WINNING - How to Achieve Your Goals and Dreams
By Frank Furness

Why do a small percentage of people qualify at a top level every year while others sit back and wonder how they could ever achieve it.

There are many reasons, including Knowledge, Good Habits, Positive Mental Attitude and Excellent Skills, but research has shown that these top producers have definite goals and a detailed plan of action for attaining their targets.

So, why not you? It’s the ideal time to set up your Goals Programme and detailed Production Plan.

Start by setting up a Goals Programme (maybe the first time you’ve ever done this). Guidelines for setting goals are as follows:
Goals must be written
They must be your goals.
They must be achievable.
You need to stretch yourself to reach the goals.
You need goals in every area of your life.
Set yourself short, medium and long term goals.
Be prepared to change and pay the price of reaching your goals.
Realise that goal setting is an ongoing process.

You’re now ready to set up your own Goals Programme, so get some paper and start writing, following these steps.
1. Write out your Master Dreamlist. Open your mind and don’t limit yourself. Write everything you’ve ever wanted (Red Porsche, house in Spain, small waistline, 22-inch biceps, having dinner with Tom Cruise/Julia Roberts).
2. Copy your Master Dreamlist into the following categories and add to the list.
a. Family and Homelife
b. Financial, material possessions and professional.
c. Social and recreational.
d. Physical and sporting and health
e. Mental and learning goals
f. Spiritual and ethical.
Make sure you have goals in each category to lead a happy balanced life.
3. Now edit your lists and remove any goals that are not realistic or achievable (beating Linford Christie in a 100-metre race).
4. What you now have left are your realistic and achievable goals. Now for each goal, set a time limit (e.g. 31st May 1999, etc).
5. For each goal, identify any obstacles you may have to overcome or new skills you would need to acquire.
6. Make small (business card size) affirmation cards to review constantly. The goal must be stated positively (e.g. Before going to a client, have a quick look at your card, which may say, “I obtain 6 well qualified referrals from every prospective client I visit”).
7. Visualise yourself achieving your goals (Every great sports person does this, they’ve run the race 30 times in their minds before they reach the track). Visualise yourself receiving the letter congratulating you on qualifying ‘Million Dollar Round Table’. If your goal is a new BMW, go and test drive the car, get the brochures and put them on your office wall so that you can see it each day until it becomes a reality.

Example of a Master Dreamlist
Buy a Mercedes 500 SL
Family holiday to Hawaii
Buy a holiday home in Spain
Help my children achieve their University degree.
Qualify MDRT ‘Court of the Table’
Lose one stone in weight
Take my partner to dinner or movies once a week
Spend 20 minutes each day with my children, playing the games they want to play.
Pass my AFPC
Be recognised as the top Sales Manager in the Company
Go to church once a week/month
Improve my public speaking
Help a worthwhile charity

Remember ‘If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting…’
Insanity = To keep doing the same things and expect different results.

Learn more from our great resource ‘It’s all About You’

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/ Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Sales Tips by Frank Furness

THE TEN STEPS OF REFERRAL PROSPECTING

Ask for specific referrals to narrow the customer’s focus.
Gather as much information about the referral as possible.
Ask your customer for permission to sue his or her name.
Ask your customer for help in obtaining an appointment with the referral.
Contact the referral as soon as possible.
Inform your customer about the outcome of the contact.
Build referral alliances (this can be through sources such as tip clubs, centres of influence, key people in the industry).
Prospect for referrals just like you prospect for sales leads.
Rank your referrals as you do your customers:
A for hot (you know a lot about the referral and the referrer introduces you)
B for warm (you know little about the referral and you can use the referrer’s name).
C for cold (you know nothing about the referral, and you can’t use the referrer’s name).
Seek internal referrals (other departments, locations, divisions, branches and subsidiaries).

Also, Take a listen to our 5CD and DVD package ‘Sales Success Strategies’, filled with tips, techniques and ideas to increase productivity


Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. Based in London, Frank is the President of the Professional Speakers Association of Europe and the current chair of the International PEG.
His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

Telephone Tips
By Frank Furness

Most people fear cold calling. The most difficult part is actually picking up the phone and starting to call. We would do almost anything rather than phoning, so we spend time looking busy doing things like emails and filing. The biggest fear is the fear of rejection. Here are some basic rules for making cold calls:

• Plan your calls
• Phone every day
• Phone when your energy levels are highest
• Know your script
• Be organised
• Be enthusiastic
• Set yourself mini targets
• Focus on results
• Keep ratios
• Have the right environment
• Always try to have referrals to phone than a complete cold call
• Do some research on the website about the organisation you are phoning
• Watch your posture – stand and call
• Know the most common objections and how to answer them
• Get ENTHUSIASTIC

Here is another phoning script. This works well if you have been referred.

Hello, is this Mr Jones, My name is Pete White from XYZ.
How are you today?
The reason I’m calling is that we specialise in helping retirees to
Plan their vacations (this is your benefit to the client)
And I thought I’d give you a call to see if you’d be interested in chatting about the various options available
Is ….. Something to which you’ve given much thought?

It doesn’t matter what they answer, you should always get the appointment. If they have thought about it, you’re in! If they haven’t given it much thought, then now is the ideal time to meet with you to discuss their options. Try it, it works!!

This is an excerpt taken from my new E-book, ‘Finding New Business’ which is filled with proven ideas on finding new clients. At 50 pages it is easy reading and is available as hard copy or an E-book for $16 or £10. Please email me if you’re interested.

