| I try to be an astute observer of the literature | | | | offensive, that prospects should close themselves. |
| that crops up in sales and marketing, and of | | | | That is ideal, and there are methods for making |
| course, I contribute my share. | | | | that happen, largely through what has been |
| One of the things that I find astonishing is that | | | | termed consultative selling or what I have |
| there is always a huckster's huckster, someone | | | | developed: "The New Telemarketing (TM)." |
| who touts the idea that proven, conventional | | | | However, it's not enough to lead most horses to |
| selling tools are old hat, obsolete, unnecessary, or | | | | the water, you have to help them to drink it by |
| outright harmful. | | | | overtly asking for the sale. |
| For instance, you've probably seen the ad on the | | | | Just a little nudge in the right direction can do it. |
| web that claims cold calling doesn't work, or that | | | | Let's say you're talking features and benefits with |
| it's "dead." | | | | a prospect and you come to a lull in the chat. At |
| Horse feathers! | | | | that time, if you just smile and say, "Okay?" the |
| It's as alive as we are. | | | | prospect will probably give you his approval. |
| If the same purveyor of this pap said cold calling | | | | Granted, an "Okay?" in the middle of nowhere |
| isn't as successful as contacting warm leads, | | | | seems odd, but isn't it odder to prolong the |
| people who have expressed interest in your | | | | silence until it becomes obviously uncomfortable? |
| product, then he'd be making a reasonable point. | | | | I'm using this ultra-simple illustration to |
| Instead, he overstates the case, most likely in the | | | | demonstrate that closing is really a natural part of |
| interest of getting our attention. But it's a con. | | | | the conversational process and not an artificial |
| Cold calling works fine, and in many situations it's | | | | device that must sound stilted or strategic. |
| the most direct and fastest way of building your | | | | Also suspect is the recently trendy idea of |
| client base. | | | | "permission marketing," but I'll save my discussion |
| Another myth is that closing is ineffective or | | | | of this newfangled notion for another day! |