobile.

Why Multi-Channel Marketing?

Companies do this type of marketing so it’ll be easier for prospects to find their product in all possible marketing channels and eventually turn them into sales-ready leads. But how can asian companies reach their prospects and get better results with Multi-Channel Marketing?

#1 Set and Focus on your end goals

Ask yourself, “What do you want to accomplish?”.

Do you want to:

  • Increase Targeted Traffic?
  • Increase Inquiries?
  • Increase Sales
  • Become an Authority?
  • Establish your Brand?

Related: Reaching Marketing Goals in Malaysia in the First Month of 2017

#2 Create Your Own Measurement Standard Before Implementing a Campaign

You won’t know how effective your campaign is unless you have set a measurable standard. Before implementing a campaign, develop and set your metrics even if you can’t decide how to measure actual results yet.

Related: Business Astrology: What to Expect in Asia in the Year of the Rooster

#3 Use a Tracking Tool To Monitor Your Success

Keep track of your daily or weekly progress to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

  • But why do you need a tracking tool?
  • To know what works for your business
  • To increase efficiency
  • For higher customer retention

Check out The Three-Step Guide to Better Customer Retention in Singapore

#4 Leverage Industry Influencers

They have decades of experience and a handful of information that you can use to help you reach your goal. Follow and engage with them on their social media account/page. They have lots of followers that will surely help boost awareness for your brand and eventually — gain you leads.

#5 Develop Good Customer Relationship

Building relationship with your customers will help you achieve customer satisfaction.

Why customer satisfaction is important?

  • It shows if your products or services meet the customer’s expectation.
  • It provides companies with metrics to manage and improve their business.
  • It earns customer’s loyalty and word of mouth marketing.

So to truly get the word out to prospects with less effort on your marketing strategies, don’t just rely on a single channel. Instead, reach your Asian prospects and get 3x results with these multi-channel marketing techniques.

The Secrets to Increase your Database with Qualified Contacts

The Secrets to Increase your Database with Qualified Contacts [VIDEO]

/in /by

Video Transcript:

You called Shengya Company today but a nice robotic voice on the other line said…

“The number you called is now disconnected.”

“Disconnected huh! How can that be uncontactable, this is the same database I used two years ago!”

Savvy Marketer: Wait, did you just say two years? Hey, that’s a lifetime of wasted time and effort on dead contacts.

Did you know that 35% of business data becomes obsolete every year? And if you’ve been using the same database a year or more ago, you’re more likely to be calling invalid or the worse, dead contacts.

Get your database some life man!

Let me share with you some secrets on how to increase your database with qualified contacts.

Run a customer profiling campaign!

If you’re not equipped to do the job, outsource an expert who has thought processes and tools to do the following jobs on your behalf.

  • Verification of Data
  • Data Scrubbing
  • Deduplication
  • Database Management

Here’s How to Get Targeted List in Singapore with the Help of an Outsourced Lead Gen Company

Caller: “Are these four different from one another? Can I just pick one process instead?”

Savvy Marketer: Different, yes, but they are linking processes that work as one. Take a look at how it’s done.

First

Your service provider will send Initial Email copies to their email addresses to test the accuracy level of your database. “Delivered” emails, which return replies and show actions signify the activeness of the contacts.

Second

Data Verification: they telephone the contacts to verify all details like, business name, contact name, business address, phone numbers, emails, social media accounts and other important information.

Third

Data Scrubbing: missing details and goneaways are replaced.

Fourth

Deduplication: duplicates are deleted to give room for fresh, active contacts.

Fifth

Database Management:

Remember to keep your database well-managed, updated and fully locked and loaded with qualified contacts. Once that’s done, you’ll discover embedded knowledge that would result to a productive, successful campaign.

Caller: “Will I get someone to answer my call if I follow your tips?”

Savvy Marketer: Go on and call.

“Hi, thank you for calling Shengya Company, this is Mulan how may I help you”

Pissed-off Prospects in Telemarketing Here's How to Make It Up to Them

Pissed-off Prospects in Telemarketing? Here’s How to Make It Up to Them

/in /by

A salesperson or not, we all make mistakes. Unfortunately, when you mess up in sales (even if it’s unintentional) it will affect the entire business reputation. If you relay a wrong message to a prospect, it can cause blunders such as false promises and unsatisfactory results which can potentially damage trust and might lead to lost sales opportunities.

Here are 5 phrases to make it up with them and recover from a damaged deal.

#1: “I’m sorry”

Regardless if the mistake is unintentional or wasn’t really your fault, the relationship you’re trying to build between you and your prospect has gone wrong. Apologize and express a feeling of regret for the damaged done. Tip: Be quiet and Listen

Our first reaction when we make a mistake is to explain and make excuses. But in sales, the best thing to do when you have an irate prospect is to be quiet (especially if you’re the reason why they’re pissed off in the first place). Let them vent out their frustrations and make them feel that they are heard. It will somehow lighten up the situation. Here’s Why Listening is an Important Component in Telemarketing

#2: “I take full accountability for …”

If the mistake was your fault, make sure to take full responsibility for it. Don’t try to talk yourself out and make excuses. Be upfront and admit your mistakes.

Related: The Do’s and Don’ts When Doing B2B Telesales

#3: “I understand how you feel.”

Empathize and acknowledge your prospect’s feelings without annoying him more. Use this statement to open up a positive conversation with your prospect and dig in deeper into the issue. 

#4: “How can I help and fix this?”

Every conflict needs a resolution. Fixing the problem helps maintain your credibility and a good relationship between you and your prospect. If you promise something to your prospect and not able to commit t your words, do whatever it takes to help and fix the issue to keep the relationship healthy.

Related: How Many Call Attempts Should You do Before You Surrender a Lead?

A mistake doesn’t mean it’s the end of the deal, but if you have handled it in the wrong way, you may lose the sale and your customer’s loyalty. Use these phrases when dealing with irate prospects to make everything right.