Also, Take a listen to our 5CD and DVD package ‘Sales Success Strategies’, filled with tips, techniques and ideas to increase productivity

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Technology Tips – Voice Recognition
By Frank Furness

Anyone who knows me well will know that I am a technology geek and have the biggest collection of gadgets imaginable. It’s so bad that every time I speak in Hong Kong, the gadget shop owners know me by name. The great thing about gadgets though, is if you use them they can increase the effectiveness of your business greatly. Each month I will be featuring a gadget, software or e-book could will increase your effectiveness.
I don’t know if anyone else is like me, but sometimes when I have appointments where I try to sell my services, I sometimes don’t take notes as comprehensively as I should and sometimes forget important points. A great gadget that has assisted me is the Olympus DS3000 digital voice recorder. Every time I leave a meeting now, I dictate file notes on exactly what went on in the meeting and action plans to follow up. When I get back to the office, I plug in one end of a cord to my voice recorder and the other end to the USB port on my computer and it downloads automatically and saves it as a sound file. Now I can listen to it whenever I want to and not forget anything important. Even better, I have also bought Dragon voice recognition software and trained it to recognise my accent. The two programmes connect and the voice file that I recorded can now be converted into a word document. It’s fantastic, I use it for my emails, dictating letters when I’m travelling, file notes and even a book that I’m writing. It’s like having a free secretary. I bought my system from a great guy, Neil Winton at voice Recognition Systems and his email is neil@pc-voice.co.uk. Mention my name, maybe he’ll give me a discount sometime in the future.


Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

RECRUITMENT Strategies
By Frank Furness

I have been working as a trainer and recruitment consultant for a number of years, specialising in the offshore financial services industry. During this time, I have had the pleasure of working with some excellent recruiters as well as some with no clue at all. Guess who attracts the best recruits? Professional recruitment is the lifeblood of any successful financial services company. Here are some tips that will help you attract the winners.

· Know what you’re looking for.
Have a profile of the type of person you want in your organisation, e.g. age, marital status, financial stability, experience.
· Have a track to follow.
Develop a questionnaire that will accurately evaluate the prospective recruit and reasons why they should join your organisation. I use a 4-page questionnaire that paints an accurate picture of the recruit and helps to evaluate whether he is the right person for the organisation.
· Use an impartial, proven recruitment tool.
I use the Sales Success Profile. The recruit completes a questionnaire. The answers to 50 questions are fed into a computer, which produces a 7-page report. This highlights the strengths and weaknesses in 13 selling skills. Important areas highlighted are whether the person is ethical, call enthusiasm, trainable or not, burned out, etc. This is also an excellent tool that highlights weaknesses and areas to be concentrated on when the person joins.
· Gut instinct.
Listen to your gut instinct. If the person looks fantastic on paper and sells them well, but your gut instinct leaves you feeling uncomfortable, don’t hire – 9 times out of 10 you will be right.
· Professional venue.
Most offshore recruiters fly in to the UK to recruit. Choose the best hotel or venue available – first impressions count. One of the most professional organisations that I work with uses the Dorchester and they attract quality recruits.
· Expectations.
Let the recruit know exactly what they can expect from you in terms of airfares, accommodation, commission, etc. Let them also know exactly what you expect from them.
· Detail the specifics of the job.
This may seem trivial, but is often overlooked. Let them know that they will be expected to cold call, detail the working hours and what time you expect them to be in the office each day. Tell them about the dress code, activity levels and any other pertinent details. Get them to agree to all the points.
· Passion.
Sell with passion. If the person is good, they buy you. I have worked with some people who are extremely boring, waffle endlessly and any strong recruit will immediately dismiss this company and look for a leader with enthusiasm. Remember, in their minds they’re saying ‘Would I like to work with this person’.
· Contracts.
If you like the person and offer them the position, courier contracts immediately. Recruits are impressed and once they have signed the contracts, they commit themselves.
· Follow up.
Most recruiters are excellent at what they do. The problems occur after the interview. After they have sold the position, they then hand the process over to an admin person. Many times this person has not been trained properly, doesn’t know how to deal with new recruits and doesn’t realise the urgency of the follow up. In my experience, this is the stage where the complete process most often becomes unstuck. It’s just like selling, if we leave the client for too long, they lose their passion to buy, or they buy from someone else.
· Keep your promises.
Follow up everything that you have promised with a letter. Meet them at the airport, welcome them, help them by joint calling and do everything in your power to help them to succeed. If you don’t, all the time and money you’ve invested in recruiting the person is in vain. High staff turnover and low morale follows.

Our great resource ‘How to Gain, Train and Maintain a Winning Sales Team’ details the 24 point plan to develop a winning sales team.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales resources have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/free_downloads.cfm
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter – http://www.frankfurness.com/page.cfm?WebpageID=10

Professional Speaking – How to break into the International Market
by Frank Furness

Choose your unique and specialty market. My market was initially the English speaking International Financial Services market. Over the years this has spread to include the IT and software market as well as any company in any country where people can understand English. Because of my delivery style, I have chosen not to work with translators (at this stage)

Marketing yourself – the key to success
· Identify clients you have spoken for in the past that have international offices. Get a referral to the decision maker in the overseas office. Email or send a letter and follow up with a phone call.
· Dial and Smile – Pick up the phone and cold call. When I started out, I identified companies and banks that have international offices and phoned the President. One of those calls resulted in a business relationship with a company that spends between $50k - $100k each year sponsoring me to speak to their clients around the world.
· Find five clients that will provide you with 50% of your work each year. I have five large international companies that each book me for between six and thirty talks each year. I also have two or three Companies that I am developing should any of the ‘big five’ drop out.
· Actively prospect when speaking abroad. When speaking overseas, I will scan the local papers, magazines and yellow pages for potential clients. I’ll then phone and establish who the decision makers are and endeavor to set up a meeting and sell my services. A lot of these Companies are open and receptive to meeting with you.
· Referrals – always ask for referrals. Apart from existing clients who I do repeat business with each year, I have over 200 potential clients that have been given to me as referrals. If you leave the client satisfied, they will always give you referrals – IF YOU ASK!
· Add on an extra day to meet with potential clients – Wherever I speak in the world, I add on an extra day to see potential clients and bureaus. I can normally fit in 5 appointments for the day and this always results in at least one extra booking. On a recent trip to Singapore I managed to give a keynote speech to a large Insurance Company and in the same day have five meetings with potential clients. One of these meetings was a cocktail party where I met with twenty of the most influential business leaders in Singapore.
This was only achieved because I had developed a center of influence in Singapore who had arranged the talk and all of the meetings. He is rewarded with a percentage of the fee, which makes it a win-win situation for everyone.
· Find the other offices – When speaking internationally, find out where the International client for whom you are speaking has other branches around the world. Find out who you should contact at the other offices to do the same talk. In January last year I spoke at a large software company in Dubai. The CEO from London was in Dubai at the time and heard me speak. After the talk he asked me to contact him to replicate the talk to their other international offices. They have offices in 33 countries.
· Network and socialize – Before going on an international talk, surf the net to see what social events are happening while you’re there. Then arrange an invitation, as you’ll always meet potential clients at these events
· Have fun and take a tour – If I visit a country for the first time, I’ll always take an extra few days to see the place. This normally includes a half-day bus tour. It’s amazing who you can meet on these tours. I’ve met and become friends with the Vice-President of one of the largest insurance companies in the USA and a grand old lady who turned out to be the wife of the owner of one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains.
· Bureaus – find out who the bureaus are internationally and meet with them. When I spoke in South Africa two years ago, I met with the leading bureau. This resulted in bookings from this bureau to speak in Sun City, Mauritius for both Cape Town.
· Web site – Pay a company to generate hits to your site. By doing this I have just secured a talk with a USA bank from the Internet. This has also generated three other enquiries, one with an International Company who needs someone to speak in five different Countries for them.
· Always meet with the decision maker at the event. I was recently booked to speak in Scotland to a company who had just merged with a German telecommunications Company. After the talk we spent some time with the German CEO and now following up to present the same talk to the German counterparts.



Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Double your Market, Double your Income
Keys to Conquering the International Speaking Market


Frank Furness

Your Business Plan
If you want to work the International Circuit, you need to plan for it. Work out how many days each year you want to speak overseas, the market you want to work and develop an action plan.

Your Unique Market
Choose your unique and specialty market. My market was initially the English speaking International Financial Services market. Over the years this has spread to include the IT, Software and any market involve in sales in any country where people can understand English. Because of my delivery style, I have chosen not to work with translators.

Marketing yourself – the key to success
· Identify clients you have spoken for in the past that have international offices. Get a referral to the decision maker in the overseas office. Email or send a letter and follow up with a phone call.
· Dial and Smile – Pick up the phone and cold call. When I started out, I identified companies and banks that have international offices and phoned the President. One of those calls resulted in a business relationship with a company that spends between $50k - $100k each year sponsoring me to speak to their clients around the world.
· Find five clients that will provide you with 50% of your work each year. I have five large international companies that each book me for between six and thirty talks each year. I also have two or three Companies that I am developing should any of the ‘big five’ drop out.
· Actively prospect when speaking abroad. When speaking overseas, I will scan the local papers, magazines and yellow pages for potential clients. I’ll then phone and establish who the decision makers are and endeavor to set up a meeting and sell my talks. A lot of these Companies are open and receptive to meeting with you.
· Referrals – always ask for referrals. Apart from existing clients who I do repeat business with each year, I have over 200 potential clients that have been given to me as referrals. If you leave the client satisfied, they will always give you referrals – IF YOU ASK!
· Add on an extra day to meet with potential clients – Wherever I speak in the world, I add on an extra day to see potential clients and bureaus. I can normally fit in 5 appointments for the day and this always results in at least one extra booking. On a recent trip to Singapore, I managed to give a keynote speech to a large Insurance Company and in the same day have five meetings with potential clients. One of these meetings was a cocktail party where I met with twenty of the most influential business leaders in Singapore.
This was only achieved because I had developed a center of influence in Singapore who had arranged the talk and all of the meetings. He is rewarded with a percentage of the fee, which makes it a win-win situation for everyone.
· Find the other offices – When speaking internationally, find out where the International client for whom you are speaking has other branches around the world. Find out who you should contact at the other offices to do the same talk. In January I spoke at a large software company in Dubai. The CEO from London was in Dubai at the time and heard me speak. After the talk he asked me to contact him to replicate the talk to their other international offices. They have offices in 33 countries.
· Network and socialize – Before going on an international talk, surf the net to see what social events are happening while you’re there. Then arrange an invitation, as you’ll always meet potential clients at these events
· Have fun and take a tour – If we visit a country for the first time, we’ll always take an extra few days to see the place. This normally includes a half-day bus tour. It’s amazing whom you can meet on these tours. We’ve met and become friends with the Vice-President of one of the largest insurance companies in the USA and a grand old lady who turned out to be the wife of the owner of one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains.
· Bureaus – find out who the bureaus are internationally and meet with them. When Frank spoke in South Africa last July, he met with the leading bureau. This resulted in bookings in November in Sun City and Mauritius for both Brendan and Frank.
· Web site – Pay a company to generate hits to your site. By doing this we have just secured a talk with a USA bank from the Internet. This has also generated three other enquiries, one with an International Company who needs someone to speak in five different Countries for them.
· Always meet with the decision maker at the event. We were recently booked to speak in Scotland to a company who had just merged with a German telecommunications Company. After the talk we spent some time with the German CEO and now following up to present the same talk to the German counterparts.

Be Aware of Cultural Differences
Middle East - Don’t show soles of your feet when seated, considered an insult.

China & Hong Kong – Hand over and accept business cards with both hands.

Japan – Don’t try to copy the Japanese way of bowing, you will never get it right and make a fool of yourself.

Malaysia & Singapore – Point with your thumb, not your index finger.


Adapting your talk
When speaking to English speaking foreigners, always speak slowly. Remember, English is their second language.

United Kingdom – The British, Scots and Welsh have a different sense of humor to Americans. They are passionate about soccer, rugby and cricket, hardly any knowledge of baseball, American football, ice hockey or basketball. They can appear to be conservative and don’t like too much rah-rah. When you get to know them they are great audiences.

South Africa – sport crazy, especially rugby and cricket with a great sense of humor similar to Americans. Enjoy lots of motivation and excitement.

India – possibly the best audiences in the world. They enjoy lively interactive motivated talks. You are almost guaranteed a standing ovation. They love to be photographed with you.

Chinese & Japanese – They are very formal and serious. They have a great thirst for knowledge. Make your talk less motivation and more education. If they like you they will generate a lot of repeat work. It is very important to learn about their culture.

Singapore – smart and elegant, but want value for their money.

Middle East – Gregarious and outgoing. Very emotional and love stories. If selling tapes or CDs, send them ahead of time. You will be x-rayed when entering the Country and they will take your tapes and watch them, very strict on morals.

