| There are 5 simple steps leading to your | | | | This system didn't come into being over-night; it |
| successful entry into corporate sales. | | | | gradually developed as I gained experience from |
| Before we move into the methodology of gaining | | | | making the calls and the travelling between them. |
| access to a constant stream of business from | | | | The times for my appointments, such as 9.15am, |
| businesses I will give you a bit of background into | | | | came about because I learned it is psychologically |
| why and how I developed this system for myself. | | | | easier for a businessman to agree a short |
| I entered the life insurance business as salesman, | | | | meeting at 15 mins past the hour than one 'on |
| having previously been an advertising salesman | | | | the hour' as it suggests that the 9.15am will be |
| sales manager for a national group of | | | | shorter. Simple things like this help smooth the |
| Newspapers. In that career I had been through a | | | | way for your telesales assistant to make the |
| sales representatives training course and also | | | | appointment. Most insurance salesmen balk at the |
| spent some time in the telesales department. | | | | idea of hiring a telesales person because they |
| I became frustrated with the newspaper job as I | | | | associate making the appointment with the act of |
| had reached the best position they could offer | | | | selling insurance. And it would be too difficult to |
| me and I was only 42 years old at the time. One | | | | train someone to do this. |
| of my friends was an insurance broker who saw | | | | I agree, I would not like to try to earn a living |
| my frustration and proposed we start a new | | | | selling insurance over the telephone but using the |
| partnership with me doing the selling and he | | | | phone to make business appointments is an |
| handling the administration. | | | | entirely different and simple matter, all you need |
| After I questioned him a lot I learned that the life | | | | is the right hook. I have found that "Saving Tax" |
| insurance side of his business paid better than | | | | strikes a chord with most business people and it's |
| auto and household insurance and pension business | | | | easy to construct a script that incorporates |
| was the most profitable of all... | | | | something around this hook and it is easy to |
| The next thing I did was to search for a pension | | | | teach this to a part time person. The other thing |
| product that I could sell to groups of people. | | | | that stops insurance agents from hiring this kind |
| This became the basis for my Niche in the | | | | of support is the cost involved. What they don't |
| business or corporate market. | | | | realise is that they hire by the week, a telesales |
| Step One. Decide on your niche. | | | | person will learn the script in a few hours and |
| What are you going to sell and who are you going | | | | after a number of calls will discover it works. You |
| to sell it to? | | | | have told them the usual objections and how to |
| I had decided that selling to businesses would be | | | | deal with them so that by the end of their first |
| more rewarding. | | | | week on the job they will have made you a |
| 1) The cheque books in a business are bigger than | | | | number of business appointments. My own |
| personal cheques and businessmen find them | | | | experience was I hired my telesales girl for 15 |
| easier to sign. | | | | hours a week and on the first week she made 8 |
| 2) I learned that it is just as easy to sell a | | | | appointments, I retrained her for an hour on the |
| proposition to a group of people as it is to an | | | | objections and the following week she made 12, |
| individual and it is many times more rewarding. | | | | from then on my work sheet was full of |
| Step Two. Create and Automate a Prospecting | | | | appointments from new and reappointments and I |
| System. | | | | was running from meetings all week long. The |
| I decided that I would go to a large business | | | | point here is, by the time I had paid her for 45 |
| estate and cold call the many small businesses. I | | | | hours work, she had arranged 36 interviews for |
| did this for a whole day and only gained | | | | me, from which I had already closed 5 group |
| interviews with 2 directors neither of which | | | | sales and signed up 55 people into pension |
| developed into a sale. I realised I needed a | | | | schemes. |
| different method. The next day I decided to | | | | Step 4. Making the Sale. |
| telephone local companies and seek an | | | | It is essential that a presentation should be |
| appointment with the managing director. It took | | | | constructed for the business person you are |
| me just 5 phone calls from which I made 3 | | | | meeting on the premise that they will know little |
| appointments to realise I had found the way to | | | | or nothing about your subject. I overcame the |
| get into businesses. You may be wondering what | | | | problem of exposing the Directors ignorance by |
| 'magic words 'I used to get the appointments. | | | | pretending that what I was going to show him |
| The first hurdle as always in gaining access to a | | | | her was simplified for the benefit of their |
| business owner is the secretary. In essence I said | | | | workers. I then went into a script I had |
| to them "There had been recent changes in tax | | | | developed that illustrated the hazards of not |
| and pension legislation affecting the company and | | | | having a pension and insurance scheme, how |
| your employees and the managing director should | | | | much he and his employees needed a company |
