No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 6, 2022

These 14 words have lost all meaning to me. It has been said that cursing shows a lack of vocabulary. Maybe so, but I find buzzwords to be even more uncreative and obnoxious. Sales buzzwords are as abundant as bees in summer, and they’re so overused that they’ve lost all their sting. This buzzword definition from Merriam-Webster cracked me up: “An important-sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used chiefly to impress laymen.”.

Fashion 207

Fashion Pivotal Cold Calling Quota 207

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

This is the most common mistake sellers make when video conferencing. I really hate my webcam. (Ok, hate is a strong word.) I have a good camera, but I don’t like the way I look. (Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t lie.) I feel totally uncomfortable staring into my camera. It feels artificial and not at all authentic, but that’s the only way to make eye contact online.

Video 289

Video Cold Calling Exercises Conference 289

No More Cold Calling

JULY 29, 2021

This broken link is to blame for sales teams’ biggest closing mistakes. “My salespeople can’t close.” This is the frustrated lament I hear regularly from sales leaders. But not closing sales is never the real problem. It’s just a symptom. The problem is that sales reps neglect important activities during earlier stages of the sales process. Unless you address the broken links in your prospecting system, your sales reps will continue to struggle with closing the deal.

Closing 409

Closing Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring 409

No More Cold Calling

JULY 13, 2021

A referral is the best way to get a meeting with the decision maker. There are two parts to the sales process: Part One: Getting meetings with decision makers. Part Two: Everything that happens after that. Referrals help you ace Part One and set you up for success in Part Two. That’s an over-simplification, I know, but it’s the easiest way for people to understand the power of a referral introduction.

Decision Maker 401

Decision Maker Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead 401

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2021

Referral sellers have been relationship-building their way through the pandemic. “Video conferencing is a great way to get face to face with clients. But while it may be as close as you can get to in-person, it’s not, and you’re not. If you have a big-deal prospect or client, you’d better jump on a plane, catch a train, or take a road trip as soon as possible.

Sales Meeting 287

Sales Meeting Meeting Referrals Face-to-face 287

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 31, 2021

Here’s what you might have missed this year from No More Cold Calling. If you were asked last year how your day was, your answer would have been: “It’s 2020.” That said it all—at least for businesses that were negatively affected by the pandemic. Their clients weren’t returning calls, and budgets were constricted or put on hold. They freaked out. Too many companies accelerated what they knew—send more and more emails—knowing that strategy was never really successful, even in the best of times.

Referrals 371

Referrals Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 371

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 8, 2021

Even slow progress is worth celebrating. Today is International Women’s Day, and I’m reflecting on women pioneers—trailblazers who paved the way for women in sales, entrepreneurship, engineering, law, and other male-dominated professions. And that includes women in my own family. Did I tell you about the washing machine case? My cousin studied law at the University of Southern California (USC) in the early 1970s.

Hiring 377

Hiring Engineering Call-back Lead Rank 377

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Are your buyers clamoring to talk to you? My phone rang off the hook the last half of 2020. Why the sudden interest in referral sales? A sudden decline in seller access. When the economy shrinks and companies cut budgets, buyers don’t want to talk to salespeople. Layer the pandemic over that economic downturn—well, it gets worse. No one’s in their office, and if you don’t have their mobile number, forget it.

Referrals 323

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead Lead Generation 323

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 14, 2021

Register for Back in The Black Sales TV—first episode on January 19. “The Gatekeeper Died: Why That’s a Good Thing” is the topic for my new, monthly, live Sales TV Show on the Sales Experts Channel. Actually, it’s more like Talk Radio, but on video. Why am I doing a monthly Sales TV Show? The short answer is, more and more salespeople are finding it difficult to generate quality leads and new sources of revenue.

Gatekeeper 265

Gatekeeper Referrals Cold Calling Telemarketing 265

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 29, 2020

Your referral network is your net worth in sales. “How do I ask for a referral from customers I haven’t spoken with in two years?” That’s what a client recently asked me, and I was baffled by his revelation. How can smart, experienced sales reps let their customer relationships wither? I have plenty of advice about asking for referrals , but most of it assumes that salespeople nurture their client relationships.

Referrals 432

Referrals Customer Social Media Revelation 432

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

This isolating year has been a harsh reminder that human connection still matters. It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S., and I’m taking a break. I’m taking the time to appreciate my amazing family and friends, my clients who have become friends, and my remarkable team at No More Cold Calling. Because what I’m most grateful for—this year and every year—is human connection.

Cold Calling 358

Cold Calling Referrals Conversion Video 358

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 1, 2020

Get the latest from No More Cold Calling. I used to think it was just sales newbies who struggled with referral reluctance. They simply hadn’t built their networks or their confidence. When seasoned salespeople started admitting they also felt uncomfortable asking for referrals, I was shocked. I wondered about those in non-traditional sales roles like customer success, CPAs, attorneys, architects, engineers, and consultants—who are now being asked to sell.

