Podcasts about no more cold calling

Referrals are like golden tickets in the world of sales. They open doors to opportunities, build bridges of trust, and pave the way for lasting connections. However, many sales professionals fail to realize the full potential of referrals due to various misconceptions and challenges. Joanne Black, founder of No More Cold Calling, joins this episode to discuss the critical importance and value of referral selling in sales prospecting. She talks about how many salespeople struggle with asking for referrals due to mindset barriers like feeling uncomfortable or fearing rejection. Joanne emphasizes the importance of building trust and credibility through referrals and the need for a systematic approach to referral generation. She also advocates for a culture shift within sales organizations where referrals are viewed as a cornerstone of the sales strategy rather than a peripheral tactic. Through her insights, Joanne underscores the transformative potential of referrals in boosting sales effectiveness and building stronger relationships with prospects. In this episode, you'll learn: The mindset barriers and fear of rejection that hinder sales professionals from asking for referrals How to cultivate and expand your network of referral sources by leveraging existing connections Why sales leaders fail to prioritize and coach their teams on effective referral strategies Jump into the conversation: [03:26] Referral Mindset Challenges [05:49] Why Sales Teams Struggle with Referrals [07:11] Referral Selling Is a System [12:10] The Power of Trusted Introductions in Sales [14:13] The Limitations in LinkedIn [19:17] Practice Is the Key [23:56] Referrals Build Trust [28:01] External vs. Internal Referrals [29:37] Keeping Focus on the Problem Joanne is America's leading authority on referral selling, the only business development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50% of the time. She is a captivating speaker, innovative seminar leader, and influential figure in sales and business development. Joanne has spent her career helping sales teams and business owners build their referral networks to quickly attract more business, decrease operating costs, and ace out the competition every time. Related Resources: Joanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneblackreferralsales/ Joanne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReferralSales Learn more about Joanne: https://www.nomorecoldcalling.com/ Joanne's Books: https://www.nomorecoldcalling.com/no-more-cold-calling-book/

Get more referrals for your business If you hate cold calling - listen now! Episode 186 (repeat of #21) Joanne is based in California In this conversation with Joanne Black we explore: Why referrals can be a lucrative source of new business  Why you need a repeatable referral getting process How to get over the fear of asking for referrals? How to stop cold calling and start warm calling The magic phrase to ask client to get more referrals And much more about referrals... About our guest Joanne Black: Joanne is considered to be America's leading authority on referral selling. She is the author of "Pick Up the Damn Phone" and "No More Cold Calling:. Visit her website https://www.nomorecoldcalling.com/         ----- Excerpts from this conversation with Joanne Black: Are you asking every one of your clients for referrals? ----- I added a question on the last round. Would you be willing to be a referral to this company? ----- Everybody loves referrals, and we just love receiving them. But it's not an outbound proactive, intentional approach. And so what I did is, I said, What do I need to do to close that gap? And make referrals? Not only common sense, but common practice? And, would you and I developed a very straightforward system to make it happen, because I'm a salesperson. I don't like complicated. So it's simple. It's not easy, because if it were, everyone would be doing it. And referrals are our biggest competitive differentiator, because when we're introduced, we get in, we get in early, we have time to build relationships and make connections. We get the inside track and we hear things no one else does. That's the power of referral selling. ----- And therefore a better way to ask the question would be, who are one or two people you know, I should meet? Or who are one or two people in your network? You can introduce me to? ----- ----more---- Your Intended Message is the podcast about how you can boost your career and business success by honing your communication skills. We'll examine the aspects of how we communicate one-to-one, one to few and one to many – plus that important conversation, one to self. In these interviews we will explore presentation skills, public speaking, conversation, persuasion, negotiation, sales conversations, marketing, team meetings, social media, branding, self talk and more.   Your host is George Torok George is a specialist in communication skills. Especially presentation. He's fascinated by the links between communication and influencing behaviors. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.   Connect with George www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetorokpresentations/ https://www.youtube.com/user/presentationskills https://www.instagram.com/georgetorok/  

Today on the The Win Rate Podcast Andy is joined by Joanne Black, Founder of No More Cold Calling, Jody Geiger, Revenue Enablement Coach at Klue and Meyah Rose, Co-Founder of The Practice Lab. The roundtable discussion begins with the importance of incorporating effective learning strategies, and our panelists share their insights on the need for practice, application, and building confidence in order to succeed in sales. They also discuss the challenges faced by women in setting the tone in the sales environment and the significance of leaders actively engaging with their teams. Additionally, the group explores the role of competitive intelligence in sales and uncover the intangible factors that play a key role in buyers' decisions.  Find more about Jody, Meyah, and Joanne. Host Andy Paul is the expert on modern B2B selling and author of three best-selling, award-winning sales books, including his latest Sell Without Selling Out. Visit andypaul.com to subscribe to his newsletter for even more strategies and tips to accelerate your win rate!Thank you to our sponsors:AllegoClozdCognism