Germans, Swiss, Belgium’s – very serious, less motivation, more education and don’t waffle – get straight to the point.

Spanish – easygoing and very laid back. Great love of life and a lot of fun.

Malaysians – Softly spoken, respectful and emotional. Also love stories and lots of humor.

Time Out
If you’re going to a country for the first time, take an extra two days to sightsee. We have seen and done incredible things while speaking internationally. Why not? It’s one of the perks of the profession.

Tips
· If speaking in a country for the first time, ensure you have all the details of the venue and mobile phone numbers of the organizers. If something goes wrong or your limo is not there to pick you up, these are essential.
· Check that you have the correct visas. Very serious immigration officials with machine guns once delayed Frank for four hours in the Czech Republic because of visa problems.
· Back of room sales – ensure you know what they use. The Far East is very advanced. Will only buy VCD, CD or DVD. Most of them don’t own an audiotape machine and consider it old fashioned. When working around the rest of the world, remember that videotapes should be in the PAL format and not NTSC as used in the USA.
· When checking into a hotel, ensure that the organizers have arranged payment. Sometimes they fax booking confirmation and not payment information to the hotel.
· Ensure that you have a rock sold, signed contract and receive payment before the talk. It can be difficult chasing your payments from 10,000 miles away.
· Allow for jet lag. If you have a 13-hour flight and a 10-hour time difference, you will not give your best performance without a rest. Take a natural herb tablet called Melatonin that sorts out the body clock immediately.
· Try to take day flights, you can get a lot of work done and arrive in time for a good night’s sleep

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com
NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Multiple Sources of Income through Technology
By Frank Furness

I love gadgets and technology and it has completely changed the way that I think and work. It also enables me to choose only the speaking engagements that I want to do while maintaining my earnings. It provides me with income while I sleep, an exit strategy and future pension for my business. Over the last eighteen months I have invested a great deal of time and money to discover what it takes to make technology really work and I would like to share some of these with you.

Digital voice recorder – I bought my first digital recorder when they first appeared on the market and now use the Olympus DS4000 which is superb. I use it to record my talks which I can then turn into saleable products. I also interview top personalities and insert these recordings into my talks and products.

Voice Recognition Software. – A few years ago I spoke one language and the recognition typed another. With a bit of training, Dragon 8 has 95% accuracy and saves me time. All my emails and documents are now dictated and my new book is being written using it. Thank goodness the one finger typing days are a thing of the past.

Audio CDs –I now have 13 audio products, mostly triple CD series. By the end of April I will have another eight, including two super products that will sell for £500 each. My first audio product was recorded on a £100 minidisk and resulted in a £35,000 order. With today’s technology, all my recordings are done at home using a Rode NT1000 microphone, Focus Trackmaster preamp and Adobe Audition software. I can now do all my recordings and editing when I want to and produce a massive amount of product. With a small amount of practice, this is not difficult to do, anyone can master it.

DVDs – I have 3 DVDs. Two were the results of being videoed at presentations I gave and one was where I hired a crew to film me. It cost me a small fortune to have these turned into DVDs. Now using Adobe Premier or Pinnacle Pro (£70), I can do this myself.

Websites – I have a great website, but it is a bit confusing. I’m trying to sell speaking, training, consultancy and products. I am setting up one page websites for each of these areas as well as a website for each product. I am not a ‘techie’ and don’t know much about HTML, but using ‘Header Generator’ and ’60 second sales letter’ software, I can produce these websites that bring in sales while I sleep.

Sales Copy – One of the most interesting things I have learned is the importance of having catchy headers and having the right sales copy. Once again, I use software that through wizards enables me to get copy that sells.

Lists – Last year I spoke in Hollywood with an Internet superstar, Joel Christopher. I became friendly with him and bought his programme on list building. I now have nearly 10,000 subscribers from all over the world and this is what sells product. You must start to build your lists immediately.

Ezine – I avoided having an electronic newsletter (ezine) for ages. My first newsletter last year resulted in 10 International bookings from people that I had never met, but my newsletter was passed on to them by my other subscribers. With so many newsletters circulating, content is king and is going to be the one differentiator between getting your newsletter read or deleted. I use a company called Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) for my newsletter. It is easily constructed and provides statistics on clickthroughs and resultant sales of products on my website. I use another piece of software called ‘Ezineannouncer’ to spread my newsletter globally and bring in a ton of new subscribers. Get your newsletters going now, even if it’s only being sent to ten people.

Affiliates – How would you like to have sales representatives all around the world selling your products? Well, this is fairly easy to do on an affiliate programme. I sell other peoples products and have people all over the world selling mine (including Dottie Walters in the USA, take a look at her website and you will see some of my products)

Teleseminars – How do you keep in touch with all your past and future clients and delegates that have attended your talks? The easiest way is to run teleseminars. Once again this is easy to do. I normally use three way calling and have an overseas guest. You can mute your listeners; have question and answer sessions and immediately afterwards have a CD product to sell.

Computer Recording Equipment – I have bought a programme that will record any telephone conversations that I have. This is great for interviews as well as recording briefs that I conduct with clients before I speak.

Websites – With today’s technology, you can add video and audio to your website. I use a company called Advenzia (www.advenzia.com) for my website as they have built in an affiliate programme and allow me to make my own changes whenever and wherever I want to. My last webmasters made a fortune from me by charging every time I wanted to make any small change. You must have the ability to make changes on your website

Interactive Marketing CD – Most glossy brochures go straight into the bin. For a number of years I have been using an interactive CD that I send to potential clients and enquiries. This has resulted in a 95% close rate as it can contain so much information: videos and audio of you presenting, TV and radio interviews, information on all your programmes, clients, testimonials and a lot more. With today’s technology, this is affordable and provides a great return on investment.

Video for PowerPoint – How would you like to be speaking at a convention, do a video interview with the CEO and have it as part of your presentation? This is easy to do with a simple video camera and software (I use Pinnacle Pro). Think about how you can use this type of technology to differentiate yourself from the other speakers and trainers. Even more impressive, how would you like it if the day after your talk, all your delegates can go in to your website and listen to the presentation and see photos and watch a video of the talk. Amazing and doable with a small amount of training.

Photos – This is the easiest thing to do. With digital cameras nowadays, you can easily insert photographs into your presentations.

