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Should we cold call?

Written by: Bob Hazell

Article Overview: Cold Calling! Most people don't like doing it. But millions of pounds of business are changing hands today with people that do. Would you like to be amonst them?

Should we cold call?

Not many people like trying to sell to people that they don’t know. Networking is a great way of improving business. Often someone we know will know of a connection into the company we would like to sell to. That can warm things up a bit for us. However, it can still be daunting to telephone that person out of the blue and seek to get an appointment to see them. Sometimes, when we can’t get an introduction we will need to telephone ‘cold’ anyway.

What stops us?Why is it that we don’t like to do this? Should we be doing it at all? These are questions that deserve an answer, so here goes.

• If I could guarantee that every time you picked up the telephone and asked for an appointment you would get one, would you do it? The answer is ‘yes’ isn’t it? The only reason that we don’t do it is that we fear (and expect) a ‘No’!
• All over the world today salespeople will make ‘cold’ calls to companies and be successful in getting appointments. From these appointments they will go on to get millions of pounds worth of business. Would we like to have a slice of that business? The answer to that is also ‘yes’ isn’t it?

So perhaps we should do it?

Many large corporate companies still do their business ‘traditionally’. They expect to get sales people ringing them up; they practice how to say ‘no’; they resist approaches from new companies and often prefer to stick with the ‘devil they know’. Yet that business could be our business. We don’t want to sit around with no business when there is loads out there to be won do we?

How can we go about it?

Send them a letter first. I said a letter, not literature. The letter is simply a soft introduction, and shouldn’t contain too much information about us. Literature gives away what we do and enables a quick ‘No thanks’.

Then we need to telephone them. We do have a genuine reason for calling them. “The reason I’m calling you is to find out whether you got the letter I sent you” So now it’s not really cold.

Things to avoid

If we can sell our product or service over the telephone we don’t need an appointment. If we can’t then we do need one. So avoid trying to sell your product or service over the ‘phone and only sell the value of the appointment.

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Article Tags: appointment, appointments, cold calls, cold things, devil, genuine reason, literature, out of the blue, salespeople, world today



Related Forum Posts
Re: Cold Calling - In my experience the problem with hiring cold callers is that many of the successful candidates already realize that they have a talent for sales and are already working for themselves. Most of the candidates that would take a job cold calling most likely do not have solid selling or client service skills. I used to work for a brokerage firm in Victoria and we hired co-op students to cold call. In my opinion that was a mistake. Potential clients can sense inexperience very quickly and without a seasoned cold caller on your team prospecting will be very challenging.....the key is to find someone with skills that isn't already doing there own selling....tricky. Good luck Phil
Cold Calling - Hey Guys, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with hiring someone on straight commission cold calling. I am offering a co-worker 15% of my gross sales to cold call for one month (Line provided by myself) to set up meetings for me in Vancouver. I will be providing him with basic training, he seems pretty eager to try it out, but everyone usually is. Any tips or stories would be great! Thanks, Pete
Re: Who hates cold calling? - Hi Gerry, This is excellent advice for anyone who needs to cold call. I think that one of the main reasons people fail with cold calling is that they fear it and that comes through when they approach people even over the phone. By knowing something about the people beforehand a lot of that fear will be alleviated. MichelleJ
Re: Who hates cold calling? - Here's how I have had success with cold calling: Adopt the right attitude.If you fear/hate cold calling, chances are you are feeling like an intruder. The person on the other end of the line isn't making us feel that way. We are. Why do we feel like an intruder? Could be a couple of reasons. One: we don't really believe in the value our product offers. Two: we aren't calling a somewhat qualified prospect. The person you are calling has problems. He/she WANTS solutions. EXAMPLE: I cold called someone yesterday. An ad agency. The web site offered a direct line to the agency principal. This was the conversation: "Hi, I'm a direct response copywriter who works with agencies who are swamped with writing projects. Do you ever hire outside writers?" [i:4b9wkh89]KEY: In one sentence he knows what I want. Before I called, I know that most agencies hire outside writers. It's a question of whether or not they need one now. [/i:4b9wkh89] His response? Yes. Now , here's where I need to resist the temptation to [u:4b9wkh89]tell[/u:4b9wkh89] him how great I am. I simply said, "I'd like to email you some evidence that shows how I can add value for your clients. Where can I email it to?" He gave me his email address and that was the end of the cold call. He didn't say , hmmmm, that would be nice...he simply, literally told me his email addresss. That's a sign he has a need. I sent him off some recent results I produced for a client. Yesterday he sent me an email asking to learn more about me. Who knows where it will go but it started with a cold call. So, why did this approach allow me to be heard and generate interest? I knew something about my potential prospect's needs. I let him know quickly what I was after. I didn't try to bend his ear with a 'Stop me when you hear something you like' story. Try this and see how if works for you. It's important to believe what you are offering can change the life of the person you're calling. Once you believe that, it's easy to understand that every time you make a call , you have a chance to make a difference for someone.
Re: Who hates cold calling? - Have to say, cold calling is about 40% of my daily job. So calling up prospects these days is a walk in the park. However, it took me a long time before I was half decent at it. These days I'm quite effective. I tend to stick to the same guidelines. In a way, these guidelines have helped my career in a way. Firstly, I wouldn't dream of picking up the phone unless I knew my product. I'd hate to get caught out on a simple objections. Secondly, when I call up I ask for the decision maker. If they're not available, (in a meeting, out of the office) I will never pitch the person who takes my call. Normally its the secretary. I'll just say 'no problem, when would you recommend be the best time to catch him?' Thirdly, listen - listen- and listen. In the early days I used to talk over the prospect, and end up wondering why they often said no. Anyway, hope it helps. It's a bit of a knack but anyone can get it. There's a newsletter I've belonged to for a long while and they send you all types of stuff on cold calling. Thing is I've forgotten what its called. I'll have to check my emails and let you know.


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