Episode #404: David Walter
Meet
David Walter
David Walter is the Marketing Director at MSP SEO Factory, a company providing IT marketing to businesses in the United States. He also ran a telemarketing firm for 13 years and successfully helped businesses make millions with his unique cold calling strategies. Now he has written a book about cold calling and lead generation called The Million Dollar Rebuttal. David speaks at trade shows, Chambers of Commerce, webinars and is a telemarketing & sales trainer for major companies. He is also a published author; his latest book is Stratospheric Lead Generations Secrets.
Our Mission Is To Change The Negative Perception Of Sales People
Our Vision Is A World Where Selling Is A Profession To Be Proud Of
David Walter doesn’t believe that cold-calling is an art or a science. Instead, he emphasizes that you simply need a blueprint to follow and a desire to want to do the work. He takes a different approach than most, especially when it comes to objection handling. David emphasizes aggressive agreement. Learn his process in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
Outline of This Episode
- [1:07] What is a cold-call? Is cold-calling still relevant?
- [2:21] Is there an art and science to cold-calling?
- [2:43] How David prepares for cold-calling
- [4:35] David’s favorite way to capture a prospect’s interest
- [5:39] How to keep a cold-call conversation engaging
- [6:56] Indispensable tools and technologies
- [8:22] David’s top cold-calling dos and don’ts
- [10:10] How David handles objections and rejections
How David prepares for cold-calling
Before you do something, David believes that you should prepare for it by looking in the mirror. You have to prepare your subconscious and visualize the end in mind. You have to claim the number of appointments you’re going to book and believe it. It’s the “believe it and you’ll achieve it” mindset.
Secondly, he points out that you have to research the data carefully so you aren’t calling the wrong numbers asking for the wrong person/using the wrong name. Don’t waste your time (or there’s).
David’s favorite way to capture a prospect’s interest
Can you prepare for the objection and get rid of it before the prospect brings it up? Most people say: “I already have something in place.”
So David will reply, “When it comes to x, y, z, I know you’ve got something in place that you’re already happy with. Am I correct?” They’ll say “yes” and you’re building agreement right out of the gate.
David believes that everyone should use a script—but no one should be able to tell that you’re using a script. You have to internalize what you’re saying and believe what you’re saying.
You have to ask penetrating questions designed to build agreement. When you do, it’s a link to another few minutes with your prospect.
Handling objections with aggressive agreement
David doesn’t argue with someone’s objections. Instead, he engages in aggressive agreement. So if someone says “I’m not sure I trust the cloud” he’d say “I totally get you. The last few people I talked to said the same thing. I’ve heard stories about people losing their data during migrations and the cost being prohibitive.”
He takes what they’ve said one step further. It stops them in their tracks and blows them away, leaving them curious about what he’ll say next.
David connected with an administrator at a large law firm. She said that they were “All set.” He said “I know you’re completely happy and don’t want to change, don’t worry. But I do know that you’ll want to know something new that’s a game-changer for the future.”
After she agreed, he explained their solution, and it blew her mind. She couldn’t believe the service was available. He said he’d have “Tony”—he was always careful to use the rep’s real name to make it relatable—stop in to prove that they actually offer that real thing.
The rep met with her and she switched services. Why? Because they had something so much better. When you have dynamic and innovative services and proof to back it up, it speaks volumes.
You can sell more to people who aren’t looking, and who are happy with what they have. The problem is that they don’t know they’re dealing with pain because they’ve gotten used to it. You have to expose their pain.
Connect With Paul Watts
Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Learn More About David Walter
What was a pivotal moment or experience in your career that shaped your approach to cold calling, and how did it change your perspective or strategy?
The pivotal moment in my cold calling career happened when I decided to look 👀 in the mirror each morning and claim my goal of setting 15 appointments a day! Six months later I had all the epiphanies that leveled up my game!
Can you share a specific tactic or approach you’ve used in cold calling that significantly increased your success rate? Please provide a brief example or case study.
One tactic that can determine success or failure on a cold call is remembering to sincerely compliment the decision maker. If you fail to do it can spell disaster!
Cold calling often comes with its set of challenges and rejections. Can you share a particularly tough challenge you faced while cold calling and how you overcame it?
Well when I overcame every step of the cold calling ladder I finally reach more decision makers and persuaded then to stick to the end of my pitches. This lead to two solid weeks of only getting one objection, “send information”… This obstacle lead to the creation of my million dollar rebuttal!
What are the top three tools or resources (e.g., software, books, training programs) you consider essential for someone looking to improve their cold calling skills and outcomes?
If you listened to the podcast then you know I believe qualifying is the most important step in a successful cold calling campaign. Therefore I recommend these list providers: ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Navigator and Seemless.ai!
How do you foresee the practice of cold calling evolving in the next few years with advancements in technology and changes in buyer behavior? What advice would you give to sales professionals to stay ahead of the curve?
It’s seems like using AI 🤖 to qualify a list is becoming a viable option; but I would never recommend using an AI to reach businesses!
Share This Episode, Choose Your Platform!