In this episode of Selling From The Heart, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Joanne Black, America's leading authority on referral selling and the founder of No More Cold Calling. She helps salespeople, sales teams, and business owners build their referral networks to quickly attract more business, decrease operating costs, and ace out the competition every time. Joanne discusses the importance of referral selling. She shares her insights on how salespeople can build and leverage their referral networks to create a sustainable and successful sales career. She also emphasizes the need for authenticity in sales and the importance of putting the client first. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES The importance of asking for referrals - Joanne: "Because as salespeople we have the relationships and when we've closed a deal, we've talked to more than one person. Typically, yes, right. And we know when we've clicked with people, it's not everybody, but I imagine there must be three or four people that we've connected with during the buying process. All those people we can ask and they're glad to help, they just don't know what to do." Connect with Joanne and check her work in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneblackreferralsales/No More Cold Calling: https://www.nomorecoldcalling.com/ Learn more about Darrell and Larry: Darrell | Larry | Website Got a video about how you sell from the heart? Share it by texting VIDEO to 21000.Click HERE to preorder your copy of the rerelease of the Selling from the Heart book. SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE CHANNEL! Please visit WHYINSTITUTE.COMPlease go to WORKBETTERNOW.COMClick for your Daily Dose of InspirationCheck out the 2023 Authentic Selling ChallengeGet your Insiders Group FREE PASS here

Joanne Black, founder of No More Cold Calling, is considered America's leading authority on referral selling. She's not bragging. Her publisher said it!She has written No More Cold Calling™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust, and Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal.Joanne founded her company in 1996, and partners with sales leaders and their teams to leverage referrals, drive revenue growth, and build a referral culture.Winning Business Radio is broadcast live Mondays at 4PM ET.Winning Business TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).Winning Business Radio Show is broadcast on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Winning Business Radio Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

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Join the Institute for Excellence in Sales here. Read the complete transcript on the Sales Game Changers Podcast website. JOANNE'S TIP FOR EMERGING SALES LEADERS: "On LinkedIn, always send a personal invitation and I'd love to get one from you saying that you heard this podcast with Fred, that would be fabulous. I always send a personal response as well, that's how you start a conversation. What I'd like you to do now is one thing I talk to a lot of clients about. Stop, start, continue. If you want to make referrals part of the way you work, you need to stop doing something that isn't working that well. Then you would start with referrals, talk to me first and then start with referrals. Then what are you doing really well that you want to continue? Because we don't have time for everything in our lives. Take that stop, start, continue. That's the best advice I can give you."  

Steve Benson CEO of Badger Maps www.badgermaps.com and LinkedIn Instructor and business owner is an expert on sales force management. We talk about how companies will have different hiring practices coming out of the pandemic. Now might be the opportunity to demonstrate your Zoom or virtual selling skills. Yes we are all sick of "Zoom", but medical and pharmaceutical sales reps might be stuck with it for a while longer.  Steve's podcast, Outside Sales Talk, is a gold mine for learning what is popular is sales! His expert guest might just be what you need to land and excel in your first sales role! For example: Joanne Black, No More Cold Calling, www.nomorecoldcalling.com  Steve's enthusiasm and knowledge is sure to support your efforts to get hired and be successful in medical sales.  After talking to over 100 reps and other experts this year, I have come up with my Three Steps to Get Hired coaching plan Do you need help with your story or resume, help getting interviews and want to learn how to sell yourself in the interview? I can help! my email is mhayes0429@gmail.com and my website is www.gethiredinmedicalsales.com     

What is the key to driving more leads into your pipeline? How does prospecting become something you enjoy—not a chore? Joanne Black believes it’s through referral-driven lead generation. It’s a game-changer that most salespeople don’t know how to properly employ. Joanne shares the details in this episode of Sales Reinvented. Don’t miss it! Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling, a sales contrarian, and the author of No More Cold Calling and Pick Up the Damn Phone! She works with sales organizations to build a referral culture, ensure a qualified pipeline, and get the one-call meeting. Outline of This Episode [0:50] The difference between prospecting and lead generation  [1:59] Why are they so important? [2:37] Joanne’s referral-driven lead generation system [5:23] Salespeople must be relationship builders [9:51] Why you should improve your LinkedIn skills [11:35] Joanne’s top 3 dos and top 3 don’ts [13:48] Referral-driven lead generation drives revenue Joanne’s referral-driven lead generation system Joanne uses a referral selling system that includes strategy, metrics, skills, and accountability. Every salesperson loves referrals. The conversion rate is more than 50%. What they’re usually missing is a reliable process where metrics are set to get referrals. Joanne notes that sales leaders think they’re doing a good job with referrals. But the reality is that referrals are few and far between. So she points out that they’re not leveraging one area that would be a game-changer: When you talk about lead generation, who is better to refer to you than your clients? You’ve built relationships with them. Your business, product, or service has helped them achieve results. The problem is that they don’t know what to do and salespeople don’t know how to ask. You have to start with a strategy around referral selling. What outcome do you expect? You have to be committed to making referrals your #1 outbound approach. You have to measure it, set KPIs, build the skills of your sales team, and teach them how to ask for a referral and get an introduction. Then you make sure they’re accountable to a result. Because without accountability, nothing changes.  Build relationships to build trust You need to be relationship builders—not sales pitchers. Salespeople pitch and cold email in every means possible. But we already know that pitches don’t work. It’s why the sales profession has gotten a bad name. Customers buy because of the relationship and trust they have with you. Without a relationship, the rest doesn’t matter. The research shows that trust is important but only 18% of buyers said they trust salespeople.  If a client agrees to refer someone to you, you help walk them through what that process looks like. Typically, they call or email their connection and say “I’d love for you to talk to Paul Watts, and here’s why…” This person will trust your client, trust that they won’t waste their time, and that they’re a credible resource. The trust transfers to you.  Good salespeople also need patience, persistence, and a good contact strategy. How are you going to stay in touch? What insights can you share?  Why you should improve your LinkedIn skills Joanne emphasizes that you need LinkedIn skills. LinkedIn is a place to begin a conversation and build a relationship—not to pitch. She recommends sending a personalized invitation to make a personal connection. It’s also a great place to begin insightful conversations if you’re really good at asking questions. There is so much news coming in and so many things to talk about. What is going on that you can educate yourself on so you can engage in conversation with your prospect? You build an amazing relationship, learn what they’re looking for, and schedule the next call.  Referral-driven lead generation drives revenue A sales VP came to Joanne with a problem. She needed to drive revenue faster. So what did Joanne recommend? That they implement a referral system. In less than two months of implementing the new lead generation system, they drove 26 opportunities into their CRM. Joanne points out that it reinforces the fact that people aren’t systematically getting referrals. There’s a huge opportunity to close the gap with referral-driven selling. Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented to learn more! Connect with Joanne Black Connect on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter Connect With Paul Watts  LinkedIn Twitter Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

