How to make Cold-Calling work for you.
How to make Cold-Calling work for you.
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 ColdCalling work for you - To learn more about this author, visit Niall Devitt's Website.
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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 ColdCalling work for you - To learn more about this author, visit Niall Devitt's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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