I HATE traditional sales tactics.
The constant emailing, following up and pestering. And you know the other person is probably secretly hating you.
Many of us are so familiar with the old-school way of making sales. I've done it before. I was expected to sell that way because my old-school employer expected it. But deep down inside, it didn't feel authentic to me – like I was betraying my values – and it ate me up inside.
I don’t mind the rejection – I learned how to overcome that (and I’ll share my thought process with you here – just stay with me ).
Even though I closed over half a million a year, I didn’t feel like I did it the right way. I felt like I was burning bridges and it didn’t feel sustainable. You know that feeling you get when you know you probably shouldn’t be talking to someone again because they don’t want to hear from you anymore? Yes, I was getting that sense all the time.
That’s when I decided that I wanted to do things better. I wanted to be more authentic. And when I figured that out, my conversion rate improved significantly from 1:100 to 1:4. I feel confident pitching knowing that even if my prospect doesn’t choose me, they knew I would be true with them.
I did this by reframing my thought process, and I want to share them with you if it helps.
Don’t blame yourself
We’re often told that we just need to “suck it up and do it” because it's not a problem. Very early on in my career, I had an older colleague tell me, "I had to suffer, so you do, too."
The "advice" I was given clearly came from a very negative place.
It was counter-productive because what we’re telling ourselves is that if we fail, it’s our fault so we stop believing that we could do it. But it’s not your fault if you’re rejected. It’s just the nature of the game.
It’s a numbers game
If you know that your conversion rate is 2% with cold-calling, that means you have to make 50 calls before one person says "yes" to you.
If you take yourself out of the equation, you'll realize that it's not you – it's just how it is. Look at it with a positive mindset: the more people you call, the closer you are to making a sale. It’s only a matter of time.
Support yourself with marketing
I noticed that the most success I had was when I had marketing support. I closed US$60,000 with one email campaign because it was sent to the right demographic at the right time.
The prospects were well aware of our organization, and they were just waiting for the opportunity to be asked.
Sales cycles map out the process to warm up prospects, and I share it on my website at http://tribalistco.com.
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to share your thoughts with me at cindy@tribalistco.com - I’d love to hear from you!
Cindy, our North York, ON Branch Director, is a multipreneur and marketing professional who helps small businesses with acquisition and retention through inbound marketing. She has spent the last five years living and working abroad because she wanted to understand the other side of the world. In her spare time, she enjoys learning new skills and reading. She also does a bit of yoga from time to time :)