Sobczak - Smart calling: eliminate the fear, failure, and rejection from cold calling

CONTENTS

More Praise for Smart Calling

Smart Calling is the benchmark as the highest professional standard for effective cold calling. Take the initiative to read and implement Arts rational principles and you will sell much more and develop a prospect base of potential customers that will call you when they are ready to purchase or graciously take your future calls. This is the best sales text I have read in the past 20 years.

Rex Caswell, PhD, Vice President, Sales Effectiveness BI Worldwide

The book is tremendous, and I think you are brilliant. I probably highlighted half of it! I am recommending it to my clients as a must-read.

Mike Weinberg, Author of New Sales. Simplified, www.NewSalesCoach.com

Your book changed my professional life. I have my Smart research down to a science and produce about three leads every hour.

Sam Shenker, Associated Global Systems

Ive been using the phone to sell for seven years, and before I picked up Arts Smart Calling book I thought I knew it all. But after reading through the first few chapters I quickly realized that I knew nothing. Just the section on call openings and voice mails has transformed my career and skyrocketed my results to new levels. This book is a must for anyone serious about selling over the phone. Art really delivers.

Shane Varcoe, Regional Sales Manager

Art Sobczak understands the difference between direct marketing and cold-calling, which many sales gurus simply dont. Smart Calling is a phenomenal resource for anyone that truly wants to excel in sales. The advice is obviously from experience, and Mr. Sobczak offers sound techniques that everyone could use.

Chris Lott, VP of Sales, DataTel Communications

Art doesnt tell us what to do without also telling us how to do it. For sellers that are trying to improve their success on the phone, Art Sobczak has written the definitive book.

Tim Rohrer, SalesAndMarketingLoudmouth.com

I love your book! In the first week of reading, I not only saved a one-location sale that was quickly being lost to (the competition) and ended up with an appointment with the COO for four locations.

Alida Ruiz, Sr., Account Executive, Integra Telecom

Smart Calling may be the best book on using the telephone I have ever read. I recommended it to all of 100+ agents in my office.

Jim Gymbeaux Brown, Broker, Keller Williams Realty Professionals

I keep fewer than a dozen books on my quick reference shelf, and Smart Calling is one of them. After a seven-year absence from cold calling, I have found that done right, it can and does bear fruit. Thanks for your excellent coaching in the book.

Greg McDermott, The Reverse Mortgage Team, Leader One Financial

I read it once over a week period. Implemented recommendations and approaches to Smart Calling. Result: my calling productivity has doubled!!! I am now getting the same number of appointments but with only half as many calls. The quality of my calls is much better! I now actually reach decision makers more frequently. What Art recommends does work! I have just finished my second reading of this book. Got even more out of it.

Terrence Manuel, Owings Mills, MD

I just wanted to thank you for writing such a great book, Smart Calling . I see other people in my business struggling on the phone. I have put to use your principles, and my sales have increased every week. Thank you again.

Marcello Medini, Logistics Consultant, PNG Logistics

Cover design: Paul McCarthy

Copyright 2013 by Art Sobczak. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Sobczak, Art.

Smart calling : eliminate the fear, failure, and rejection from cold calling / Art Sobczak. 2nd Edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-58871-0 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-63740-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-63751-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-63738-8 (ebk)

1. Telephone selling. 2. Telemarketing. I. Title.

HF5438.3.S63 2013

658.872dc23

2012049854

INTRODUCTION

When I first wrote this book three years ago, I had a feeling it would do pretty well. After all, I had been teaching the same things in my public and in-company training programs for years, and the process and material was field-tested. What actually happened blew me away.

We hit Number One in the Sales category on Amazon.com on the very first day. It stayed there for a while, and it continues to sell well three years later, while hundreds of other sales books have died on the vine. It was named Top Sales Book of 2010 by Top Sales Awards, beating out some other very fine books by big-time sales authors. And the reviews and success stories from people who use the process to get results have been both gratifying and humbling.

If you are reading Smart Calling for the first time, welcome aboard! If you have been through the original, welcome back. While Ive added some additional examples, tips, techniques, and success stories from readers, the process itself hasnt changed. But the reason I wanted to do this second edition is because of what has changed in the past few years: our ability to Smarten up our calls, making it even easier to be successful. Youll see many of these updates in Chapter 5.

So, whats this Smart Calling stuff all about?