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Take the bite out of cold calling with these helpful strategies.

Guest post by: Donna Williams

Article Overview: Few things strike fear into the heart of an entrepreneur than cold calling. But these cold calling strategies will help make the entire process more successful and enjoyable.

Take the bite out of cold calling with these helpful strategies.

Other than a root canal or public speaking, very few things strike more fear into the heart of the entrepreneur than cold calling.

You know you need to drum up business. You know one of the quickest ways to do so is to start making phone calls. But getting that knowledge from your brain to your dialing fingers is tough - especially if you’re not used to it.

Before you stress, take a look at these tips that will help make your cold calling more successful and enjoyable.

Do your homework.

Before you pick up the phone, be sure you know whom you’re targeting. Knowing your target will save you time and cut down on wasted calls and rejection. Then find out as much as you can about the company or person before you call so you can talk intelligently about their business and their needs.

Write it down.

Preparing a script for your conversation – especially the opening statement - helps you organize your thoughts before you pick up the phone, and makes those first few seconds less painful. But make sure your remarks are designed as a conversation starter, now be a sales spiel. And whatever you do, don’t sound like you’re reading it!

So what should be in it? AllBusiness.com suggests an organizational format for your first 20 seconds that includes a greeting and an introduction, a reference point (something about your prospect), the benefits of your product/service, and a transition to a question or dialogue. For example, perhaps something like this:

“Hi Ms. Simon. This is Jason Smith from HouseWorks. I heard from a mutual friend that you were just promoted to vice president of your company. I would imagine that having an important job like that doesn’t leave you much time. As the number one maid service in our area, HousWorks can mak your life a whole lot easier. And I'd like to tell you how."

The body of the rest of the script should specify your product/service benefits and how they can make your prospect’s life easier, richer, fuller. Appeal to them on an emotional level. Again, don’t read the script word for word, but use it as talking points in a back and forth dialogue.

Ask for an appointment.

Expert cold callers will tell you that the goal isn’t to make a sale over the phone, but to get an appointment to make your pitch. Very few people will buy your product or service based on a phone call. In asking for the appointment, it is best to phrase the question like “Would next Tuesday at 10 a.m. be a good time to meet?” instead of “When would be a good time for you to meet?”

Soften the beaches.

Many cold-call gurus recommend smoothing the way for your call considerably if you send your prospects a small unique promotional item beforehand. This helps to introduce yourself and/or your company. It can be anything, really. You’re only limited by your imagination…and good taste. Taking my HouseWorks example above, Jason could have sent Ms. Simon a feather duster with a card that said something like “I’d be tickled to have a few minutes of your time,” along with some info about himself and his company. That way when he called, Ms. Simon would most likely recognize the name, and probably got a kick out of the item.

Practice.

The more you cold call, the better you get. The more you practice, the more confident you will be, and the more effective your sales tactics will become.

By now, your fingers are probably ready to pick up the phone and start dialing, right? Right? Well, if not…don’t worry. You’ll get there. Who knows? You might even find you like it!

© Copyright 2009, BusinessBurrito. All rights reserved.

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  Is cold calling right for my business?
  What to avoid when cold calling?
  Cold Calling

Article Tags: brain, conversation starter, dialogue, entrepreneur, fear, fingers, homework, jason smith, maid service, mutual friend, nbsp, reference point, rejection, root canal, rsquo, sales spiel, target, transition, vice president, whole lot



Related Forum Posts
Re: Who hates cold calling? - I think it really depends on what you are selling. For example, we sell chiropractic software that they can enter and store their notes on. Since the law is requiring them to go electronic by 2014, we have a pretty good chance of calling someone who needs it. I agree that for other products and services cold calling would probably be a waste of time. I think the key to cold calling is knowing how to get past the gate keeper. If you just keep calling people and have no clue how to get to the decision maker, cold calling is a BIG waste of time. There are some really good books out there that will teach a person how to do that if he/she decides cold calling would be helpful to their business.
Re: Who hates cold calling? - Why anyone would use cold calling is beyond me. It's simply an ineffective tactic and a waste of time when you measure conversion rate. If you really understanding your customer segments and how your products and services provide value, there are many more effective strategies than cold calling.
I hate Cold Calling! - In my past I was really scared to cold calling until I realized that cold calling in my line of work was the only way for me to generate accounts. I assiociated large amounts of pain in my life with not cold calling such as loss of house, car, wife.... The fear of losing all of that helped me over come the fear. Good luck with your problem It might help to think its all in your head and the only thing in the world that you have control over is your own mental thinking.
Re: Who hates cold calling? - I can see a role for calling your warm market, people who have opted in to your list or requested more info from your website. But is does cold calling really offer the best return on your investment of time? Sure you can "maintain" a positive mental attitude and eventually find someone to buy your stuff, but it takes an awful lot of "maintaining". I would prefer to spend my time improving my web copy skills so as to achieve a higher conversion rate online and use the telephone to contact those who have requested further info. One guy who has a lot to say on this subject is Daegan Smith ("The King of never calling a single lead"). I am not one of his affiliates, but I do enjoy his email newsletter. You can learn a lot from what he has to say - and from the way that he says it. So if you want to get OUT of cold calling, check out via a Google search what he has to say!
What to avoid when cold calling? - Cold calling is the nemesis of all sales people. What words to avoid, what not to do when cold calling? I will start first: avoid the word "maybe". When you're cold calling, your best chance of success is to be self assured, confident, and 100% well versed in what you are selling. If you're using the word 'maybe' in your sales scripts, you run the risk of sounding wishy washy. It either is or isn't. Pick one. Another word: "hope" When you tell your client you're 'hoping' for something, you're not sure, are you? If you're not sure, then why should they be? Never let a prospect hear that you're not 100% behind your product, your company or your service, or it's entirely likely you will lose the sale. So, what other words should we avoid?


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