Referrals 373

Referrals Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 373

No More Cold Calling

JULY 27, 2020

Research shows cold calling scripts and tricks don’t work, but referrals do. When will sales leadership wake up? They still measure the number of dials and emails sent in a day, when the return on these sales activities is dismal. The last I heard, it took eight to 12 touches to reach a prospect—and that was before the world started working from home.

Sales Leadership 366

Sales Leadership Cold Calling Referrals Lead Qualification 366

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 25, 2020

How to stop ignoring your best source of new revenue. Remember the Johnny Lee song, “Lookin’ For Love”? The lyrics perfectly sum up the most common B2B lead generation mistakes: “I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, Lookin’ for love in too many faces, Searchin’ their eyes and lookin’ for traces, Of what I’m dreaming of.”. Are you looking for your B2B sales leads in all the wrong places?

Lead Generation 409

Lead Generation B2B Lead Rank Lead Scoring 409

No More Cold Calling

MAY 30, 2020

Find out what you missed from No More Cold Calling this month. Working remotely might be great for some, depending on their personality and the number of people quarantining in their homes. But it’s stressful for others and downright overwhelming for many. How can parents even focus with little kids running around? How do couples share workspaces? How are extroverts expected to keep their heads up when they’re isolated from friends and colleagues?

Referrals 156

Referrals Airlines Cold Calling Scale 156

No More Cold Calling

MAY 28, 2020

Please take care of yourself. “ The pendulum has swung too far in the direction of superficial online communications at a time people are hungry for true personal connection.” That’s my favorite quote from David Meerman Scott’s insightful article, “ The 2020s: From the Lonely Chaos of Digital to an Era of Humanity.”. You’ve heard the same message from me throughout this century: Salespeople have become overly reliant on technology to do their jobs.

Social Media 391

Social Media Referrals Cold Calling Social Selling 391

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 31, 2020

Waiting could be your Achilles heel—plus, everything you missed from No More Cold Calling this month. When the economy slows, the pace of decision making must pick up. Ram Charan , author of 25 books and consultant to CEOs, said that many years ago, but it’s even more relevant now. We need to take action to build our business in these tenuous times.

Referrals 326

Referrals Cold Calling How To Call-back 326

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 5, 2020

Your customers are your best source of qualified sales leads. “If your customers aren’t selling for you, you won’t have customers.” Those words of wisdom are from Steve Silver, vice president and research director at Forrester (now Sirius Decisions), when he made his 2025 predictions at the 2019 OpStars Conference. No, I didn’t pay him to promote asking for referrals.

Referrals 432

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead How To Lead Rank 432

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 1, 2020

Don’t ghost people. You’ll end up paying for it. A woman I know from my business group met me for coffee. She wanted to discuss having me speak to her team about referrals. We brainstormed the topic and discussed her investment. She made it clear that she wasn’t the final decision-maker and said she would follow up. I agreed to send her a topic outline and pricing.

Follow-up 344

Follow-up Referrals Up-Sell Cold Calling 344

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 9, 2020

Poor leadership will cost you $3.5 million per sales manager. “ Message to Management: Your job is to get the rocks out of the road for your salespeople so they can do what they were hired to do—sell!”. I wrote that 15 years ago in my first book, NO MORE COLD CALLING: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust. But I don’t think any sales manager listened, because more than half of reps are still missing quota.

Sales Management 390

Sales Management Hiring Cold Calling Quota 390

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 26, 2019

I’m pointing fingers at technology … really. We all view business trust differently, but everyone knows that trust trumps price and that trustworthiness is a valuable trait for a salesperson. Yet, only 18 percent of salespeople are classified by buyers as trusted advisors whom they respect. That’s embarrassing, unforgivable, and downright scary. Much of the mistrust goes to salespeople who pitch products , don’t listen, don’t know how to have conversations, and only focus on making their quota.

Pharmaceuticals 207

Pharmaceuticals Referrals Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead 207

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 10, 2019

There’s nothing like an in-person meeting to close deals. Sales leaders say they don’t need for account executives to travel. Worse yet, salespeople tell me they don’t even need to talk to anyone. Ridiculous, right? I used to think it was because I lived near Silicon Valley, but technology addiction is everywhere. It’s become an epidemic—people typing away and not having conversations.

Travel 194

Travel Account Training Face-to-face 194

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

Even the CIA didn’t believe the truth when it was right in front of them. How could the CIA miss signals and overlook deception from a long-time work colleague—someone they believed had integrity? A person they knew to be upright, truthful, and who “played by the rules?” And if the best human lie detectors in the world can be fooled, how can any of us laypeople know when someone is telling the truth?

Referrals 257

Referrals Loyalty Cold Calling Fashion 257

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 10, 2019

If you’re in data overload, you may not need to be. You’ve heard the phrase: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I know it’s a disgusting mental image, but there’s wisdom in this metaphor. How often do you take on large projects and get mired down in the details—rather than breaking the project into small, digestible, actionable chunks?

Cold Calling 228

Cold Calling Referrals Analytics Data 228

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

A bad boss is bad for your health. We’ve all heard stories about toxic bosses, and many of us have had one. But I never realized the impact bad managers can have on our health—for example, that it could make us “60% more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke, or other life-threatening cardiac condition.” Yep, that’s what one study showed. And there are other startling ramifications.

