Welcome to the C suite. Maybe your title doesn’t have “chief” in it. If you are involved in any part of the sales process in your business, change your mentality. If you think of yourself as a C.S.O. (Chief Sales Officer) you carry yourself with more confidence, more enthusiasm.
Study or read to advance yourself in your field or profession. Speak with authority on your business requires practice to come across with the right finesse. If you’ve had some sales background or training, you generally start with a script. Something along the lines of Mr. Prospect, if I can assist you with X problem can we meet so I can show you how Y will solve it. There is nothing wrong with a script unless it sounds like one. If you receive a call from a telemarketer how long will they hold your attention? Develop your own script with some bullet points that are targeted to who you are calling. Think about how your prospect feels when they are buried in emails and reports and answers your call. Do you sound friendly, confident, helpful? I will let you in on a little secret. I generally start my quest to the person I really want to speak with at a new prospect by calling the wrong person. This is done intentionally. I start the conversation with “I’m not sure you’re the right person I should speak with, I’m looking for the person who does X and I ask if they will help me.” Most people want to be helpful. Once you get connected to the correct person you can tell them how you received their name. An internal referral is usually very helpful. It helps you get a foot in the door. Once you are in you can determine if you and your prospect are a good fit for each other. Maintain your C level confidence and you will find more doors opening and referrals come piling in.
