Burnout
Today I want to share a question from a reader who writes: How do I keep from being burned out while cold calling? My job is to call current customers and also call new business prospects. I have a quota of 60?80 calls to make per day, but it seems as though I cannot stay focused long enough to make even 50 phone calls. By the time I get finished calling my current customers and servicing their accounts, I am mentally burned out. I am in no state to begin calling for new business. What advice/strategy do you recommend to keep me "pounding the phone" and "dialing for dollars"? **** You ask an excellent question, and one that comes up for many
people who conduct business over the telephone. Phone work can be exhausting! It is an intense experience. You must stay focused, listen carefully, assess prospects and respond quickly. Try making your new calls first. Set aside a specific time, such as the first hour or two in the morning (depending on how many customer service calls you need to make that day) and dedicate that time to making new calls and only new calls. When the time that you have scheduled is up-stop. Then, go on to your customer service calls. In addition, be sure to give yourself breaks throughout the day. Get up every hour and stretch. Walk around your office. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, so that you aren't
dehydrated. Give yourself incentives. For example, every time you complete a predetermined number of calls, put some money ($1, $2, $5...)
into an envelope. At the end of the week, take that money and
treat yourself to something-even if it's only an ice cream cone! Find a mentor in your office (or outside your office) to whom you can go for a pep talk now and again. Maybe there are others in your office who are also feeling burned out. Form an informal support group. Gather testimonial letters from customers. (This is a great
marketing tool as well!) Make copies and post them prominently
near your desk. Take a yellow highlighter and highlight all the
really good parts. This way when you feel a little burnt; you can remind yourself of all the wonderful things customers have said about you, your company and what you are selling. Recognize that what you are doing is difficult, and give yourself credit for what you accomplish! Remember that all your current customers were once new customers, and before that, they were probably new calls! Think about the all benefits you bring to your customers-you will bring those same benefits to the new calls you turn into customers. Make a list of those benefits, and also post that list prominently, so that you can look at it when you need a boost. Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success," is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy's free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com. © 2004 Wendy Weiss
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Design, Design, Design
You need only one card, but make it noticeable. Make sure it says the right thing.
How Do I Define My Market?
Your market is who you want to reach. Your customer. Who is your average customer? What is your estimate of total market size? What territory do you intend to serve? Will you offer a variety of products or services?
Two kinds of Advertising for a Marketing Strategy
Advertising is the lifeblood of any business. If you do not
learn how to advertise your products and services both
efficiently and effectively, you won't be in business long.
While the Internet has lessened or eliminated many of the
costs normally associated with starting and running a small
business, and it's now easier than ever, you'll never
realize significant profits if you don't grow your business
through effective marketing.
Calling All Carbon-Based Lifeforms
Many businesses want to market to all carbon-based life forms. They won't take the time to really understand their audiences from geographic, demographic and psychographic perspectives.
Advertising Your Private Practice: 6 Tips for Maximizing Your Results-Part 2
As discussed in part 1 of this article, "Your Private Practice: Beware of the Problems," I usually don't recommend advertising as a main method of marketing a practice for new coaches, counselors and healing professionals. There are often more cost-effective ways to get the word out and attract clients.
Marketing Tips - Ten Quick Marketing Actions
It is often difficult to manage to do marketing tasks when you have a busy business or professional practice. Here are 10 ideas each of which take 5 or 10 minutes and can be done between appointments or when you take a break from working on a large project.
Marketing Planning - Preparation and Accountability
We all know the saying, "Failing to plan (prepare) is planning (preparing) to fail." I truly believe in this statement and I hope you do as well. Building your service business, including marketing it must be planned and does take work.
Web Site Marketing Strategy: 8 Ways To Increase The Perceived Value Of Your Freebies
It is a well known web site marketing strategy: To attract
new customers and traffic, give out something for free:
e-zine, ebooks, software, services etc.
Why Market to Generation X?
Generation X"--the 40 million or so people born between 1965 and 1976--understands it is living in a world of uncertainty where neither the govern¬ment nor private employers offer lifetime financial security. This is, however, the next generation of responsible adults, bright young people with families to protect and educate...and nearly 40 years until retirement.
Customer Retention with a Personal Touch
Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the success of any new business ? and it's one of the most common casualties of growth. As a company grows, the president tends to fade away into his or her office. That can lead to loss of leverage right at the point when a company is starting to take off and needs it most.
Mobile Auto Detailers and Newspaper Companies as Clientele
If you are a mobile auto detailer or mobile car wash company you might wish to think of attaining the local newspaper as a strategic client for your services. Usually newspapers have large staffs, especially daily newspapers. They do everything in house to save costs. They obviously have lots of cars to clean and this means plenty of customers. In fact as a mobile auto detailer or car washer this could be a half a days stop on your route or even a full day depending on the size or the paper. Think of the employees of a newspaper?
Ten Effective Ways to Capture Market
1.Evaluation of Existing Products / Therapies
Incentives For Customers? Whats New?
Lost & Found for the 21st Century
Commercial Collections By Telephone
The telephone enables a credit manager to make many contacts in the shortest period of time. A call permits you to present your case to the debtor for immediate response.
The REAL Key To Successfully Marketing Any Product!
The REAL key to successful marketing of any product is building relationships. The most successful tools for this strategy are forums, communities, coops and the new form of media desktop software, i.e. "Your Easy Street's" new Media Pilot. In order to properly build product sales, you must gain trust and understand the needs of the people you are selling to, or you'll get poor returns on your efforts and investments.
How Nearly Going Broke Taught Me The Value Of Niche Marketing
If you want to learn how effective Niche Marketing can be,
I suggest you "don't" take the route I did.
Marketing Plans... A Simple Approach To Get Off The Marketing Roller Coaster
Are You Riding The Marketing Roller Coaster?
The Use of Bar Code SMS in Mobile Marketing, Advertising, CRM
Anybody that frequents shopping malls are familiar with the bar coding systems used by retailers to ease the line at the pay points. No more long lines at the till as the operator just pulls the product past the scanner and voila ? the buyer pays and are on their way.
Provacative Research Works
If you want to double your business, then you need to get inside your client's head through proprietary research and provocative results.
Costly Web Copy Pitfalls
One secret to a site that sells: Look at your site from your customer's perspective. Another secret: Watch out for these common web copy pitfalls.
|