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Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling—the only business-development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time. As the founder of No More Cold Calling, Joanne helps salespeople, sales teams, and business owners build their referral networks so they can quickly attract more business, decrease operating costs, and ace out the competition every time. A captivating speaker and innovative seminar leader, Joanne is changing the business of sales. In her groundbreaking book, NO MORE COLD CALLING™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust, Joanne teaches readers how to leverage the power of referrals so they get meetings at the level that counts and hit their numbers without hitting the phones. A member of the National Speakers Association, Joanne regularly speaks at sales and incentive meetings, sales conferences, and association meetings. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a Certificate in Training and Human Resource Development, with Honors, from the University of California Extension.

Staying productive is an ever-evolving problem as a sales professional—but leveraging the power of referrals could help. Salespeople wear many hats: they prospect, write proposals, work with internal teams, handle customers, and more. Utilizing any tactic to help smooth the process can be a gamechanger. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Joanne Black joins Paul to share her take.  Joanne Black founded No More Cold Calling 23 years ago and has been helping sales leaders drive revenue for their teams ever since. She is a referral consultant, speaker, and author of multiple books on sales. Her goal is to help sales professionals ensure qualified pipeline leads and shorten prospecting time and increase close rate.  Outline of This Episode [0:19] Joanne Black joins Paul! [054] What is productivity? [2:00] Salespeople need to focus on discipline [3:43] Do what’s closest to cash every day [5:55] Attributes of a productive salesperson [7:13] Joanne’s #1 recommendation  [9:45] Top productivity dos and don’ts [11:32] Joanne’s favorite productivity story Sales professionals must face a hard truth Joanne doesn’t mince words—she believes many sales professionals are lazy and lack discipline. She notes that salespeople do everything they can to avoid prospecting and connecting with customers. Salespeople resist CRM and systems because it is more work. It’s expected that marketing will source and send leads down the pipeline.  But sales professionals are accountable for what they produce. They must take a long hard look at their behaviors and systems in place. Society as a whole wants the end results without the work that goes with it. Sales professionals must work hard to overcome the preconception that people have that they’re lazy. That starts by learning to be disciplined and staying accountable.  Do what’s “closest to cash” every day Joanne’s mantra is “do what’s closest to cash every day”. What do you have to do to move things along and meet your quota? Is it writing a proposal? Do you have to corral a team and strategize? She points out that your job is all about prospecting and proposal writing—and whatever it takes to move forward.  To stay focused, you must prioritize and time-block what’s important. Limit how often you’re checking email and don’t get lost in the social media time-suck. She also recommends exercising and eating healthy. If you are tired and unfocused, you won’t be able to do your best work.  STOP cold-calling and embrace referrals  According to Joanne, it takes at least 8 touches to reach someone with cold calling. But if you get a referral? It’s one phone call and you’re in a conversation with someone who wants to speak with you. Her #1 recommendation to be more productive is to STOP cold calling and embrace referrals.  This allows you to spend less time prospecting, shortens the sales process, and helps your conversion rates soar to over 70%. How? Trust. When a client refers someone to you, they have already forged a level of trust with that person. That bond of trust gets transferred to you and completely changes the conversation you have. Focus on what customers are saying (or NOT saying) Joanne believes many salespeople are so bent on “doing” that they don’t think to ask what customers actually need. Every customer needs and wants different things and you can’t assume you know what those needs are without listening first. Joanne believes, “Every individual has a different need to know at a different time”. It’s your job to find out what that need is and provide a solution.  You also need to be able to know when a client is giving you the brush-off—by understanding their silence. Joanne worked for a company that was contacted to submit a proposal for what would have been a million-dollar deal. They were looking for some advanced sales training and their current vendor didn’t offer what they needed. But her contact gave her the runaround and Joanne ended up losing the deal.  The constant stalling and dodging of calls was a red-flag that Joanne missed. Be sure you’re paying attention to a potential client to get a concrete answer—”maybe” or “not sure” isn’t good enough. Getting a concrete “yes” or “no” will keep you from wasting your time and lead to more productivity. Listen to the whole episode for all of Joanne’s strategies to stay productive! Resources & People Mentioned The SPEED of Trust by Stephen Covey No More Cold Calling by Joanne Black Connect with Joanne Black LinkedIn Twitter Connect With Paul Watts  LinkedIn Twitter Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on Referral Selling. She is an author, speaker, and sales contrarian. She's written two books, No More Cold Calling™:The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust, and Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal. 

