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Cold Calling Tips

Written by: Alan McLaren

Article Overview: When you must cold call to get to a prospect - be prepared.

Cold Calling Tips

Yes cold calls are tough sledding. Many say that it is not a very effective use of your time. This is all very true. But there comes a time – when a cold call is the only way to get to a prospect.

Here are a few tips to help you.

When you recognize the value of your work it is easier for you to make cold calls. You are offering a valuable service by providing information that can improve your prospect’s business – don’t be afraid – you are only wasting their time if you are trying to sell them something they don’t really need.

Expect success and your sales will increase.

Get to the point and if you get the appointment (which is your primary goal) – set the parameters for the meeting and get off the phone – DO NOT SELL on the phone – get in front of the prospect (this is assuming of course that you are not in Tele-Sales).

Be Professional but persistent. It’s one of the keys to successful selling.

It is not unusual that you may have to make from five to seven calls before you reach your prospect. If it's of special interest to you, make even more.

Vary the time of your calls. If you can’t get through during regular hours, make the calls before or after hours and at lunchtime. When you call before hours you are likely to reach the decision-make directly, before the receptionist arrives to answer the phone, eliminating a screen.

Practice eliminating doubt from your voice. If you sound like you're asking a question instead of making a statement, you’ve lost your prospect.

Most importantly be confident and prepare in your mind or on paper what you will say.

Rehearse with a colleague or do a dry run with the person next you.

With confidence I guarantee there will be clients who will be glad you called!

Oh yes, and you might make a few sales – which is why you need to practice this critical sales skill.

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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
Business Tips - How about: Tips for managers to handle employees more effectively? Tips on how to deal with difficult customers? Tips on how to deal more effectively with suppliers? The only three I have in mind right now, but will try to come up with something else. Chris
Re: Cold Calling - Cold calling is an extremely difficult job to do and unless one learns that being told no by people is not a direct refusal aimed at the cold caller but at whatever is being sold, it can be very soul destroying work to do. One needs to have absolute confidence in themselves and a pretty thick skin. MichelleJ


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