Energy 189

Energy Referrals Cold Calling Study 189

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

When you prospect by referral, you treat all customers like gold. I’d had it. I threw my three bananas, ketchup, and plastic mustard bottle on the counter and stomped out of the store. I’ve never had a good customer experience at that market, but this was over the top. I was in the express checkout line at Safeway. Despite the 15-item limit, the man ahead of me had more than 20 items.

Referrals 189

Referrals Customer How To Airlines 189

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 21, 2019

Unless you’re a doctor on call, that text message can wait. Did you know that some cities are projecting red and green lights on sidewalks? Yes, we’ve really come to that. Walk on any sidewalk, anywhere, and everyone is looking down at their phones—even when they’re crossing the street. That’s just plain dangerous. We live in a society ruled by the FOMO (fear of missing out).

Referrals 35

Referrals Social Media Cold Calling Survey 35

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 1, 2019

Referral makers don’t want your money. They want to know you’re trustworthy. You’re going to pay me how much for referral business? No thanks! When I refer you, I put my reputation on the line, so I need to trust that you’ll take care of my connection as I would. You won’t pitch, you’ll share best practices, and you’ll follow up. You’ll let me know if this was a good referral for you.

Referrals 289

Referrals System Cold Calling Social Media 289

No More Cold Calling

JULY 18, 2019

Your video marketing doesn’t work for me. Salespeople and content marketers, I don’t like watching your videos. I have to put my earbuds in, and that breaks my concentration. Video is not my learning style. I can read and get your point much faster than I can listen. The caption below your video is distracting to me as well. I will, however, read a well-crafted summary or transcript of your remarks.

Video 228

Video Face-to-face Consumer Hubspot 228

No More Cold Calling

JULY 11, 2019

Are you “all in” or just dabbling? Most people (especially sales leaders) share the same frustrations: How do I fit everything in? How do I catch up? How do I innovate? How do I balance work and family? There aren’t enough hours in the day. I want to do so many things, and I’ll never get to them all. . We’re busier, more efficient, and more productive than ever.

Cold Calling 247

Cold Calling Referrals Proposal Energy 247

No More Cold Calling

JULY 4, 2019

My visit to Normandy on the 75th anniversary of D-Day gave me a lot to think about this July 4. I hadn’t been to France since I was 22, and last month I visited Paris and Normandy. Paris is still a gorgeous city with a rich history. Normandy was beyond anything I’d experienced. Some of you know my sister and I travel together every year. This was our 17th year.

Scale 136

Scale Travel Film Hotels 136

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 27, 2019

Connections and relationships are what count. Should I accept every LinkedIn invitation? I’m frequently asked that question. It’s a personal choice. Some people do. Some people only connect with people they know in real life. Others screen every invitation; they write to people first and ask why they want to connect. I’m in-between. I view every invitation.

LinkedIn 307

LinkedIn Social Media Networking Cold Calling 307

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 13, 2019

Do you really need to sleep with your phone? Call or text me anytime. You won’t disturb me. My phone and smartwatch are turned off when I’m sleeping. They’re nowhere near me. They’re in the kitchen charging. There’s nothing so urgent in my business that my sleep needs to be disturbed. We still have a landline, just in case our kids or grandkids need to reach us.

Wireless 311

Wireless Face-to-face Social Media Cold Calling 311

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 9, 2019

Have you forgotten that selling is social? “Turn off your computer. You’re actually going to have to turn off your phone and discover all that is human around. Vintage telephone on old table sepia photo. us.” That’s what Eric Schmidt, then chairman and CEO of Google, told the graduating class of the University of Pennsylvania in May 2009. Ten years later, his advice is even more relevant than it was back then—for college graduates starting their careers, and for salespeople looking to get B2B le

Sales Qualified Lead 269

Sales Qualified Lead B2B Lead Rank Lead Scoring 269

No More Cold Calling

MAY 22, 2019

Stop talking about referrals. Why would I tell you to stop talking about referrals, especially considering I’ve spent decades spreading that gospel? The answer’s simple. Everyone raves that referrals are their best source of new business, but few salespeople actually raise their hand and commit to referral selling. That’s why I decided to host summer sales training courses this year.

Referrals 47

Referrals Course Training Hiring 47

No More Cold Calling

MAY 9, 2019

Get out of the weeds. How many balls can you keep in the air at one time? Some business leaders are better jugglers than others, but everyone has their breaking point—or, rather, their dropping point. Juggling priorities is a challenge for every business owner. You’re overwhelmed with business development and all the things you need to do to attract and retain customers.

Small Business 329

Small Business Small Business Face-to-face Social Media 329

No More Cold Calling

MAY 2, 2019

Hiding behind technology doesn’t drive sales—THIS WILL. Next week is National Small Business Week in the United States. For more than 50 years, the U.S. president has issued a proclamation that dedicates the first full week in May to celebrating America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. There’s plenty to celebrate. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and those companies create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year, according to the

Small Business 316

Small Business Small Business Referrals Hiring 316