In order to be a successful domain investor, you need plenty of practice or training. You can choose to invest in domain courses, find a good mentor, or role-play with domain investors or family members. Regardless of the type of business that you are planning to get into, there is no shortcut to success. As a domain investor, there is so much that we can glean from telemarketers, customer service agents, online school enrollment counselors, and sales agents.
It is easy to give other people feedback or find fault in the way other people do things if you have never been in their shoes. Moreover, it is easy to critique someone else driving when you are in the passenger seat. The same can be said about personal development. There is no amount of books in the world that will help improve your skill, not until you put into practice what you have learned.
During my 9 years living in Denver, Colorado, I worked for one of the major credit card companies as a customer agent and later worked for an online university as an enrollment counselor, a fancy word for sales agent. In each case, there were three steps that the company took to prepare you for success:
The first step was for you to attend a two-week intense class. It is during this two-week intense class that you learn about the do's and don’ts, and meet old and new employees, senior management, and your future manager. You will also learn about the company’s culture, mission, expectations, and customers.
The second part of the interactive training includes watching plenty of training videos and listening to recorded sales agent interactions with customers. At the end of each session, you will have an opportunity to give feedback to the instructor and sometimes to the sales agent. The next step in your training is to put to the test all that you have learned so far. First, you will take a written test, and second, you will role-play with the instructor and then with other new employees. The role plays between you and the instructor and your fellow new employees are designed to assess your strengths and weaknesses. From my experience, the people who did well during role plays often do well once they are on the floor (talking to actual prospective customers or students). Then, the next phase of your training is to shadow another successful veteran employee. This is an opportunity to hear them speak to actual prospective customers or students. Call shadowing usually lasts for about two days to a week, depending on the veteran employee's feedback to the instructor about your progress.
The third step of your training is mock calls that involves you calling existing customers or students. These customers or students are part of the training process (unbeknown to you, these people are actual customers or students). The mock customers or students will speak to you the same way a prospective customer or student would interact with you in a real call. Since you are not aware that these are mock calls, you will take it seriously because you want to impress your fellow new employees and students. If you do well during this mock interview, you will then be assigned a small book of business. This book of business includes prospective customers or students that have not been called for more than six months. During your first call, your instructor will be plugged into the call and their job is to guide you, but under no circumstance will they take over the call even if you are facing objections from the prospective customer or student.
As a domain investor, making that first call to a potential domain end-user takes courage and experience because it is scary, nerve-racking, and frightening. I once heard a successful telemarketer and domain investor say that it takes 21 hours of real practice before you can become effective in overcoming potential customers' smoke screens or objections. I agree with this premise because it usually takes 21 hours or more of practice before you will become comfortable driving on the road, but that doesn’t mean that you are now a professional.
In my opinion, if you are planning on making outbound calls to potential end-users, then I strongly encourage you to talk to other domain investors about their challenges and success first. Additionally, consider placing a mock sales call to your friend or business owner to try to sell them a domain name. Practice does not make you perfect, but will help you get better. Practice makes improvement. Of course, in real life, no matter how many years of experience you have, there will always be something new to learn as you try to overcome customer objections and succeed in outbound sales. I encourage you to keep learning, and keep closing!
What have you learned from outbound calls? Please share in the comments.
It is easy to give other people feedback or find fault in the way other people do things if you have never been in their shoes. Moreover, it is easy to critique someone else driving when you are in the passenger seat. The same can be said about personal development. There is no amount of books in the world that will help improve your skill, not until you put into practice what you have learned.
During my 9 years living in Denver, Colorado, I worked for one of the major credit card companies as a customer agent and later worked for an online university as an enrollment counselor, a fancy word for sales agent. In each case, there were three steps that the company took to prepare you for success:
The first step was for you to attend a two-week intense class. It is during this two-week intense class that you learn about the do's and don’ts, and meet old and new employees, senior management, and your future manager. You will also learn about the company’s culture, mission, expectations, and customers.
The second part of the interactive training includes watching plenty of training videos and listening to recorded sales agent interactions with customers. At the end of each session, you will have an opportunity to give feedback to the instructor and sometimes to the sales agent. The next step in your training is to put to the test all that you have learned so far. First, you will take a written test, and second, you will role-play with the instructor and then with other new employees. The role plays between you and the instructor and your fellow new employees are designed to assess your strengths and weaknesses. From my experience, the people who did well during role plays often do well once they are on the floor (talking to actual prospective customers or students). Then, the next phase of your training is to shadow another successful veteran employee. This is an opportunity to hear them speak to actual prospective customers or students. Call shadowing usually lasts for about two days to a week, depending on the veteran employee's feedback to the instructor about your progress.
The third step of your training is mock calls that involves you calling existing customers or students. These customers or students are part of the training process (unbeknown to you, these people are actual customers or students). The mock customers or students will speak to you the same way a prospective customer or student would interact with you in a real call. Since you are not aware that these are mock calls, you will take it seriously because you want to impress your fellow new employees and students. If you do well during this mock interview, you will then be assigned a small book of business. This book of business includes prospective customers or students that have not been called for more than six months. During your first call, your instructor will be plugged into the call and their job is to guide you, but under no circumstance will they take over the call even if you are facing objections from the prospective customer or student.
As a domain investor, making that first call to a potential domain end-user takes courage and experience because it is scary, nerve-racking, and frightening. I once heard a successful telemarketer and domain investor say that it takes 21 hours of real practice before you can become effective in overcoming potential customers' smoke screens or objections. I agree with this premise because it usually takes 21 hours or more of practice before you will become comfortable driving on the road, but that doesn’t mean that you are now a professional.
In my opinion, if you are planning on making outbound calls to potential end-users, then I strongly encourage you to talk to other domain investors about their challenges and success first. Additionally, consider placing a mock sales call to your friend or business owner to try to sell them a domain name. Practice does not make you perfect, but will help you get better. Practice makes improvement. Of course, in real life, no matter how many years of experience you have, there will always be something new to learn as you try to overcome customer objections and succeed in outbound sales. I encourage you to keep learning, and keep closing!
What have you learned from outbound calls? Please share in the comments.