The buzz: “Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now (Mattie Stepanek). If your #1 business wish is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, your industry and the world, stay tuned. Live today, January 23 – and on-demand from Dec. 5, 12, 19, 2018 and Jan. 9 and 16 – we're bringing you 80+ thought leaders' predictions covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 6 live. Guests: Werner Zeitlberger, Hackett Group; Rita Sallam, Gartner; Rogan Morrison, Olayan Group; Uli Muench, Lori Mitchell-Keller, Werner Baumbach, Timo Elliott, and Matt Jennings, SAP; Erika Hovland, IOLITE360; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling; Michael Bernard, Vertex; Joanne Black, No More Cold Calling; Sven Denecken, SAP; Lisa Durrett, Broad Insite; Chris Kernaghan, Bluefin Solutions; Jim Davis, SAP.

The buzz: “Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now (Mattie Stepanek). If your #1 business wish is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, your industry and the world, stay tuned. Live today, January 23 – and on-demand from Dec. 5, 12, 19, 2018 and Jan. 9 and 16 – we're bringing you 80+ thought leaders' predictions covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 6 live. Guests: Werner Zeitlberger, Hackett Group; Rita Sallam, Gartner; Rogan Morrison, Olayan Group; Uli Muench, Lori Mitchell-Keller, Werner Baumbach, Timo Elliott, and Matt Jennings, SAP; Erika Hovland, IOLITE360; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling; Michael Bernard, Vertex; Joanne Black, No More Cold Calling; Sven Denecken, SAP; Lisa Durrett, Broad Insite; Chris Kernaghan, Bluefin Solutions; Jim Davis, SAP.

How much power lies in a simple introduction?  My guest today, Joanne Black, founder of No More Cold Calling, is a pioneer in and an advocate of building your sales pipeline through the power of referrals. It starts with building real human connections and relationships and ends with you getting past gatekeepers and into C-Suites with ease.  Joanne is the author of two books, Pick Up the Damn Phone and No More Cold Calling. She believes that referral selling is the fastest way to grow your revenue and today she's sharing all of her secrets, strategies and insight into getting someone to vouch for you. Speaking of more revenue... Are you an entrepreneur, small business owner or leader looking for more advanced, one-on-one help generating revenue? Click for more information about my Revenue Accelerator Sessions and let’s exceed your next revenue goal. On today’s podcast… 1:26 - 80% of companies Meredith works with are missing this one thing 4:52 - How powerful is an introduction? 8:00 - "We only put on LinkedIn what we want people to see." 12:00 The more technological we get, the more human factor we need 15:50 - Relationship building is not complicated 18:30 - You can't start with everybody...slow down 21:50 - The universal mistake in referral selling 25:20 - Soft statements get no results 30:52 - The one thing you have to have in place before you ask for the referral 35:30 - Staying in touch with your referral network 39:45 - What if referral networking hasn't worked for me in the past? Tell somebody! If you like what you hear, subscribe rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Google Play and share with a friend. What do YOU want to hear? Is there a particular topic, challenge or expert view that you would like to see featured here on the Selling With Soul podcast? Email me at Meredith@MeredithMessenger.com and be part of our show! This podcast is part of the Sell or Die Podcast Network. Click on the links below to subscribe to more podcasts that you can take into the street and turn into money.  Sell or Die The Why and The Buy Hidden Stories with Jeremy Fulkerson Wheelbarrow Profits

Joanne Black, founder of No More Cold Calling, is on a mission to end cold calling. For more than 22 years, she's been helping businesses stop the madness of cold calling and referral sell instead. Joanne defines a referral as receiving an introduction to the person you want to meet. Tune in as she discusses how each caller can become a part of your network.     

Joanne Black is America's leading authority on referral selling. She shares her actionable strategies that help you get more qualified leads through referrals in Field Sales. A referral program is the best prospecting approach to reach decision-makers, close B2B sales at an unprecedented 70% rate, shorten the sales process, and ace-out the competition. Joanne believes that in B2B sales, relationships still count. People still crave that interpersonal connection in today’s digital world. According to Nielsen, network recommendations trump all forms of advertising by 92%. That’s why asking for referrals produces better-qualified leads and longer-lasting client relationships. Ditch the cold calling scripts for a strategic sales plan designed for the 21st century modern buyer. Learn how to seed and grow without the awkward close. Referrals work whether you're: Looking for a job Want a promotion Need more clients Or are looking for a date Joanne is a contrarian thinker who believes no salesperson should ever have to cold call, send cold emails, or send sales pitches to strangers on social media. She founded her business in 1996 when she discovered that even though referrals are the #1 way to generate quality sales leads, no organization had a disciplined, systematic referral program with skills, metrics, and accountability for results.   Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: How referral selling can help you get more qualified leads The best ways to ask for a referral and when to ask for it Leveraging LinkedIn to manage customer relationships & engage with prospects First steps to start integrating referrals in your sales strategy today   Check out this blog post about how referrals can help you generate more leads!   About the Guest: Joanne has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, sales executive and consultant with startups and Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of two books, No More Cold Calling™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust, and Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal. Her company, No More Cold Calling, is the #1 company in the U.S. for Referral Sales & Lead Generation. Joanne is working with account-based sellers to leverage referrals for lead generation.    Website: www.nomorecoldcalling.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneblackreferralsales/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDvwNESCLVo6CXo8mGhapJQ Twitter: @ReferralSales   Listen to other episodes of 'Outside Sales Talk' here!  

