The Sales Call Introduction Consultative selling Sales call structure Introduce yourself Lowering resistance Explanation of products Asking questions Back at the office The second call Smoke objections Straightforward objections Second call objections The fastest way to increase sales! Participate in this award-winning, newspaper-specific ad sales course on-site or in a Webinar.  • Get past upfront stalls and objections without any pushing  • Make the account believe he really needs you  • Get better information from your prosepct  • Develop quick ad strategies that work the very first time  • Eliminate size, frequency, content, cost and most other objections before they ever arise  • Get dramatic responses for all kinds of advertisers  • Never have to push an advertiser to run again click here

So now, let's assume you're in front of the decision-maker. With the majority of your sales calls, the prospect probably won't say, "I'm so glad you stopped in today, I was just about to call your newspaper to advertise."

Instead, you may see their eyes glazing over while they remember all those other pushy ad salespeople who have come into their business, who have taken all their money, didn't get them a response, and lost all their artwork. Perhaps some of these salespeople were even from your newspaper. Then they'll start thinking about how to get you out of their store without making a big scene.

It's critical you stop them from thinking about this before you move on. In most cases, the advertiser will say something general that they think will get rid of you, like "I have no money," or "I have no time," or "Your papers don't work for me," or "You're too expensive," or "The other paper is cheaper."

Whatever the objection is that they present to you, take it in the spirit it was intended. Don't see it as a criticism of you or your newspaper, think of what they're really saying, which is, "I'm afraid you're here to sell me an ad and I don't believe an ad in your newspaper will make me money."

If you don't think they're saying that, think of when you go into a clothing store or an electronics store and a salesperson asks, "May I help you?" Most likely, you don't say "I'm afraid you're going to sell me something I don't want." Instead, most of us say "No thanks, I'm just looking," making believe you're in no mood to buy when you might be desperate to find something good.

This is a strange dynamic and one that you've always got to keep in mind when you approach a new account. Just because the account is saying they're not interested, it doesn't mean it's true. They just don't like to be sold.

So, no matter how legitimate their objection might sound, don't take the bait and start coming up with reasons why the account is wrong, such as, "We're too expensive? Well on a cost-per-thousand basis, we're the most affordable advertising medium in the market."

Instead, since your goal is lowering resistance, agree with the account as much as possible and tell them you're not there sell them anything. Something like, "Well, we're not the cheapest newspaper out there, but I promise I'm not here today to sell you anything. I just wanted to introduce myself, hear a little about what your business is all about and perhaps tell you a little about us. You're familiar with our newspapers, aren't you?"

Next: Brief explanation of products