All of these are just a few of the things you can do to enhance your business and provide multiple sources of income. Having spent eighteen months studying all this, I have mountains of information. To get your free eBook where I share some of this information, please download it from www.frankfurness.com/internet.cfm
Also, take a look at my one day seminar on ‘Multiple Sources of Income’ on my website or call me on +44 (0)1923 248200 or email me at frank@frankfurness.com
Frank Furness CSP FPSA speaks and presents globally and is the past president of the Professional Speakers Association of Europe

HOW TO WIN COMPETITORS' CUSTOMERS by Frank Furness

1.Think long term Don't give up when you hear, "I'm satisfied." Satisfaction may be temporary. Your prospect's needs may change, or you may provide a good reason for switching.

2.Develop a relationship Once you've mastered the relationship strategies, you will be able to determine quickly whether you can develop a rapport with a prospect, sale or no sale. By developing a friendship, you will be able to …

3.Study needs Take your time, do research, and ask a lot of non-threatening questions so you can find out your prospect's needs and how well they are being satisfied. The key is to find a need gap and offer a solution.

4.Sell yourself Personal chemistry is important, but so is the knowledge that you are an enthusiastic, earnest, professional, ethical, caring expert who would be nothing but an asset to know and do business with. Come up with new ideas for your prospects. Show them that you are on their team, sale or no sale.

5.Add value So many products and services are commodities that differentiation may be difficult. That is why you sell yourself. That is also why you have to differentiate your product with added value such as service and performance guarantees, superior services, and better delivery schedules - whatever it takes to be better.

6.Ask for a no-risk trial order Many customers are loyal to their suppliers, but will grant you a trial order if you ask for it. Make it a no-risk proposition. Ensure your prospect's satisfaction with some kind of guarantee, and bend over backward to make sure the trial order makes a very positive impression.

7.Ask for a portion of their business "Stealing" a competitor's customer may not be an all-or-nothing deal. You may have to do it bit by bit, proving yourself slowly as you go along. Ask for a small percentage of the prospect's business and you may find that percentage will grow.

8.Be persistent Nothing succeeds more than persistence. All things being equal, the persistent salesperson will win the account every time. Keep in touch with prospects, think long term, be a consultant and ally, and you will plant drought-resistant seeds

.©Frank Furness 2005 - Frank Furness is author of the 'Finding New Business and Clients' and many other resources that can increase your business on CD, DVD and Video NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm
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About the Author
Frank Furness is an International Speaker and author. Having qualified in the top half percent of salespeople in the world and researched over 500 of the worlds sales superstars, he now shares the secrets of success.
Book him to speak at your next convention – email frank@frankfurness.com

Establishing Credibility when Selling
By Frank Furness

Let me tell you a story. Many years ago in America, a large tobacco company’s account was up for grabs and every big advertising company was after this account. There was a small advertising company owned by a fellow called Ben Duffy and he was also trying to secure this account. He was up against big competition; some of the largest companies in the Industry and it would be a coup to land such a large client. Ben Duffy thought to himself ‘how am I going to get this account, I’m just a small unknown player with a small company, there’s no chance.’ He thought, ‘let me put myself in the position of this chap that I am going to see. Let me think about some of the questions, some of the things that might be on the prospective client’s mind’. He wrote out a list of fifty questions, and then narrowed those down to about ten. When he met with the client, he said ‘in preparing for today’s meeting, I put myself in your position and thought there may be some things you’d want to know about me, my company, what’s in it for you, what’s in it for me and as such I’ve prepared a list of ten questions. Well the chap from the Tobacco Company replied, ‘well, I’ve got ten questions myself’. They swapped lists, six of the questions were the same and he secured the account.

For years and years now, I’ve been using exactly the same method, using the Ben Duffy. In the expat community, I would go and meet with a client for the first time, we’d go through past, present, future to establish rapport and then use the ‘Ben Duffy’. I’d say to the client, “you know Joe, in preparing for today’s meeting, I put myself in your position and thought there may be some questions on your mind. Who’s Frank Furness, who is XYZ (my company), how long have they been around, what’s in it for me, what’s in it for you? Are these some of the questions on your mind?” You then nod your head and he’ll nod back again because these are some of the questions that are on their mind. An important thing is to learn this script verbatim. It’s got to form a natural part of your conversation. This is the scipt: ‘In preparing for today’s meeting, I put myself in your position and I thought you might want to know, who is Frank Furness, who is XYZ, how long have they been around, what’s in it for me, what’s in it for you? Are those some of the questions on your mind?’ Write that down and learn it verbatim.

They normally reply ‘yes sure, these are some of the things on my mind’. Now and now is the only time you will speak about yourself. And this is a credibility session, this is where you’re selling yourself, you’re selling your credentials and expertise. So if you’ve got a degree, if you’ve been in the business for ten years, whatever you have done well, this is where you sell yourself.

I would say, ‘I’m Frank Furness, I’ve been in the business for twenty years now, I’m a Certified Speaking Professional……... “ or you may say, ‘hi I’m Henry Smith, I’ve been in the business for some time now, I’m working for one of the best companies, I’ve been through incredible training courses. Prior to this I was a banker and I have my B.Comm degree…”

This and this is the only time that you sell yourself and the best time to sell yourself well is now.

Most companies give people a script that’s pages and pages long. I don’t know how they expect people to actually learn their scripts verbatim. So sell yourself first: then you would go into the company’s script. This is where you sell your Company, how long they have been around, various offices etc. Now, depending on your company script, you would carry on with the Ben Duffy. Your prospect wants to know that he’s dealing with a good company that has been well established, that has been around for a long time. I’d then say to him, ‘if you’re also wondering what’s in it for you, what’s in it for me; well what’s in it for you is simply that I just want to take a picture of where you are now, and where you want to be in the future and really just help you get there. What’s in it for me; if you like the way I conduct business, all I want is to be near the top of your preferred providers when you invest in our type of product or service.

This is part of our resource ‘Sales Success Strategies’ that have helped organisations and individuals globally to increase productivity and profits.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales resources have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/free_downloads.cfm
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

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Elevator Speech Tips
by Frank Furness

Your Elevator Speech must be short and concise and you must know it off by heart. It must come so naturally to you that you can repeat it in your sleep. Realise the difference between an elevator speech, which sells you and how you can help other businesses or people rather than a statement.

