I was talking to my wife about
some cold calls I made earlier
today. I thought I was having
one of those days where I just
wasn't connecting properly and
my cold calling efforts had not
produce the results I would
normally expect.
It left me feeling very
frustrated at the last of
progress I had made.
Now let's remember the point of
a cold call is not to get
straight on the phone and start
selling.
The point is to find out a
missing piece of information you
need, or to set up a convenient
time for a proper appointment
with the decision maker
My wife is a receptionist for a
local company.
After 10 years of doing this,
she is very proud that she can
spot a cold caller a mile off.
Very rarely will she put anyone
through.
She is one tough gatekeeper!
This is great news for me....
...I am married to someone who
could tell me exactly how to get
passed the gatekeeper when I am
prospecting.
I asked her what is the main
thing that bugs her about cold
callers.
I thought she was going to say
people reading scripts or being
too blunt.
In fact, what she said surprised
me...
...The callers that really
annoyed her were the ones that
tried to be overly nice because
she found it patronizing and
disrespectful.
I asked her why?
She replied, "When you take 200
calls a day, the phone is
constantly ringing. I don't have
time for small talk, as I cannot
actually give the person on the
phone the answer they want. My
job is to connect them to the
right person."
She continued "Cold callers are
very patronizing as they assume
I am some dumb girl on a
reception and just want to make
small talk. They have no idea
how busy I am and how fluffing
out conversions just really
winds me up. They are strangers
to me. I am not going to discuss
how my day is going with them.
It is really disrespectful and
makes me feel under valued.
There is no way I am going to be
helpful to these type of
callers.
I felt bad, as I had spent most
the day doing exactly what my
wife had just told me was
irritating behavior!
I realized I needed to make it
as easy as possible for the
receptionist to help me get what
I want whilst respecting the
nature of the receptionist job.
Saying something like "I wonder
if you can help me" is like
waving a red rag to a bull when
cold calling.
A receptionist is not able to
make decisions or give you
in-depth information so don't
expect them too!
Respect they are busy and
understand a "how are you?"
conversation 200 times a day is
very draining!
Instead say what you want
clearly and concisely....
...something like "I need some
help, can you put me through to
who deals with XXX"
As long as you say it in a
friendly manner you will get the
answer you need straight away.
You are enabling the
receptionist to do their job
easily and not interrupting
their flow of work with
questions they cannot answer or
repeating conversations they
have already had.
Try this out and see the impact
it has on your cold calling!
Source: Jon Daniels, Jr.