In this episode of Conversations with Phil, Phil and Joanne discuss her book, No More Cold Calling. Learn more about Joanne Black at http://www.nomorecoldcalling.com/

Title: Pick Up the Damn Phone Means No Cold Calling! Listen to Joanne-of-the-Nice-Voice Explain. Date: August 25, 2017 Attendee and Guest:  Kelly Coughlin, CEO, BankBosun; Joanne Black, Author and Consultant, [Boatswain’s whistle] That’s the Bosun’s whistle calling you bankers to attention.  Listen, compete, win. Intro: Kelly Coughlin is a CPA and CEO of BankBosun, a management consulting firm helping bank C Level Officers navigate risk and discover reward. He is the host of the syndicated audio podcast, BankBosun.com. Kelly brings over 25 years of experience with companies like PWC, Lloyds Bank, and Merrill Lynch. On the podcast Kelly interviews key executives in the banking ecosystem to provide bank C suite officers, risk management, technology, and investment ideas and solutions to help them navigate risks and discover rewards. And now your host, Kelly Coughlin. Greetings, this is Kelly Coughlin, CEO of BankBosun, helping bank C- suite execs navigate risks and discover reward in a sea of threats and opportunities. It wasn’t so long ago, that there were really only three ways to communicate with people: the mail, in-person, and on the phone. That was it. That’s the way it was only 40 years ago. Imagine that…no texting, no social media, no cell phones, no internet, no email…just 40 years ago. Today, we have all these new different ways to communicate…and frequently, when something “new” is introduced in the market, it gets overused and misused. Why? Because we lose sight of the purpose of the new concept and focus simply on using the new concept. In communications today, I will say the reliance upon binary digits…technology…is overused and misused today. As most of you know, we at BankBosun are huge fans of using the human voice as a way to more effectively communicate your message…whether it be your company mission and vision, your product features and benefits, or your assessment of the market landscape and environment, the power of the human voice to communicate empathy, energy and emotion is one of the strongest powers as human beings we have. And if we don’t use that power, we miss a huge opportunity to connect and communicate with our tribe. We like to say, while the pen is mightier than the sword, the voice is stronger than both. Use it. The new communication tactics today are terrific and I use them constantly and consistently. But in terms of effectiveness, nothing compares with the sound of the human voice…I fully recognize that it is not efficient, and that is why many companies founded in the digital era have adopted a business model that minimizes or sometimes completely eliminates the human voice…Facebook, Google, Uber…have you ever tried to get an Uber customer service agent on the phone…forget it…it just won’t happen. This audio interview is an example of the power of the human voice. I posit that if you only read the transcript of this interview, you will miss a huge portion of the underlying message. See how I said huge there? You would miss that if you just read it…it would sound huge…If you only read, you will miss the guest’s energy, empathy and emotion. You just don’t get that with the written word. Oh, and did I mention people don’t read anymore…they don’t. If you send a written piece longer than three quarters of a page it most likely won’t ever get read. Over 65% of written documents over one page in length get put down for later reading…and over 50% of those docs never get read…period. But if you listen, you get to hear a whole new dimension of communication. And you technical people that think your products and services are way too complex and need to be communicated with a written doc or flow chart or a Powerpoint. Wrong. You especially need to tell your story with your voice. I am not suggesting you abandon your written material. But frankly the more complex your offering the more you need to be able to tell your story with your voice…if you can’t, you need to learn your story better. My guest today is also a strong advocate of using the human voice. She is a thought leader, author, and consultant.  And frankly, she is the genuine article.  She has written a number of books, one is called No More Cold Calling: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust.  And then another one, Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal.  She is America’s leading authority on referral selling.  She is not bragging though, her publisher gave her that moniker and she runs with it, and runs with it hard.  And now she is going to run with it at BankBosun to help our community and regional banks compete and win, not through cold calling or the traditional tactics like getting referrals from centers of influence, rather, she is quite the contrary and thinker who believes no sales person should ever have to cold call or send cold emails.  Let’s hear about that.  But what I like most about our guest, Joanne Black, she has a nice soothing voice, especially, compared to my rough and gruff voice.  And so, I am going to welcome Joanne and hope she is on the line so we can all hear her great wisdom and insight and hear her especially nice voice.  Kelly: Joanne, are you on the line? Joanne: Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Kelly. This is fabulous. Kelly: Thank you Joanne for taking the time.  I know you are on the west coast of California, is that correct? Joanne: I am in the San Francisco Bay area so it’s a beautiful sunny day here and we haven’t had any earthquakes in a while and I hope that continues. Kelly: Excellent!  Well, Joanne, are you ready to get right into it? Joanne: I am always ready.  Kelly: Alright. Well, Joanne, I am going to start out with a challenging question here.  I am going to start out by asking you to reconcile two seemingly contrary and opposing messages that are the titles of two of your books.  One book says, Pick Up the Damn Phone and the other says, No More Cold Calling.  Well, what do you want us to do, call or not call? Joanne: Oh, I want you to call but only if you have gotten a referral. The reason I wrote that second book is, I truly was alarmed by how so many people depend on technology and not only depend on it, I think they hide behind it.  And instead of actually having conversations they are depending on emails, on e-books, on social media to get people’s attention.  But the titles may seem like they are not aligned but they actually are. To only wants you to pick up the damn phone, when you have done your research online, when you have talked to people and then when you have been introduced to the person you want to meet or you are going to pick up the damn phone to talk to some of your colleagues, to talk to your clients and ask them for other people you should be meeting.  That’s what the phone is for, not to cold call.  Kelly: Well, are people afraid of the phone these days or are people afraid to contact people? Joanne: It depends on who your clients are.   So, we need to communicate as our clients communicate, and if they communicate by text then text them and set up a time to talk to them.  But you have to have the conversation when you are asking for a referral.  You know, you can’t ask for a referral in any digital format.  That’s my point of view and I am sticking to it.  And the reason is that a referral is very personal and before I can introduce you or I can introduce any banker I need to have a conversation.  I need to know the business reason why I am going to make the introduction. Because when I refer someone my reputation is on the line.  