"I hate cold calling." Have you
heard that line a thousand times
or more in your sales career?
How about the promise to "never
make another cold call again"?
Let's not forget the ever
popular "cold calling is dead".
Lately it seems there are tons
of books, articles, blogs and
tirades about the death of the
cold call. However there are
still lots of industries where
they work and lots of sales
people who are very successful
because they pick up the phone
and dial.
Why are some sales people great
at cold calling, while others
would rather get a root canal
than pick up the phone? The
simple reason has to do with the
fear of rejection. Most people
who hate cold calling feel
personally rejected when their
call ends in "failure".
Sales people who are good at
cold calling and successful at
starting conversations with
prospects get that way because
they first identify targeted
prospects who they know "can,
will or may" become customers.
They don't waste time with
suspects who do not fit their
target profile.
By targeting people you know
have the potential to become
customers you can start a
conversation based on what you
can do to help them solve a
problem or fill a need. Your
rejection rate will drop and you
will begin more meaningful
discussions with other business
people.
The second important focus of
your call must be on the reason
the prospect would want to do
business with you in the first
place.
We recently ran a phone lead
generation program for a client
and 21% of the people contacted
wanted more information. Why?
Because our calls were focused
on how the product was helping
businesses gain a competitive
advantage. Of course our target
market was interested in
learning more. If they could
gain a competitive advantage in
a tight marketplace, 10 minutes
on the phone was a small price
to pay.
The key is to have a very
specific plan at all stages of
your calling process.
Target your market, create
quantifiable benefits, create
scripts or at least call
templates to keep you focused on
what is important to the
prospect.
Finally, please don't start your
call with "hi how are you
today". Nothing screams sales
call worse than that over used
introduction. A quick "I hope
you can help me" can work
wonders in your prospecting.
Source: Robert
Weese
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