Outbound sales and prospecting are the sales approaches that most people shudder to think of. Dialing the phone, cold calling, getting past the gatekeepers – it’s enough to discourage anyone if you don’t approach it in the right way. This conversation with Chris Beall of Connect and Sell is powerful simply because it reveals some of the basics of why we go about sales that way in the first place. The numbers don’t lie, and Chris is definitely one to know the numbers. But more than knowing them, he’s effective at interpreting what they reveal about needed sales process improvements. If you want to learn how to do outbound sales and prospecting better than you ever have before, Chris is the guy to listen to. Get a feel for the kinds of things he has to share, on this episode.
In outbound sales, we should be paying attention to the metric of “the day”
There are thousands of metrics you could track when it comes to outbound sales. But Chris says that the most important metric is the metric of each day. In his mind, the strongest thing you can do is focus on doing the most you can in each day, even if that means taking some of the things you meant to do tomorrow into today’s workload. If you do that consistently, magic happens in your business, partially because you get more done per unit than you are spending. These are the kinds of observations Chris makes that are simple, yet so powerful. Take the time to listen to what he shares in our conversation, it will help you improve your outbound sales game.
The first 8 to 10 seconds of an outbound sales call is the most important
One of the things I was curious to know from Chris’s experience was whether or not people who make more outbound sales calls show improvement with the more calls they make. He said that’s not necessarily the case, but what does demonstrate improvement is when those making outbound calls are coached about what they say and how they say it, especially within the first eight to ten seconds of a call. Coaching is vital to enhance effectiveness because it’s through good coaching from an experienced salesperson that an ineffective caller can learn to express comfortable confidence that leads to effectiveness. Learn what Chris means by that on this episode of in the arena.
Outbound salespeople who secure more meetings tend to produce more referrals
Referrals are not something we typically think of as being directly connected to outbound sales. But the statistics show that there is a direct correlation. The outbound salespeople who are able to secure more meetings are also the ones who produce more referrals. What’s the connection? It likely that the confidence and demeanor those sales professionals have that enables them to secure the meetings in the first place, is also what enables them to get referrals. Chris Beall has great insights into this phenomenon and explains what salespeople can do to increase their ability in both of those areas. You’ll want to hear this episode.
Outbound sales reps should have as many conversations as possible
The goal of outbound sales calls is to schedule appointments with prospects. It’s as simple as that. So outbound sales reps who are doing a good job should be scheduling as many conversations as possible. Chris and the team at Connect and Sell are all about making that scheduling process simpler and easier, and their implementation of technology to make it happen is revolutionary. Find out how 80 sales calls can be made, four actual conversations can happen, and appointments can be set – all within 1 hour. I told you it was revolutionary. Be sure you listen.
Outline of this great episode
- Why I invited Chris Beall to be on the podcast
- The metrics Chris tracks and why he finds them interesting
- The exhaust from today’s efforts are likely to produce opportunities tomorrow
- The metric of dials per day: a production metric that has more to do with luck
- Meetings as a metric of effectiveness
- Referral metrics: The strongest producers of meetings are the strongest producers of referrals
- Outbound follow up calls produce two times as much as first contacts
- 30 minutes, 80 dials, 4 conversations, .5 appointments = Incredibly high ROI
- The Outbound Conference: How the conference exceeded Chris’ expectations
Resources & Links mentioned in this episode
- Chris Beall on LinkedIn
- Chris on Twitter: @chris8649
- Connect and Sell
- The Outbound Conference
- If You Only Had 8 Hours To Create a New Opportunity – Anthony’s post
- Shawn McLaren, Founder and Executive Chairman of Connect and Sale
The theme song “Into the Arena” is written and produced by Chris Sernel. You can find it on Soundcloud
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