Introductory statements that are not elevator speeches include, “My name is Michael and I am a sales trainer”. “My name is Mary and I am a motivational speaker”.

None of these statements stimulate any conversation and will either drive potential clients to the other side of the room or bore them while they say to themselves, ‘so what’.

Remember every potential client is thinking ‘what’s in it for me. Remember if anyone can say so wiifm (what’s in it for me) after your elevator speech, you’re selling any benefits.
Rather change to, “My name is David and I help international expatriates with their offshore mortgages/help them retire early/maximise their investments.”

Remember your goal is to keep the conversation going and stimulate a response from the person you are speaking to. Your goal is not to talk about yourself and what you do but it is to find out what the other person does and what is important to them, i.e. what’s in it for them.

To prepare your elevator speech, first identify how you can help your potential clients. List at least five things that you could do to help your clients, and then list five reasons why people should be doing business with you. Make your elevator speech into two parts. Part one would describe what it is that you do, i.e. I help organisations to understand the selling process in a fun and educational way. Part two would describe how they would derive benefit from what you are selling them, i.e. so that they can exceed their sales targets – so that they can build a productive and motivated sales force. The part two should always include a phrase like, ‘so that’.

This is an excerpt taken from my new E-book, ‘Finding New Business’ which is filled with proven ideas on finding new clients. At 50 pages it is easy reading and is available as hard copy or an E-book for $16 or £10. Please email me if you’re interested.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Effective Presentations

Frank Furness


Increase you effectiveness by speaking and presenting well.

Having spoken and doing business in forty four countries around the world, one of the things that I have observed is the connection between good presentations and productivity. Achievers who present well can motivate students and teachers. The biggest fear that most people face when having to speak in public is nervousness. Here are some tips to help you:

1. Practice, practice, practice – in front of a mirror, with a recorder, with a video camera.

2. Don’t try to be perfect - realise that you will be nervous and just try to get the butterflies to fly in formation.

3. It is fine to be nervous - every speaker I know gets nervous before speaking. It means you care about giving a good presentation. Your nervousness produces adrenaline which helps you think faster, speak more fluently, and add the needed enthusiasm to convey your message.

4. Know your topic – be an expert on your subject. Anticipate questions and be seen as an authority on your subject.


5. Breathe - Before and even during your presentation, take a few deep breaths. Before your presentation, leave the meeting room and take a walk. Take some deep breaths and give yourself a pep talk.

6. Look for a friendly face in the audience – try to focus on the smiling face rather than someone with their arms crossed looking disinterested. Remember, most of your audience wants you to succeed.

7. Make eye contact – try to make every member of your audience feel that you are speaking only to them.

8. Focus on the message rather than the audience - What you have to say is important! People need to hear your message. Focus on that, rather than on your nervousness.

9. Enjoy the experience – there is no feeling quite like connecting with your audience.

This is taken from the great resource ‘Business Presentation Skills’

Frank Furness CSP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. Based in London, Frank is the Past President of the Professional Speakers Association of Europe and the past chair of the International PEG. Frank’s ‘Speaker’s Bootcamp’ has been attended by over 500 people on four continents.
His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. Download Frank’s free internet marketing book today at http://www.frankfurness.com/internet.cfm
For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. http://www.frankfurness.com

Easing tension levels when meeting new clients
by Frank Furness

You’ve just met with a potential new client and tension levels are fairly high. This is the stage for ‘small talk’ and developing rapport and a business relationship. So what do you speak about?
Well, think about it, who do most people like to speak about. They love to speak about themselves, so that’s what we have to do; we have to get them to speak about themselves. For many years now, I’ve used ‘past, present and future’. I’d walk into the prospect’s office, have a look around and say, “this is amazing, you’ve got this great position with this huge company, how did you get started?” Now nobody’s asked him that question for years and he is really proud of what he has achieved and how well he has done in the company. He would normally say, “Well, fifteen years ago I started as a clerk and I worked my way up……….” You just keep quiet and listen. The next question you would ask would be about the present situation. “So tell me about your position at the moment, how are things going?” and he would normally say, “well I’ve got fifteen people working for me, we’re expanding and opening three or four new branches………..” At this stage you just keep quiet and listen. Your next question is about the future and with this question you’ll learn more about your potential client than in any other part of the interview. “So where do you see yourself and your company in five or ten years time?” and you just keep quiet. What he will say now will give you all kinds of buying signals. He may say, ‘Well, I want to expand and open another three branches………’ Just think about the business you’re in and how you could help him. If you’re in recruitment, you know he will need new staff. If your business is computers, he will need new computer systems. Other requirements could be: property/rental, consumables, telephone systems, stationery, office furniture, accounting services, legal advice etc. This is where the clients talk from the heart. These are the emotions and the reasons why they’re going to buy from you, so remember that when you walk in, use ‘past, present and future.’ Also remember that logic makes people think and emotion makes them act, focus on the emotion when selling.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Conquering the International Speaking Circuit
Essential things you should know
By Frank Furness

England
We moved from South Africa to England nine years ago and for four years I worked in the City of London. It is now one of my favourite cities in the world. Flattened and rebuilt several times in the course of its long life, London is a fascinating combination of the new mingled with the very old. It has been said that when you tire of London, you tire of life. There is plenty to see and do and is heralded as the theatrical centre of the world. Some of the great attractions include, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, The Eye of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey to name just a few.

Oxford Street is famous for it’s shopping and if your credit card stretches far enough, visit Harrods, one of the most exclusive department stores in the world.

The transport system is great to get around with when you don’t have a car with the ‘underground tube’ taking you wherever you want to go. A one-day travel card costs around $8 and gives you unlimited travel on the tube and London’s double decker buses. A cab drive with the London Black Taxis is a great experience and if your driver is a cockney, you’ll love the rhyming slang language and their sense of humour.