I need to depend on you to take care of my client just as I would.  So, therefore, I need to have that conversation.  I also need to equip you with a language to introduce me.   And it’s not just because I am a nice person.  It’s not just because I have written two books.  It’s not just because I have had my company for 21 years.  It’s not just because you say I have a nice voice.  I mean, that’s not business reasons for the introduction.  There has to be something I do that’s going to resonate with the person you are introducing me to that’s going to help them solve a problem.  Kelly: Now, you are kind of picky about using the term referral, why don’t you define what you think a referral is and then what a referral is not. Joanne: Well, it is what I know, not what I think.  But a referral means that you receive an introduction.  Let me contrast that to my definition of a cold call, any cold outreach, whether you are sending an email, whether you are on social media, whether you are just popping in to a client.  I mean, I don’t know if anybody does that anymore, but some do.   A cold call versus a referral, a cold outreach means that you are contacting someone who doesn’t know you and doesn’t expect to hear from you.  That is ice cold, you are definitely interrupting them. They don’t know you. And in many times there are actually circumspect whether that person really said that you should talk or not, a lot that goes on there.  So when a referral gets you the introduction you always get the meetings, because you have been introduced by someone your prospect knows and respects.  Make sense? Kelly: Yes it does.  I’m interested in the term outreach.  I’ve been in the sales business one way or another many many years and it’s only been in the last eight years maximum that the term outreach has become popular.  It is just selling, correct?    Is it just making a contact, whether it be outreach on the phone, outreach on email, outreach in person, it’s selling, correct? Joanne: I don’t agree.  So here is the thing, I’m want to go back a whole bunch of years when I did work in the banking industry.  I worked for a makeup performance and my clients were all banks, mainly community banks, and at that time if you wanted to get information on a bank you would call their corporate communications department and they mailed you an annual report.  That’s how we learnt about a company.  We did not have the internet and when the internet first became frequently used, I’m going to say mid 90s, maybe, when people were contacted all over the world and then it went from there. We now have many different ways of reaching people so it’s not just calling someone to get information.  It’s not just making a phone call.   And, by the way, I think those times were probably a lot simpler, but there are so many ways of contacting people now.  And that’s what I mean by outreach, because it could be by phone, in person, social media, email, I can’t think of anything else, but there probably is, but there are just so many avenues we have now to reach people. So that’s why I call it outreach, and I don’t think it’s selling. Kelly:  I think probably selling implies doing more talking than listening. But if an outreach is listening and talking then that probably makes more sense to use the term outreach. Joanne: I think it is very much about building relationships and expanding connections, and those lead to sales.  Here is what happens. I have been exposed to several people recently who have said to me, I don’t know if I should go to that event because I have been to things like this in the past and I don’t get any leads.  Don’t say that to me, I say that’s always a wrong approach.  We need to be out there meeting people all the time, whether it’s for breakfast, for lunch, for a beer, whether it’s part of a golf tournament, a tennis tournament, whether we are going to our kid’s...to their baseball or soccer games, we need to be out there all the time meeting people, getting to know people, sharing ideas.  That to me is what selling is about, because the number one reason that people do business with us, because they trust us.  That doesn’t happen overnight.  It does happen when you get a referral introduction.  For me, sales is about having a conversation and being clear about what their issues are before ever talking about what we do.   Kelly: Let’s talk about account based sales. You seem to spend a lot of time, a lot of energy on account based sales activity. What’s your definition? Why is that important and what’s the alternative to that? Joanne: It’s the old saying that there is nothing really new again.  So account based sales is a newer term used for those of us who have named accounts.  We have a certain book of business, a certain book of accounts that we are responsible for meeting with and ultimately selling to.  It’s a book of business, period, named accounts.  And as bankers then we know we need to meet these companies and talk to them and build relationships with them. That’s what it’s about. That’s account based selling.  It’s just a new term but there is nothing new about it.  The opposite is, so many companies now have people on the phone all the time, inside sales reps, people calling and wanting to open up a conversation.  They don’t build relationships.  They are the ones making a hundred dollars a week, a day or whatever it is, and maybe talking to a few people.  That is not what I’m talking about and that’s not where bankers are playing either.  It’s not where I play.  Account based sellers build relationships.  That’s the differentiation in the term.  Kelly:  Do you distinguish between retention of business or for cross selling, up-selling purposes? Joanne: One of the downfalls that I see is that in so many organizations, that we do business with a client, we close that business and then we move on.  To me, when you talk about cross selling and up-selling, it’s always listening.  So, we get in there with one product or service because most of these companies have more than one bank they are doing business with and through developing the relationship and getting to know them better, yes, our goal is to find other opportunities within that client.   We may or may not, or it could be that a bank that they were doing business with, maybe they changed bankers and their client doesn’t like this new banker and suddenly reaches out to you because they like you. It’s critical to stay in touch with people.  And yes, if the door opens and you see an opportunity to talk about another product or service, you do that, but more importantly, we need to be asking those clients for referrals to other people they know. And that is not happening.  It’s happening yes, ad hoc, but it’s not a discipline.  It’s not systematic.  And it happens but we can’t depend on that.   Kelly: Okay, you make a pretty bold statement in some of your work.  One of these statements says this, Why closing is never a problem in account based selling. Why is that? Joanne: First thing, it’s never the problem, it doesn’t matter what you do.  So, when people say to me, I’ve had a sales leader say to me, Joanne, my team can’t close, can you help me?  Well, that’s my time to step back because it is never about closing.  It’s always about something earlier in the sales process that was forgotten. That was over looked.  If we have done our true discovery and we built relationships with all the people who are going to be involved in the decision, that we found out their timeline, we found out what they need, we’ve made a lot of check ins. I don’t even like to call it that, but we are in touch, then closing should be like one foot in front of the other.  