It’s time we put this question to rest once and for all! I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times people ask me this question either when I’m speaking or via email. Whenever I’m asked this question, I always ask the other person for their answer to the question before I answer it. At least 95% of the time, the response I get is “no” followed by some explanation about how they’ve never been able to make the telephone work. Once they finish talking, I ask them if they like getting phone calls. I get the same answer about 95% of the time: “no”. Let’s cut to the chase and call out the ugly duck: the person who says the telephone doesn’t work for prospecting is the person who doesn’t like talking on the telephone. These are the people that would rather curl up in a corner and spend all day scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and somehow think they are doing their job. These same people who shun the telephone and rely solely on social media to prospect are the same ones who keep missing their quotas. These are the people who create the turnover in the sales community. Here are 4 reasons why the telephone still works: The level of information you can exchange with a person in just a two minute phone call will be far greater than what could be exchanged in a series of emails with the same person. Not only do you get to exchange information faster, but you also have the opportunity to make sure it’s being understood properly. There’s nothing worse than an email trail that goes sideways because something is misunderstood. The telephone allows your personality to come through. We’ve all been given a great personality (except maybe for the crazy uncle or bizarre aunt lurking in everyone’s family!) and the telephone is the perfect place to let it come through. Think about the time you were on a call where it just clicked because the two of you had personalities that played well with one another. Most likely, you’re not going to get that with an email, unless you throw in a dozen stupid emojis. The telephone has immediacy. The other person asks you a question and boom, you can answer it immediately. No need to wait for an email response. Wow! That almost seems surreal to say that an answer on the telephone can come faster than via the Internet. You can move the conversation in a different direction by speeding it up or slowing it down based upon what you’re hearing. I don’t care how fast you respond to emails; your ability to talk on the phone and move immediately is a huge benefit. There’s zero reason to shun the telephone. Of course a lot of calls go unanswered or not returned, but stop and ask yourself: is that any different than emails you send? The answer is no! The telephone works. Give it a shot, and you’ll be amazed at what you hear. Don’t forget: A coach can help you excel in your sales career. Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today! Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results

Have you lost touch with some of your old customers? I know I have. Thankfully, it’s only January so there’s still time to reach them. However, it may take three to six months to reconnect, so don’t procrastinate. Pick up the phone and make that call now! Talk to somebody you haven’t heard from in one, five, maybe even ten years. Take the time to initiate and rebuild your relationship with that person or company. That’s what is important, because that is what will get you that next sale. Don’t forget: A coach can help you excel in your sales career. Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today! Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results

It’s the time of year when companies put on full-day or multi-day sales meetings and everyone jumps in to help make it a huge event. This is all great except for one thing: there is so much time and effort put into the big annual meeting that nobody pays attention to the weekly sales team meeting. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. This is the weekly snooze-fest many sales managers have for the sake of keeping their managers happy. Trust me, I remember all too well forcing myself to stay awake during pain-filled meetings when I was a sales representative. The only good thing that came out of those boring meetings is I learned to drink coffee. Can you relate? Now, let’s get serious.  Are you a sales manager whose salespeople dread attending your meetings? There is no reason why the weekly sales meeting can’t be beneficial for everyone and there is no reason why they can’t be brief. If the meeting is only for the benefit of management, something is wrong. If the meeting drags on and is nothing more than updates, something is wrong. Salespeople are only making money for themselves and their company when they’re with customers. One year ago, I was with a sales manager who claimed his meetings were only 90 minutes long and a huge benefit to the team. These comments were misguided, because I did not hear the same thing from the sales team. The team said the meetings were pain-filled because they were nothing but the sales manager droning on about what they didn’t do the week before. As for the length of the meetings, they rarely went longer than 90 minutes. But in reality, they killed a half-day. Each person spent, on average, two hours in travel time getting to the office. Additionally, they had to update numbers before the meeting and provide the manager with follow-up info after each meeting. Two salespeople said that they have to block out 6 hours to be safe! Add all this up, and it was clear why they had tons of turnover and far too many salespeople missing their quotas. To help end the madness, I’ve put together an E-book that outlines 10 things you can do quickly and easily to have a great sales meeting. The sales manager mentioned above began implementing the 10 things, and I’m pleased to say he’s lowered his turnover, and he just finished the quarter with 7 of his 9 salespeople meeting their quotas. Here’s the link to download the E-book. For your benefit and the sake of the sales team you lead, download it now! Once you begin putting the steps into practice, I’d love to know your results. I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same results as this other sales manager, but maybe you will wind up with even better ones! Let’s make this year the best it can be by starting to up your game with better sales meetings! If you are having a sales kick-off meeting, let’s talk!  I would love to help get things rolling. My keynote and training session based upon my book, High-Profit Prospecting, continues to be a huge success. Don’t forget: A coach can help you excel in your sales career. Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today! Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results