Dining out is a wonderful gastronomic experience with different ethnic foods to tempt your palate and there are many good and also many not so good hotels to stay in and the small size of some hotel rooms are a disappointment to many visitors. Don’t be surprised when you see the prices, as London is well renowned to be one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Moving out of London, a short drive or rail trip will take you to the beautiful town of Windsor renowned for Windsor Castle, one of the Queen’s residences and Eton College where many of the Royals complete their education. The vast countryside in Britain is a wonderful sight to behold and the little villages along the way offer exquisite antique shops to visit, country tea houses serving fresh scones, jam and cream and interesting places to visit.

British audiences are wonderful, but you need to do some research. They are very conservative and do not enjoy talks that encourage audience participation. Some time ago, an American speaker who was on the same programme as me started his talk by asking the audience to stand and repeat, “I feel good, I feel fine, I’m fantastic all the time”. The audience was very embarrassed and his talk went downhill from there. The English sense of humour is very different from that of the Americans as is their taste in sport. The British are passionate about “football”, rugby and cricket and have very little knowledge of American football, basketball, baseball or ice hockey.

Watch the television, travel in the city, read the newspapers and then adapt your talk accordingly. Many of my friends from the USA have adapted their talks and consequently have been invited back numerous times.

There are many excellent venues to speak at, my favourite being the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, which is two hours north of London. Manchester, the home of the football team Manchester United also offers many speaking opportunities and is the second largest city in England.

Scotland
Moving north, you will experience the warmth and friendliness of the Scots. When you think of Scotland you can picture a burly Scot in his kilt playing the bagpipes and I’m sure you must have tasted the world’s best single malt whiskey, which is produced here. Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful and elegant cities in Europe. Visit Edinburgh Castle and once again tempt your palate at one of the many restaurants on the Royal Mile. Plan your visit to coincide with the Edinburgh Festival and enjoy endless entertainment and parties.

Glasgow is the home of the famous comedian, Billy Connelly and also has numerous conferences and speaking assignments.

On the west coast near Ben Nevis, which is one of the highest mountains in Britain, you will find the picturesque town of Fort William. Take the steam train ride to Malaig and see some of the most beautiful and rugged countryside. Not far from there, stay over at Drumnadrochit and take a boat ride on the Loch Ness in search of Nessie, the famous Loch Ness Monster.

Aberdeen, the Granite City is on the east coast of Scotland with its oil companies and a base for North Sea exploration, also has many speaking opportunities. Remember to bring your raincoats and warm clothing, as it’s cold and wet.

Wales
If you have a speaking engagement in Wales, it will most probably be in Cardiff, the capital. Visit the wonderful little villages in Wales and experience the wonderful Welsh hospitality. It takes a while to become accustomed to their “singing” accent and it’s one of the most difficult languages I’ve come across, but don’t despair, all signs are in Welsh but in English too.

Ireland
In Northern Ireland your speaking assignment will most probably be in Belfast, which is a divided city. On one of my visits there, I asked the taxi driver to take me on a tour to the two infamous streets, Shankhill Road and Fall Road and when I wanted him to stop to enable me to take a photograph, he thought I was crazy. Stay in the most bombed hotel in the world and visit the docks where the Titanic was built but most of all, enjoy the warmth and friendliness of the people.



Republic of Ireland
Southern Ireland has the biggest party town in Europe, which is of course Dublin. With no unemployment in Dublin, speaking opportunities are in abundance. The audiences are wonderful and appreciative with a keen sense of humour. They love stories and are some of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard. Enjoy the “craick” which is slang for partying and enjoying yourself. Travel south to Limerick and Cork for the beauty that Ireland is renowned for. One of my favourite experiences is travelling through the small villages and stopping off at the pubs. You will soon forget the cold and wet outside as you enter the warmth of the pub, created by a large fire in the corner fireplace, and listen to a musician quietly playing Irish music while you sip at your whiskey, wonderful! Also ensure you visit the famous pub “Dirty Nellies”.


Hong Kong

Welcome to Hong Kong. How many of us can remember the old airport with the runway in the sea and the greatest challenge for every airline pilot. All that has changed now and Hong Kong airport is amongst the most modern in the world. A short train ride on a clean modern express takes you into either Kowloon or the Island of Hong Kong.

It is a country of fascination, history, and wonderful foods and of course the best shopping in the world. The main business district is on the Island of Hong Kong in the “central” district. It is easy to get around as the MTR underground is fabulous, clean, efficient and always on time. I normally buy an “octopus” ticket for HK$150 (approx US$20) and this can be used for a week. The hotels are first class as are the restaurants but be prepared, Hong Kong is an expensive city. Taxis are efficient but get your hotel to write out the address, as many taxi drivers don’t understand English. Most speaking venues are in the hotels or at the World Trade Centre and are super efficient. Do your homework before you go. I made some unforgivable blunders in the beginning. The first time I went to Hong Kong, I spoke to a group of approximately 100 Chinese business people. After the talk, many came to meet me and handed their cards to me, which I put into my pocket. I was politely told that I had insulted everyone and was then shown the correct behaviour. The card is handed over and accepted with both hands. You should read it, show appreciation by feeling it and making some gesture and then put it away in your pocket. Always carry a supply of business cards as the culture dictates the swapping of cards immediately.

As I travel to Hong Kong about 4 to 6 times a year, I bought some books on Chinese etiquette, which has assisted me tremendously. The Chinese can appear almost shy to start with, but they enjoy entertainment as much as anyone else. Your talk must contain many educational points, as this is a priority. The people are serious, professional and the hardest working nation I have come across. Never be late for an appointment.

If you enjoy shopping (like me), there is no place like Hong Kong. There are shops literally everywhere. I have found the best places to shop in Mongkok, which contains a ladies market and night market. Gadget junkies will lose themselves at Star City Computer Centre. Nightlife abounds with wonderful restaurants and bars around the Soho area in Central. Taking a trip up the cable car will give you a spectacular view of the city. Take a bus ride to Stanley Bay where you can pick up all kinds of bargains at Stanley market like a beautiful silk tie for about US$1.50. Visit Happy Valley Racetrack or take a boat ride to Aberdeen to see a city of boat people. Enjoy the “Star Ferry” from Hong Kong to Kowloon with the locals or take the hovercraft to Discovery Bay for a game of golf. One of my favourite places is the Island of Chin Chau and a half hour ferry ride will take you to the favourite holiday resort of the locals. Beautiful beaches, no cars (only bicycles) and the best seafood will have you returning more than once. Another hovercraft trip will take you to the Island of Macau, which was previously under Portuguese rule and still has all the influences. The Island of Lantau has the giant Buddha and visit Sea Park with its cable cars that will give you a spectacular view of Hong Kong and will take you to the world’s longest escalator. Speaking opportunities abound, so get it to the top of your “opportunity” list.

