So what are the three types of prospecting calls? There are:
Cold Calls You don't know them, they don't know you.
Warm Calls You know then, they don't want you.
Hot Calls They know you, they trust you, they have a need.
Remember, selling is a numbers game. What I mean is, you need to pay attention to a
lot of numbers and we'll look at some a little later on; but here it is worth remembering that each time you are out on a cold call it is costing you whatever your “dollar per hour” value is. Have you worked out your dollar per hour value? It is a good idea to do that. It puts some definition to what you do - you need to be producing an income in excess of that to "keep your business".
The next step on from cold calling is pre-call planning. Pre-call planning puts you in the classification of warm-to-hot.
Pre-call planning means doing your homework before you call on your prospect. This type of call puts you in control - it's also much more cost effective than just grabbing your briefcase and heading off for a few "drop in and see" calls. Pre-call planning saves hours on the road. Instead of hitting the road, hit the research and find out information on your prospects.
Where can you get information on your prospects?
The media
Personal friends
Business Contacts
Telephone books
Keeping your eyes and ears open
Pre-call planning also allows you to control your time with a particular prospect.
If used effectively:
You decide before the call if you want the business
You control your time.
You make the moves to get the business.
You use persistence to win the customer.
Continued in Part Six
Part Five - Prospecting for More Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Lawrence Atkinson's Website.
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Lawrence Atkinson
(Visit Lawrence's Website)
Lawrence specialises in sales training and
sales coaching, with over 20 years
experience as both a trainer and a coach.
He has lived and worked in the UK, Europe,
the Middle East and more recently the
Pacific Islands. He is a Fellow and
former Director of the Australian
Institute of Training and Development and
holds Fellowships with the Australian
Institute of Company Directors, the
Australian Institute of Management, and
the Financial Services Institute of
Australasia. He is also a Justice of the
Peace.
His many experiences in a variety of sales
situations present an interesting
background for his training and coaching
interventions and provide Lawrence with an
ability to relate to and train people at
all levels, across a variety of cultural
and industry settings. This includes, for
example, training and coaching business
owners and managers, senior relationship
managers, business banking managers,
financial advisers, retail sales people,
electrical sales engineers, accountants in
PNG, new Australian exporters, importers
and exporters in Fiji, and a video
production company in Bahrain!
A Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, he
loves to work with people to see them
succeed.
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