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Guest post by: Wendy Weiss Become an Author

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1. Prepare for introductory calling the way you would for any major presentation. Know what you want to say, how you want to say it and how you want to represent yourself, your company, your product or service.

2. Understand the goal of your telephone call. Ask yourself the question: “When I hang up the telephone, what do I want to have accomplished?”

3. When you are making introductory calls adopt the attitude that you expect to speak with your prospect. Expect that your call to be put through and that your prospect will want to speak with you. You have something of value that is of benefit to your prospect. This attitude will help you sound confident and in control.

4. When speaking with a gatekeeper, remember to always use directed words, such as: “What” or “When….” If you ask, “Do you know what time Ms. Decision-Maker will return?” the gatekeeper can simply answer “yes” or “no.” However, with directed words, if she knows, she must give you an answer.

5. If the screen asks, “What is this in reference to?”, if you have forwarded materials, either before the introductory call or at your prospect’s request after the initial call, simply answer, “We’ve had correspondence. Please tell Ms. Decision-Maker that (your name) from (your company) is on the line.”

6. Before you start making your calls, find out what is the usual title of the decision-maker for your product or service. When calling, ask for the person who has that title. This way you will avoid the question: “Are you the person who purchases….”

7. When trying to find your prospect, call the highest-level person that you believe might be the decision-maker. If that person is not the decision-maker, generally, they will know who is. That person may even be reporting to them.

8. Develop your qualifying questions to ask your prospect, questions whose answers will confirm that you are indeed speaking with the decision-maker. Examples could be: “How often do you use this type of service?” “Who is your current vendor?” “What are your concerns about this service?” Everyone will have different qualifying questions. You need to decide what makes a prospect qualified to do business with you.

9. Some things are out of your control. If a prospect does say “no”, ultimately, that is out of your control—but what is within your control is continuing to prospect and continuing to make calls. It is also within your control to improve your cold calling skills, take seminars, read books or hire a coach—then, fewer prospects will say “no.”

10. Want to improve your skills? Make sure to enroll in the upcoming “Cold Calling College—Live” where you will work directly with “The Queen of Cold Calling” to ensure that you have the words you need to woo and wow prospects.

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