Face it no one person enjoys
cold calling. It is laborious;
it takes time and it stinks.
In a recent survey amongst 1100
business owners for my latest
book, 87% state they
dissatisfaction for cold
calling. Ask any selling
professional or business owner
and they state disdain for cold
calling. Rejection is the key
component. No individual enjoys
negation and unfortunately too
many align cold calling with
negative affects. True, there is
much rejection in cold calling
but there are certain things you
can do to be more effective.
This how to guide will take you
through the nine steps of cold
calling so that you can place
negative thoughts on ice while
warming up to the notion of
making more calls.
Pre Call Planning
1. Call Preparation
Call preparation is the single
most imperative idea about cold
calling. Before you make a call,
you should understand the
client, the industry, and
perhaps any competitive issues.
Never call a client without
premise. Doing so is as foolish
as selling those gadgets and
gizmos through television
infomercials. Those foolhardy
programs are concerned about
inventory, where your motive is
to establish relationship. In
fact, one myth about cold
calling is to validate that you
call to introduce a possible
relationship not to sell
anything. Your mission is simply
to get the prospective client to
continue conversation.
Since your mission is to
establish a relationship, you
need to consider whom you will
call and your call motive. Names
of those to call can be
purchased through database
management systems, or obtained
through referrals or reading
industry periodicals. However, a
name is a good as the paper. You
need to determine your topical
approach, to develop this gain
ideas from reading industry
newsletters, reading the
regional paper, look at customer
relationship systems such as
Hoovers or Leadership Directory
dot com. In addition, consider
reading The Wall Street Journal,
The Washington Post of The New
York Times to discover company,
economic and industry issues.
2. Competitive Analysis
Once you obtain the required
company information, it is
necessary for you to conduct
competitive analysis. Useful
information related to
prospective competitors to the
buyer is helpful in
understanding industry issues
affecting the client. A sincere
understanding of client issues
assists in promoting a stronger
relationship. Secondly, conduct
a competitive analysis on your
firm. Understanding how your
firm's strengths align with the
needs of the client allows you
to disarm competitive threats.
3. Value Proposition not
Elevator Speech
The proliferation of both the
Internet makes it easier for
prospective clients to gain
information on you. In addition,
with so many competitive
players, detailing your services
to clients begins to sound
ubiquitous to them. Heard one,
heard them all as the cliche
goes. Organizations today
require focus on two complicated
issues productivity and
profitability- your mission is
to create a succinct message
that addresses these concerns.
In other words, you need to
depict your value and outcomes
in a succinct method so that
prospective clients understand
your differentiation.
Be mindful, this is not an
elevator speech. The value
proposition succinctly addresses
the concern. A perfect example
is FedEx- absolutely guaranteed
to be there overnight. Not only
is this one of the most powerful
value propositions in the world
but one of the best brands.
Value propositions have these
characteristics:
Focus on what the buyer gets,
it is outcome based
Results
focused that uses colorful words
to gain the attention
General
in that the statement can appeal
to any industry dependent on
need
Take your time and carefully
think this through since you
need to state your value
proposition once you get your
prospective client on the
telephone.
During the Call
4. Call Opening
When you begin your call, state
your name, and affirm the name
of the person to whom you are
speaking. You need to be certain
you have pronunciations correct.
In addition, have with you paper
to take copious notes. Then
provide an introduction based on
an issue the company is facing.
To exemplify,
Hello this is Drew Stevens, am I
speaking with Aaron Ross?
Mr. Ross am I correct in
understanding that you are
responsible for Call
Center Operations? I understand
the center lacks customer
retention and profits lag.
Then keep silent and await a
reply.
5. Value proposition and the
Issue
Once you receive affirmation,
state your value proposition.
Integrate the value into the
issue.
"Mr. Ross, we dramatically
accelerate business growth and
we assist organizations with
profitability and productivity."
Pause quickly, and then ask a
question. Would this be of
interest?
6. Provide past work
After you gain affirmation to
continue, provide succinct
preferably bullets that
describes previous work.
Here is an example:
We can provide you with
advantages in the marketplace
which include:
1. Reasons why staff becomes
unmotivated and unproductive
2. Non-compensation retention
and motivational methodology
3. Techniques that drive proper
customer service and referral
sales strategies
7. Action Step
One you achieve affirmation of
the issues, provide value and
gain interest, it is now time to
bring the call to close. Ask the
prospective client if they would
like to obtain more information
about the issue. If the action
step is literature ask them when
an appropriate time and date to
follow up. If the next step is a
direct meeting, then ask the
prospective client a convenient
time and date. Do not terminate
the call without obtaining a
date and time. Remember your
mission is to gain an
appointment, not close a sale.
See my other How To Guide on
Call Follow Up
Closing the Call
8. Closure
Thank the prospective client for
their time. Confirm the date the
date of the next call and any
action steps, i.e. reading
brochure materials, fee schedule
etc. Once complete terminate the
call and place your notes and
action steps in a follow up
folder or file for review in the
follow-up call.
9. Evaluation
The most nefarious act of any
cold caller is terminating the
call and then dialing another.
Never simply "dive and dial".
Take a few moments with each
call to determine the ebbs and
flows for needed adjustments.
Review every call so that each
one following is better than the
first.
Bonus Material
10. Target
Never take on too many calls.
One can easily burn out quickly
cold calling. I understand if
you do not dictate call volume,
but you can maximize your
returns. Use a very targeted
list of no more than 15 to 20
people per day.
11. Call Time
Call prospects at the beginning
and end of the day. Individuals
are too busy during the day and
you will waste more time. Your
odds are better in Vegas.
12. Numbers
Cold Calling is about numbers
and mostly rejection, and lots
of it. Statistics for cold
calling:
1000 leads = 100 suspects
100 suspects = 10 prospects
10 prospects = 1 customers
Keep you head down, maintain
perspective and remain focused,
your business is certain to
grow!
Source: Drew
Stevens
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