Take a look at our new speaking resource, ‘Speak for High Fees in Many Lands’. or go to http://tinyurl.com/andtc


Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Cold Calling Telephone Strategies
By Frank Furness

Cold calling is one of the areas that most salespeople fear, purely because of the rejection. People will do anything to avoid phoning and I’ve seen it all throughout the years. The most successful people just do it! They make it a habit, they get onto that phone and they’ll phone for two hours every day, irrespective of what the clients or the prospects would be saying to them over the phone. They just focus on results. All they want is for two or three people to say to them ‘yes, come and see me.’
So let’s analyse how do you actually become good on the telephone? What are the words you’ve got to say? How do you do about using the phone properly?
There are some dangers as well of not knowing how to cold call properly which could cost you a lot in lost sales. A lot of people just use a slapdash approach. They’re not at all prepared. They will get onto the phone, and they’ll be enthusiastic for the first call. ‘Hi, this is Joe Smith, I want to come out and see you,’ – and find themselves being rejected. The next call will be less enthusiastic and the rejection can now be heard in their voice. The third call would have no enthusiasm at all and by the fourth call they start with emails, paperwork and anything else that will take them away from their telephone session.
Some people can actually be too pushy. Some have bad habits like chewing gum or smoking while telephoning. I’ve got to tell you one of the funniest experiences I had a few years ago. I went to an offshore financial services company and they asked me to observe their phoning session. Well, it was an open office and there must have been about twenty people phoning, but I’ve never seen anything like it. There were these twenty people all making as much noise as they could, other people walking around slapping people on the back of the head, papers being thrown all over the place and the company was wondering why their people weren’t successful on the phone. We changed things around, put them into their own offices, small groups, and all of a sudden the phoning ratio went up by one hundred percent.

Sometimes we’ve got to think about our voice tone as well. Are we too loud or too soft or are we just confident. Remember this though, you’ve got somebody sitting on the other side of the line, he doesn’t know who you are, you can’t see them, they can’t see you, but you’ve still got to introduce yourself, introduce the company, you’ve got to establish rapport and sell the appointment. And that’s all you sell, you sell the appointment, nothing else. You don’t get into any product talk, nothing, you’re selling the appointment only. One of the big secrets here, always remember, proper prior planning prevents pathetically poor performance. So the better you prepare, the better you plan, the more successful you’re going to be on the phone.



Now think about it, you’ve got this list of prospects. Sometimes they’re prospects, sometimes they’re suspects. What do you actually know about them, what do you know about their needs? What are you going to say when you get onto the phone? What is the purpose of your call? Have you thought about some of the objections that are going to arise because there’s only about three or four common objections that they would come up with each and every time?

So let’s think about planning our calls, let’s think about setting goals and targets, knowing ratios, planning breaks and setting mini targets.
I recommend that people come in and phone for two hours every day, and phone when energy levels are highest. I would normally say, get in from 7.30 to 9.30. Now why 7.30? If you’re going to be phoning very busy executives, they get into the office before the admin staff and that way you avoid the gatekeeper and the secretaries. Many times, first thing in the morning, you can get through to the decision maker. You also have to set your goals and targets and break these down into weekly and daily targets. Another thing you have to do is know your ratios, so if you’re phoning just from a list of cold prospects that you’ve never seen, never heard of, a hundred other people might have used these lists, your ratios are going to be awful. One in ten, one in twenty or one in thirty, but if it’s a referral, it’s going to be two out of five so know what your ratios are. It gets back to prospecting, the better the prospect, the better your ratios on the phone.

Plan breaks as well, you know if you feel your energy lagging, take a small break, have a cup of coffee but then get going again, pick up that telephone and keep it next to your ear all the time.. Then set yourself mini targets: ‘I’m going to have a break as soon as I have my first two people saying yes.’ Set yourself objectives. Lay out your work area. Get rid of all of unwanted papers, switch off your email and clear your desk of anything that could distract you. All you want on your desk is your telephone, your diary and your list of prospects. You also have to prepare yourself emotionally. Sit down with an erect posture or stand, have a look at your script and psyche yourself up so that when you get onto that phone, you are one hundred percent enthusiastic. Know what you’re going to say and be ready for some of the most common objections that you’re going to come across.


Sometimes we have the fear of phoning and the only way we can overcome those fears is to set ourselves mini targets. Now you’ve got to have fun as well. If you’re feeling a bit down, find somebody else in the office. Sit with them and suggest a joint phoning session to see who’s going to get the most appointments. Give them the phone and listen to them. Compete with each other and have fun.

Now what you have to do is put the client into a positive state of mind. You’ve got to script your opening but never ever sound as if you’re working from a script. Create interest and sound enthusiastic. Adopt a naturally enthusiastic voice, don’t be over the top, don’t be too exuberant, speak clearly, emphasizing your name and the company and don’t ask any insincere or silly questions.

What we have on the other side of the phone is some person who’s getting a cold call and in his mind they’re saying this, is this person trying to sell me something, do I know them, do I know their company, what’s in it for me, am I too busy to speak to this person?

You’ve also got to genuinely appreciate the client’s concerns. Put yourself in their shoes and try and see things from their point of view.

You have to get commitment from every call because you know these calls are so important. You’ve worked really hard to get all these names, the last thing you would want to do is to lose any of these names.

An example of a script that you can use is this. John, I am from XYZ F and we specialise in helping ------- to plan their ---------.(fill in the gaps)

We’d be happy to drop by and give you the opportunity of seeing it and we’re going to be in your area on Friday at three or Wednesday at two. Which would be better?

Take a look at the new telephone resource ‘Telephone Sales Skills foe Winners’ at http://tinyurl.com/g36qy

This is an excerpt taken from ‘Sales Success Strategies’ which is available from our website.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

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