Video: Great interview with Mike Brooks "Mr Inside Sales"

Mike Brooks, aka Mr. Inside Sales, is on the show with host Kevin Gaither to debate whether or not cold-calling is dead.

00:00 Cold Open
00:30 Introduction
00:55 Nightmare Sales Job: When I Was Hating Sales
02:20 Mike's impressive work history and his books,
03:05 With Sales 2.0, is cold calling dead?
04:20 With inbound leads and Sales 2.0 technology, do we need to redefine cold calling?
05:20 You still need to learn how to make a phone call the right way
05:35 Product dumps and monologues, what's the right way to make a cold call?
06:55 What are the rules for a successful cold call?
08:40 How long should your cold call introduction be?
09:10 Short introductions are important, listening to the answer is more important.
09:55 The three statements to throw away as a sales professional
10:55 The importance and controversy behind scripting calls and responses
12:20 80% of the situations a sales rep will encounter are predictable and able to prepped for
13:35 NFL teams run plays based on research and patterns.
14:05 Ever been told to "send me your information"? Mike has a tip on how to take this common response and convert it into a prospect.
17:20 Part of your job is to disqualify leads in a respectable manner: out of a 100 prospects, only 5 may eventually buy from you. Identify them!
18:35 The most important word in sales is "next".
19:50 Where are sales managers screwing up?
20:50 The Manager's Dilemma
23:10 Mike talks directly to sales managers: "the magic happens during the sale."
24:00 Tools, scripts, and tracking adherence by sitting shoulder to shoulder or recording the calls is a manager's job.
25:45 How do you train inexperienced salesman quickly?
27:20 Discipline is defined as teaching. New sales reps need your discipline.
27:50 What your team is doing on the field while the game is played is what drives sales.
29:20 Ask Kevin: who do I email, a high-level powerful referral or a LinkedIn contact I researched?
31:20 Mike says pick up the phone and start calling!

Follow the Path of Persistence to Sales

A crane operator was swinging a demolition ball against the steel-reinforced wall of a building that was being torn down. But the wall was thick, and the battering seemed to have little effect.  Time after time the heavy ball thudded against the same spot, but the wall remained errect.  Then, suddenly, it crumbled in a cloud of dust, collapsing with a roar.

It was an impressive demonstration of the power of persistence.  We usually associate power with a single devastating blow, like a lightning bolt or a boxer's knockout punch.  Actually, though what we are seeing in the case of lightning is not the result of a single blow, Rather, it is a series of strikes hitting faster than the eye can see.
 
In the prize ring, knockouts are rarely the result of a single punch. More often they follow a succession of early blows.  It's the cumulative effect that gets the results.

It's equally true in selling.  More doors are opened, more sales are made by steady, repeated knocking than buy individual calls and appeals, no matter how forceful or spectacular.

Alex and the Difficult Purchasing Agent

When Alex was a young man selling industrial equipment in the Pittsburgh area, he had to call on a steel company executive  who had a reputation for being tough.  The previous salesman who handled the territory warned Alex that the man ate salespeople for lunch.  Others agreed that he was one of the most difficult people to deal with that they had ever run into.  The executive would see people only when he felt like it,  and he would not make appointments.  Nevertheless, every time Alex was in town he stopped by, chatted with the receptionist, spent 15 minutes waiting, and each time was sent away.  Eventually, after five or six months, the purchasing agent decided to see him. "Well," he said as he glared across the desk, "what do you want?"  Alex presented his case as well as he could.  While doing so he noticed a plastic model of some scaffolding on the back desk.  At the first opportunity he asked about it.  The purchasing agent picked it up, obviously delighted to have a chance to talk about something that interested him.  He demonstrated it to Alex and insisted that he take the plastic model home for his children.  Alex got more out of it than a plastic model.  He also won a customer whom he never had difficulty seeing again as long as he didn't waste his time and made a worthwhile presentation of useful merchandise.  One of the best ways to get to know someone, says Alex, is to allow him or her to do you a favor.  Of course, he says, it's important to reciprocate when the opportunity presents itself.

Know Everything You Can About The Company And Product You Sell

When competing products or services are just about equal, it's usually the salespeople with the extra touch who win the sale.  Effective salespeople realize they can never know too much about their company, it's products, or services it offers.  They're aware that having this extra knowledge and using it is as important to making the sale as having an excellent product or service.  Being more knowledgeable about their company's background, how their product was developed, the special terms and services their company offers and using these things effectively in their presentations makes these salespeople winners more often than not.  The salespeople with this extra touch are aware of their company's shipping and delivery procedures.  If a question comes up on a special packaging or drop shipments, they can tell the prospect what options are available.  If there's money to be saved by using a particular shipper, they know about it.  If the prospect is short on cash, these salespeople can explain exactly what financial services their company will provide.  They know what steps must be taken to establish an open account.  They don't have to guess when asked about their company's credit policy.  If they're wholesalers, these salespeople emphasize the marketing assistance their company offers.  They're  aware of advertising and sales promotion programs, cooperative advertising, point of purchase displays, sales literature, and catalogs.  If they sell machinery, they are thoroughly familiar with installation procedures.  They can tell the prospect exactly what preparation will be required, and how long the installation will take.  They can talk about the technical services their company has available for setup, inspection, and employee training.  If they're selling a service, they know what's involved in the background of their company's service people - the quality of their training, expertise about materials and equipment used to provide the service.  It's true that all this background information won't be used on every sales call.  A prospect may never ask about you company's history, for example.  But if a question does come up,  you'll make a much better impression if you can answer it authoritatively.