Closing is never the problem.  I am going to give you an example.  I realized that I missed a step, very recently, and I knew the deadline was short so I wasn’t even sure about that. But a client was having a meeting and they were bringing in their account executive and suddenly they wanted to expand it to a bigger group so now we are looking at like 25 people instead of 10.  The mistake I made was, I did not have the conversation with the right person about what that would cost them when they expanded that number and I would have made a recommendation to start with a smaller group.  The group that really would get the most benefit from referrals, start with them first.  Let’s get proof, let’s get results and then we can expand it.  So, I missed that step. Now, as a result, first of all, the date didn’t work and second, it was too big. And it will happen because they do these quarterly business reviews and bring the whole team together then.  And now I have to do a lot more work on my end which I am willing to do and we have already outlined some next steps to bring a referral program into a quarterly business review with a smaller team. So, I made that mistake.  It’s called, sometimes...I have an author friend who calls it "happy ears”.  You know, when a prospect or a client just says, oh, this is fabulous, yes we need to do it.  This absolutely meets what our challenges are.  I never thought about it that way, you have given me so many insights   and good advice, on and on and on.  We have “happy ears”, and they go sure, they are going to do business with us.    That’s not business, that’s “happy ears”, and that was my downfall. Kelly. Yeah.  You make another statement here, How digital dependence derails account based selling teams.  I want to give some background in this question.  At BankBosun, we believe that audiocasting is a very effective way to communicate your message, whether it be a company message, a product message, service message, a human voice communicates with energy, empathy and emotion and you just can’t get that out of the written word unless you are writing like Yeats or Shakespeare, most people really don’t read anymore anyway.  So, we like to use digital audio to capture this, like we are doing today.  In my interview with you, we get the emotion, we hear your wonderful voice, we hear your energy and then we envision banks would share that message with their referrals or current customers or prospective customers.  I am not at all suggesting that banks rely upon this and be dependent upon it, but do you think that tactic challenges your statement, digital dependence derails account based selling teams? Joanne: No, if digital is the only outreach then I would say yes.  The point in that post and really the message in my second book, Pick up the Damn Phone, is that if we sit behind technology and we rely only on technology, whether it’s audios, videos, emails, e-books, whatever it is, webinars, podcasts that we are not developing the relationships we need to develop when we have a conversation, and that’s what I mean by digital dependence.  Now, audio is one tool, video is another.  I just wrote a post, in fact, about why video doesn’t work for me.  You see, everybody has a different way of accessing and understanding information.  For me, I can read way faster than I can listen, of course then, I have to put in my blue tooth or my earbuds.  You know, whatever I’m doing, it’s one other block for me.  Now, I agree that there is nothing that replaces hearing a human voice, that’s why we need to talk to people and have conversations but we need to communicate in different modalities.  Some people love videos, some love audio, and many people love audio because they put it on their phones and can listen in the car.  If it’s the written word, there is Infographics.  Some people love those.  Infographics gives me hives. I just don’t know where to look first.  I get, you know, where is this?  It’s like charts and graphs. I want someone to explain it to me.  That’s my learning style.  We need to use various modalities in digital but then we need to have an actual conversation.  And when I talked about digital dependence is there are so many people who are not having conversation. They are relying on digital for everything. Kelly: Got it. I would like to reserve part two, if we could, to talking about strategy and tactics on getting referrals, could we to that in part two, do you think? Joanne: Well, of course we can and I look forward to it. Kelly: Okay, I want to end part one with, I find it interesting, the contrary, and you are, that you use the term, circles of influence and many of us use the term centers of influence, is there a difference between how we use the terms?  I actually kind of like your term better. It implies, large, diameter, circumference, wider in scope whereas a center implies something that’s closed.  It’s got a door and only few people are allowed in it, closed, narrow. What are your thoughts on that? Joanne: I think they are interchangeable.  I mean, truthfully, with everything I say is maybe I meant center and I said circle. You know, it’s really the same thing. We understand these are the people who would most likely to give us referrals over time.  And that’s centers of influence, circles of influence, it’s exactly the same. Kelly: Okay.  Well, with your permission, unless you have some kind of trade name, ownership and you are going to charge me every quarter every time I use it, I am going to start using it. Joanne: Oh, fantastic Kelly, please do.   Kelly: Joanne, I would like to know how bankers can get in touch with you.  You could put a plug in for your books again and any other thing.  I think we are doing a giveaway on the book, No More Cold Calling: The Break Through System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust.  Is that correct? Joanne: That’s correct.  The way to reach me is, Joanne, J o a n n e, @nomorecoldcalling.com and the first 10 people who send me an email and put in the subject line “listened to your podcast with Kelly” will receive a book.  If you would like to chat and hear a human voice, it is area code 415-461-8763, 4154618763, and that’s Pacific Time. I invite you to visit my website, nomorecoldcalling.com.  And yes, both of my books are available on Amazon, on Kindle as well as in hardcover for No More Cold Calling and paperback for Pick Up the Damn Phone Kelly: Very nice, sweet.  Joanne, thank you so much and we will be in touch about scheduling part two which is “the circles of influence and how to get them to work for you.”                                                   Joanne: Terrific, thanks Kelly. Kelly: Okay Joanne, thank you, good bye. Outro: We want to thank you for listening to the syndicated audio program, BankBosun.com The audio content is produced by Kelly Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer of BankBosun, LLC;  and syndicated by Seth Greene, Market Domination LLC, with the help of Kevin Boyle. Video content is produced by The Guildmaster Studio, Keenan Bobson Boyle. The voice introduction is me, Karim Kronfli. The program is hosted by Kelly Coughlin. If you like this program, please tell us. If you don’t, please tell us how we can improve it. Now, some disclaimers. Kelly is licensed with the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant. The views expressed here are solely those of Kelly Coughlin and his guests in their private capacity and do not in any other way represent the views of any other agent, principal, employer, employee, vendor or supplier.

