Cold calling is alive and well in the hands of those who know how to do it: Madlibs with Tibor Shanto

Cold calling is alive and well in the hands of those who know how to do it: Madlibs with Tibor Shanto:from The Funnelholic by Craig Rosenberg
Today’s Madlibs features Tibor Shanto, a prolific sales expert who specializes in very specific prospecting techniques. Here’s an example: He has a voicemail technique that works for him for a 50% call back rate. And he stands by that. There is always a lot to learn from Tibor. This should be fun — Madlibs from Tibor below

1. The b2b buyer is: human with all the attributes that go with that, their decision during a meeting with you is influenced as much by his education as the guy that cut him off on the way to work that morning who drove a car just like yours. There are no formulas when it comes to them, just work on helping them achieve their objectives.

2. The biggest innovation in sales is: execution. There are a lot of great ideas and technologies introduced daily, but there is still a challenge in getting people to do what needs to be done in a disciplined way day in and day out.

3. My favorite Sales 2.0 technology is: Not sure if it is in fact a “technology” or Sales 2.0, but WordPress. Direct unedited access to my community, delivering value through content, immediate feedback, two way street of direct unfiltered unsponsored (at least on mine) ideas.

4. My favorite sales book is: The Ten Day MBA. Forget selling, learn how they think, and then you can communicate with them, and then maybe sell them.

5. My favorite social media site is: LinkedIn, you can learn, connect, communicate, preach and stalk!

6. Social selling is: is a BS marketing term made up by those who need to sell social selling tools. B2B selling is not social, it is commercial.

7. I use Linkedin to: Syndicate my content, groups of like minded individuals segmented in groups, where I deliver content to a waiting and responsive crowd. And there are also the connections, the ability to learn about individuals, and more. But it is by far the most effective syndication tool content creators have.

8. Cold calling is: Alive and well in the hands of those who know how to do it and value their time more than their ego. But I want to encourage all those who say it is dead to continue say so, and taking their crowd with them, leaves more for me to cold call in an unencumbered way.

9. In b2b, the idea of a funnel is: misunderstood, talk to 3 sales people and you’ll get five different definitions, which is better that the 6 you get if you talk to three VP of Sales. While it is not important to have universal definition, it is important to have an organizational one.

10. The first thing every sales person should do is: Wash every day, including washing away their product or solution. If they forget the product, and focus on the buyer’s objective, the need for the solution will present itself, assuming they targeted the right audience, their product or solution will fit the situation.

11. Voicemail is: What can I say that hasn’t already been said. Use it, use it wisely. It is an important tool; it is not going away, so you need to figure out how it fits in to your pursuit of a prospect. It is a tool that facilitates communication, and you do want to communicate with buyers, so always leave a message, preferably a good message, one that gets a call back, and begins the communication you seek.

12. The biggest mistake sales people make is: Taking themselves too seriously. The check is ultimately written by the buyer, and some of that trickles down to us in the form of commission, so take the buyer and their objectives seriously, and things will happen.

13. The biggest myth in sales is: That there are absolutes. All the soothsayers who tell you they have the definitive way, or to never do this or that, or that they have the silver bullet for selling, are just full of myth. After all, we are after revenues, not werewolves.

14. My most forgettable sales experience was: I forget. But there is this vague “sales flashback” to a time when I was so excited about an opportunity, I forgot to let the buyer answer the questions I asked, because, hey, I knew it all.

15. The hardest part of selling is: Prospecting. That is why there are so many tools, schools and things claiming to make it easy, never having to cold call, and all the other “ab machine infomercials” sellers are enticed to buy, only to be left disappointed and realising that there are no short cuts or silver bullets.

16. The next “hot-thing” in sales will be: Redefining the Status Quo, and seeing it as a source of opportunity.. Most of the current din coming out of the Emerald Sales City, tells you to stay away from the dark forest of the Status Quo, and steer you towards the safer ground of being found and order taking.

17. In 2015, sales will be: two years older. My crystal ball broke as it was resting on top of the dot.com bubble when it burst.

18. My favorite sales saying is: Execution, everything else is just talk!

19. Over the next couple years in sales, I can’t wait to see: the next ab machine

20. Madlibs with the Funnelholic is: A good way to get people to think about sales and how they are selling. Get off the treadmill and think!

Tibor Shanto has been called a brilliant sales tactician, helping sales teams and organizations to better execute their sales process. As a principal with Renbor Sales Solutions, working with leading B2B sales organizations improving critical aspects of their sales cycle by leveraging the right combination of metrics, strategic and tactical execution. Tibor co-authored the award winning book on Trigger Events, and contributor to Office Technology magazine, ChannelBuzz, Today’s Trucking, Globe and Mail Report on Small Business, www.chamberofcommerce.com, and others.