Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Videos About Advertise Blog Network Contact
   

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

Featured Ebook


ebook Famous Entrepreneurs - Modern Empire Builders


Featured Ebook

More Evan Carmichael
Have A Suggestion?

Sales Lessons From Starbucks And Dell

How to make Cold-Calling work for you.



How to make Cold-Calling work for you.
   

Successful Cold Calling Strategy

I recommend a higher quality lower number calling strategy as opposed to most cold calling, which involves high numbers of calls with little of no quality. In simple terms, this means replacing time spent calling with researching and call planning. Another important reason why I personally promote this approach is that making high numbers of unsuccessful calls is in my opinion both a bad use of valuable selling time and morale wrecking.

Pre-Call Planning, More is More

Research is in my opinion is the single biggest fundamental to your success during the call. When researching, you are looking for a piece of information that helps you to introduce yourself and product, grab attention and be taken seriously by the prospect. Don’t just go with a lazy general company overview but rather look for something specific. While common information sources such as the papers and the Internet can prove valuable, it’s often worth digging a little deeper.

Before I call a high level decision maker I am very interested in getting a meeting with, I will call the some of the sales team beforehand, introduce myself and tell them exactly what I do. They often provide me with inside knowledge about the prospect and the business that proves invaluable when it later comes to actually ringing the prospect.

The prospect’s attention span will only last in seconds when you call and really good research allows you to quickly give an initial sense that you understand their business. This helps to prolong their attentions and allows you to quickly move from introduction to two-way conversation.

Only One Objective

Another important consideration before you call is the actual objective; in this case the aim of the call is to secure a sales meeting not to sell your product. Remember if your company believed your products could be sold over the phone, they would have hired a tele sales team.

The purpose of this call will be to develop an avenue during the conversation that allows you to introduce a meeting. Timing and information is key, too soon with too little information and you will be trying to force a meeting, give too much information and the prospect may feel like he or she is in a position to make a quick judgement before you have had a chance to demonstrate the full value of your products. Remind yourself before you call; my objective is to get a meeting, no more no less.

Personally even where the prospect indicates that there is unlikely to be any current need for my services, I will often continue to seek out a meeting for two important reasons, one, a meeting affords me a much better chance to develop any potential sale no matter how small the prospect’s needs appear to be at this stage and two, a meeting gives me an opportunity to introduce my services so that I will be one of the first points of contacts should the current situation change.

Conversation Flow

Listen to the vast majority of cold calls you can easily observe that the conversation flow is desperately lopsided. Just because the prospect is allowing you to continue to talk doesn’t mean that the conversation is going anywhere, more often what’s happening is he or she is waiting for you to say something that allows them to easily end the conversation.

Effective communication skills particularly over the phone where you don’t have the benefit of observing body language etc. depends very much on their responses. Good questioning technique is the best way to achieve this; 50/50 conversation flows is good but aim to encourage them to give as much information as you can. Again being constantly aware of your objective, when a good opportunity arises to introduce a potential meeting, don’t wait to be asked, go for it.



How to make Cold-Calling work for you. - To learn more about this author, visit Niall Devitt's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends
[Get Copyright Permissions] E-Mail | Print | More  


Related Articles Related Articles

Related Forum Posts Related Forum Posts
Re: Is This The Answer For A Busy Entrepreneur?? Re: Is This The Answer For A Busy Entrepreneur??
Re: Is This The Answer For A Busy Entrepreneur?? Re: Is This The Answer For A Busy Entrepreneur??
The man with the idea makes million $$ The man with the idea makes million $$
Re: The man with the idea makes million $$ Re: The man with the idea makes million $$
Is Spam to Blame?? Is Spam to Blame??
Re: Can you make a real living online? Re: Can you make a real living online?
If At First If At First
Good Info Good Info

 
About the Author


Niall Devitt
(Visit Niall's Website)
Niall Devitt is a senior sales training consultant, business mentor and facilitator with Btb Sales Training in Ireland.Niall is regularly asked to contribute business articles, and his advice has been published through the Irish National Press and broadcast on Radio. For more info visit website: www.btbtrainin g.com Read Btb business blog at: www.btbtr aining.com/blog
Have A Suggestion?

View Author's Blog
Become An Author

View Author's Video
Become An Author

Free Downloads


Niall Devitt's

Complete
List Of
Sales
Articles

First Name
Last Name
Email
 
If you enjoyed this article, get Niall Devitt's Complete List of Sales Articles For FREE!

More Niall Devitt
How to make ColdCalling work for you
12 Guidelines for creating Good First Impressions
Turning a Business Idea into Real Business
Ten Reasons to take Notes during Sales Meetings
CRM for a Small Business
Guidelines for Men who Sell to Women
4 Advanced ColdCalling Techniques
Sales People spending less than 10 of their time SELLING
Dealing with Sales Objections General
Become An Author