Joanne Black is the best-selling author of No More Cold Calling and Just Pick Up The Damn Phone!  In this episode, Joanne describes why sales reps must commit to making referral selling their primary prospecting outreach. But it's not as simple as just asking for referrals. Creating a predictable flow of referrals is a skill that needs to be learned. In this episode, Joanne details the essential steps required to build an effective referral selling system, and the necessary reinforcement coaching to successfully integrate it into your selling. As Joanne explains describes in our conversation, if you’re not building the relationships and expanding your network, referrals won’t happen. If you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, sales leader or sales professional you need to listen to this episode.

Referrals are a salesperson's biggest competitive differentiator. The produce the highest quality leads and can shorten the sale cycle. The problem is many people don't ask for referrals or they don't know how to ask for them. Listen as Joanne Black, author of No More Cold Calling and a leading authority on referral selling, discusses how to ask, as well as how to get started creating a referral system.

It’s easy for Joe and Roger to get excited about technology but as we all know only too well, technology is not always as good a solution as more traditional approaches. Our guest today, Joanne Black, reminds us of this point and stresses how important personal relationships and referrals are to business success. It’s smart to keep in mind that technology works best as an enabler to personal relationships. With over 30 years of sales training and consulting experience, Joanne's philosophy is that no one should ever have to make a cold call. Some may see this as heretical thinking, but for Joanne Black – and her clients – there is an alternative. It's called referral selling. Joanne has provided sales strategy consulting since 1996, when she developed the No More Cold Calling concept – that building relationships and getting referrals generates sales faster and more cost-effectively than cold-calling. Joanne began her career in the sales and management training program at Joseph Magnin, a leading fashion house in the San Francisco Bay Area. She learned the nuances of selling, customer expectations, handling problems, and working with a diverse work force. After co-founding and operating a successful retail business while in her early twenties Joanne moved on to sales leadership positions with Omega Performance and The Forum Corporation, where she served clients such as Advanced Micro Devices, Hewlett-Packard, Pacific Gas & Electric, Shell Oil, and VISA. Joanne Black is a leader with integrity, determination, and the clarity to see how conventional sales "wisdom" isn't always so effective. Joanne guides client companies away from inefficient and ineffective business practices, and gives them clear directions towards business growth and success. Thanks for listening to the Cullinane & Green Report --- and remember, we're on the bleeding edge so you don't have to be! (tm) --------------------------------- Copyright 2006 Cullinane & Green, Inc. All rights reserved.