Sales calls require a tough exterior and pleasant demeanor. The combination is often difficult when calling someone who doesn’t know—and may not care to know you.
The goal for you–and your sales career–then is to deliver the “brick of gold” that gets their curiosity piqued. It requires a concise, crisp and kind approach so they sense you are genuinely interested in their welfare, not just yours.
This called being a Sales Stand-Out—someone who quickly grasps the concept and approach to selling the WIIFM of the business owner or other decision-maker.
What’s that? It’s the What’s In It For Me for the person who’s listening to your sales opportunity. They don’t care about all the bells and whistles, fantastic pricing or anything until the WIIFM resonates. Once the light bulb goes off, you’ve got a real sales prospect—someone you can now set up an appointment with, and demonstrate the value and validity of your offer.
So, what’s the road you must travel to get to the WIIFM?
No Auto-Pilot. It’s natural to shoot your message like a rocket when a prospect answers the phone. Turn off the auto-pilot switch and let them communicate with you. Be sure to speak with them not at them.
Know Your Audience. Selling to an independent retailer who is a small business owner is a different story than talking to a purchasing officer at a big-box retailer like Wal-Mart. When calling, make sure you know something about the organization. Google it, read its Web site, review its About Us and Team pages.
Know Your Product or Service. This goes without saying, but it’s always a good reminder. Before you call, make sure you know your products, services and offerings. If you’re asked a question you don’t know, that’s OK too, as long as you don’t get flustered and “pretend” to answer the question. It’s a simple matter. “Mr. Smith, I’m not sure I have all that information but I will definitely find out and follow up.” This can even work to your advantage. It gives you an opportunity to “touch” the prospect again.
Adapt Your Sales Message. This is a lot like “Know Your Audience,” but different. Sometimes you don’t have to follow every step of your sales speech or script. Depending on how the prospect is responding, you can go directly to your Call To Action. Just be aware of where your prospect is going with his or her questions and interest level.
Use P-Square. That’s the Power of Politeness. Just by being kind and having a tone of confidence yet empathy goes a long way with a sales prospect. Recognize that the prospect is just like you. They have lives, highs and lows. You could be the bright spot of their entire day.
Fake It Until You Make It. It’s easy to get “dialing for prospects” doldrums. Dial 10 numbers, the ring of the phone, voicemail; Dial 10 number … It’s a routine. That can be reflected in your voice tone, so when you do get a live prospect answering the phone, you may sound bored or asleep. That’s when faking it until you make it is important. Overcome this by keeping a squishy ball nearby to keep your hands moving. One tactic is to even stand up and walk while you’re talking. That gets your body moving. Tone is key.
Crescent Processing Company (“CPC”) is excited to announce the hiring of Ms. Kelly Johnson as the new Risk/Compliance Manager. Kelly brings with her four years of industry experience in risk and underwriting as well as over 10 years of accounting and finance experience. Kelly received her Associates Degree from Brookhaven and is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree from UTD in Finance. In her new role, Kelly will manage the team of Risk Investigators, perform risk monitoring, and oversee the daily operations of compliance. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys singing, making flower arrangements, and watching the Dallas Cowboys. Welcome Kelly!
Crescent Processing Company (“CPC”) is excited to announce the hiring of Richard Blake as the new Sr. Director of Operations. Richard relocated to Dallas from Baltimore, MD, and has worked in the industry for over eight (8) years. He has held positions such as the Director of Risk Management and Loss Prevention, and Lead Fraud Investigator. Richard also has extensive history in chargeback education and association policies. He served on the 2001 ETA committee board, and he is currently an active member of MAC, IAFCI, CFIA. Richard attended Stevenson University in Maryland where he was an Academic All-American and collegiate LaCrosse player. Richard is married with a new young son, and he is an avid Baltimore Ravens fan. Please join us in welcoming Richard to the Crescent Processing team!
Crescent Processing Company (“CPC”): To kick off the holiday season and reward employees for a year’s worth of diligent work, Crescent Processing Company held its third annual ‘Casino Night’ Holiday Party at the Westin Park Central on December 5, 2009. The extravagant event featured a lavish buffet dinner, drinks, dancing, and casino games consisting of Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and Texas Hold ‘Em. Party patrons had the opportunity to redeem gambling winnings for prizes at an auction facilitated by David Kesler, CEO, at the end of the evening. Everyone who attended had an enjoyable and memorable evening with friends and colleagues.
Crescent Processing Company (“CPC”) held its third annual company picnic on May 17, 2009 at Park Lane Ranch in Dallas, TX. The successful event featured many fun-filled, family oriented activities such as putt-putt golf, various contests, prizes, batting cages, volleyball, basketball, face painting, a caricaturist, indoor games, and arts and crafts. The event was catered by Purdy’s and featured hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches. CPC employees and their families had a fun, relaxing time and enjoyed some camaraderie with coworkers.
Crescent Processing Company is excited to announce the well deserved promotion of Vu “David” Nguyen to Vice President of Sales. Mr. Nguyen has been with CPC since its inception, and has been a key figure in the success of the company. He has hands-on experience in every area of the business, and that comprehensive knowledge is a huge benefit to CPC and the sales department, specifically. Mr. Nguyen’s primary responsibility is the daily sales performance of the Corporate Sales Managers, which also includes the Wholesale and Client Agent Sales Managers. In addition, Mr. Nguyen has direct reporting responsibility for the Activations, Sales Operations and Recruiting departments.
ETA, Electronic Transactions Associations is an International trade association representing companies who offer electronic transaction processing products and services. The purpose of the ETA is to shape the industry through advocacy, education, and the exchange of information. The ETA sponsors 2 meetings each year, one in the spring with The Annual Meeting and Expo and one in the fall with The Strategic Leadership & Networking Forum. During these meeting, attendees influence, monitor and help shape the merchant acquiring industry. This past spring Scott Stauffer, V.P of Operations, and Kim Marvin, Director of Compliance, attended the Annual Meeting and Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada where PCI Compliance Day was covered along with various breakout sessions, and a full exhibit hall of new products offered in the industry. There are 13 standing committees that are responsible for driving the development of the association’s core services, benefits and events. Of these 13 committees, Scott Stauffer has recently been appointed to the Program Committee which oversees and develops the curriculum and program for the annual meetings and Kim Marvin is serving her second year on the Education Committee, which is responsible for creating and developing classroom based learning opportunities, credentialing programs, updating ETA’ glossary, and identifying and developing the ETAU instructors at annual meetings. Congratulations to Scott and Kim!
