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Building your Business ; Cold Calling 101

Guest post by: Ron Coxsom

Article Overview: Cold Calling 101 by Ron Coxsom Some salespeople consider cold calling a waste of time. The best cold calls can yield long-term customers. A crucial step before making cold calls is setting clear goals. • Target your prospect. Implement a schedule for making calls, but remain flexible. Write your prospects a letter before making the call. Cold-Calling Techniques Closing the Call

Building your Business ; Cold Calling 101

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Cold Calling 101
by Ron Coxsom
Motivational Sales Trainer

Some salespeople consider cold calling a waste of time. It can be -- if you don't use the right approach. The best cold calls can yield long-term customers. But how can you make sure they're successful?
Prepare
A crucial step before making cold calls is setting clear goals. Your main objectives are to make a good first impression and to secure an appointment. Use the following tips to help you further focus before making your calls:
• Consider what percentage of your revenue you expect cold calling to produce. If you have a realistic estimate in mind, say 25 percent, then you have a clear goal. Having this goal will help keep you motivated, even when you make a few dead-end calls.
• Target your prospect. Work hard to ensure all the people on your call list are potentially interested in your product or service. Avoid making an unwanted phone call, and you will be less likely to waste your time.
• Implement a schedule for making calls, but remain flexible. Remember that you are initiating a relationship with a potential customer. While it is important to be productive with your time, it is equally important for your potential customers to feel your calls are productive for them.
Be Innovative
Offer your prospects what others within your field may be neglecting. These examples can further inspire you:
• Develop a survey to find out what your prospects want and need. In addition to helping you hone your selling technique and product, a survey can help break the ice on a cold call.
• Write your prospects a letter before making the call. Introduce yourself and outline your services or products. This way, when you call, you can be following up on the information in the letter.
Cold-Calling Techniques
When it comes time to make the call, follow this advice from Jerry Hocutt, president of Hocutt & Associates in Kent, Washington:



• Make certain you are in a quiet area before you make your calls.
• Stand up while you're on the phone, as this allows the blood to flow through your body and may accentuate a tone of authority.
• When leaving a message, follow instructions. For instance, if the person on the recording asks you to leave a brief message, avoid leaving a long message. Speak clearly, and mention your name and phone number at least twice.
• When leaving a message with a receptionist, ask for a specific time your prospect will be available to speak with you and be sure to call at that time. Learn the receptionist's name, and address him by name every time you call the prospect. Remember to be courteous to everyone you speak to, as each person is a gatekeeper to your prospect.
• When talking to your prospect, make sure you are of assistance; don't leave her feeling that she was giving you her time, but rather with the impression that you may help her solve a problem.
• When introducing yourself to a prospect that has been handed down to you, feel free to open with “I have just inherited your account. May I update your current information?”
• Befriend your potential customer. Do not attempt to immediately sell your product; remember that to the person on the phone, you are a faceless stranger and people are naturally skeptical. Your reasoning for making the call is to make contact, not acquire a credit card number.
Closing the Call
When your prospective client begins to ask questions, you can start closing the call by setting up an appointment. The following are examples you can use to secure your next meeting:
• “I am going to be in your area this afternoon around 3:15 or 4:30. Which time is best for you?”
• “I realize you're concerned about price; most of my clients were as well. I have an opening this afternoon to meet with you to discuss this further. How about 5:15 or 5:45?”
You need to remain resilient; Hocutt attributes his ability to make 30 cold calls per day to his commitment and consistency.

Ron Coxsom
Motivational Sales Trainer
www.roncoxsom.com
ron@roncoxsom.com
866.269.7661

Solutions for creating a superior customer experience . . .

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Related Forum Posts
Re: What to avoid when cold calling? - At the time of Cold Calling we should avoid price increases for products and unavailability.
Re: How to develop sales contacts? - Everyone has the right idea here. Depending on your business, there are different techniques that you could use. For consultants and sales heavy businesses, there are three tactics that I have found especially useful in my business: 1. Attend Networking Events 2. Cold Calling 3. Referral Program 4. Affiliate Program (most successful) The affiliate program was successful for me, as I hooked up with a franchise consultant, and he gave multiple unit businesses that needed my credit card processing services. I highly suggest you hook up with a sales partner, and give him a cut of the monthly revenue.
Re: Direct Mail Postcards - Post cards would be really expensive to send from Japan...but one way to advertise that is not expensive from overseas is by Cold Calling using cheap VoIP equipment. I know Japan has a really good internet connection, so as long as you are willing to stay up late, it might be an option. I cold call from Thailand far, far away from any city using a CDMA wireless internet connection and have had pretty good results. I find tho, that cold calling works best for business 2 business (b2b), rather than b2c products. --matt
Re: Cold Calling - As long as people are out of jobs, you'll probably have a lot of people who say they want to work for straight commission, but if they don't get paid fairly quickly, they usually move on. We've run into that and went through about 500 people (whose resumes looked really good) until we found about 3 good resellers. People just don't want to work for anything. Or they do a good job getting the business but don't do the follow up necessary to make the sale......so they move on thinking they need money NOW. Our business requires all cold calling as well. It's really tough for people to perfect that but there are a lot of good books out there. On is Cold Calling Techniques, by Stephan Schiffman
Type of business with building - If you owned a building and Wal-Mart was opening its doors across the street in a previously unoccupied area (along with 12-14 small shops), what type of business would you start? Here are the considerations: 1. Money is a non-factor 2. Building is fairly large (10,000) square feet 3. Building is on the corner of a busy intersection (about to get much busier)


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