| be aware of these changes and how they will | | | | scheme, what it would do for each of them and |
| affect his company and his staff. As a specialist in | | | | his company. I laid in front of him all the |
| this field I could quickly explain what was | | | | objections that arose in other Directors and their |
| happening and how he and his staff could take | | | | employee's minds and how these concerns had |
| advantage of these changes and save tax." | | | | been met. The close I used was "If I can prove |
| If, as you read this, you are thinking this is not | | | | to you that your staff will value and want to join |
| applicable now, let me assure you, there are | | | | this pension scheme, which will cost your |
| always changes to legislation on tax matters or | | | | company little or nothing to set up will you give |
| pension rules and Directors are too busy running | | | | them the opportunity. |
| their businesses to be up to date on such | | | | They will either say yes or no, that is up to me, if |
| matters. Such an opening would disturb most | | | | they say 'no' it's my loss, if however they say |
| secretaries enough to get me through to the | | | | 'yes' then you will have the benefit of a company |
| Director. I would repeat the same script to the | | | | scheme that over time, will secure loyalty of your |
| director and close by asking for an appointment. | | | | key employees and reduce the cost of staff |
| This worked for me 3 out of 5 attempts. | | | | turnover in the future." |
| Now I had a prospecting system I could | | | | Step 5. The Follow up. |
| automate. | | | | The records of the meetings I had, were fed |
| I hired a part-time person to make the phone | | | | back daily to my telesales girl who recorded them |
| calls for me and I trained her in the script I used | | | | and made the follow up appointments. |
| and I also gave her some answers to possible | | | | For my first close I used the script above to get |
| objections. | | | | the Director to give me the opportunity to meet |
| Next I gave her a track to run on, comprised of | | | | his staff so that I could make my presentation to |
| my weekly log sheet of appointment times and a | | | | them. This I would arrange just before the close |
| list of prospect telephone numbers for her to call. | | | | of their day or just prior to their lunch period in |
| Step 3. Organising the work | | | | order not to disrupt the work flow and cost the |
| These two elements are critical but simple to set | | | | company any more than necessary. |
| up. | | | | My presentation to the staff was exactly the |
| 1) My weekly worksheet was a single foolscap | | | | same as the one I made to the Director but in |
| page divided vertically into 5 columns, headed | | | | this one I used a white board on which I built up |
| Monday thru Friday. | | | | the sale using facts and rough hand drawn |
| The page was also divided horizontally into 5 | | | | diagrams of life insurance works and how pension |
| which resulted in 25 rectangles on the page. On | | | | funds grow over time I explained the low cost |
| the left-hand spaces I put the times for my | | | | benefits of group insurance and tax savings in |
| appointments which I decided would be: 9.15am / | | | | such schemes and told them that their employer |
| 11.15am / Lunch / 2.15pm / 4.15pm | | | | would set such a scheme up for their benefit but |
| This schedule would fit nicely into my prospects | | | | only if they showed their willingness to join such a |
| business day, it would give me time to make | | | | scheme. This was accomplished by them raising |
| what became a series of lengthy interviews and | | | | their hands and me writing their names on a |
| time for me to drive between the meetings. I | | | | sheet of paper. It was usual for me to get well |
| knew that if I could get my worksheet filled on | | | | over 90% of the names on the first time of |
| this basis I was bound to succeed. | | | | asking. I would not try to persuade to hangers |
| 2) The worksheet was accompanied by a small | | | | back at that point as their counter arguments |
| Numbered triplicate carbon copy book on which | | | | would unsettled some of those who were willing |
| my assistant filled in the name & address of the | | | | to sign. I learned over the course of a number of |
| Managing Director, the appointment time and any | | | | these staff presentations, once the majority had |
| other details that might make it easy for me to | | | | actually joined via the private meetings I held with |
| locate the business. (Today that would be via | | | | each member to establish their individual insurance |
| satnav.) | | | | and pension benefits, the dissenting few would |
| The reference number of the appointment was | | | | have been won over by their fellow workers |
| number of the page in the Triplicate book and this | | | | mainly through telling them how silly they would |
| was entered into the appropriate day and time | | | | be not to get the benefits. |
| slot on my weekly work log. The 4 carbon copies | | | | I was able to replicate this method of training |
| for each day were given to me for each | | | | telesales to gain access to small and medium sized |
| successive days work. Of the remaining two | | | | companies. This enabled me to establish a |
| copies one was filed and the other was held by | | | | telesales operation across the country in order to |
| my assistant to record the results of the | | | | make appointments for the other salespeople I |
| appointment and as a reference in case a further | | | | had trained to make the same corporate sale. |
| appointment was necessary. | | | | This ultimately led to my own financial success. |