Cold Calling is a dirty word in sales!
The reality is that nobody likes to Cold Call but the fact is that most businesses grow on it. There is no other way to get past all the noise and the hype of marketing and social media and get directly to the decision maker.
Whether you do business on the telephone or in-person almost all business relationships start on the telephone. We need to speak to a decision maker to pitch our idea, opportunity, product or service – to get a meeting!
The telephone is the only real opportunity to get our message into the ear of the prospect and to propose a call to action. Every other form of communication is passive and must fight with all the other messages and all the noise in the marketplace. The only business growth strategy that really trumps a Cold Call is a business referral – those are gold! But, all business starts with a Cold Call.
The successful Cold Call leads to the holy grail of sales opportunities – a meeting! The chance to clearly present why you are different and how doing business with you is the best choice for your prospect.
Why do we hate to Cold Call?
Most people hate to Cold Call because of the way it makes them feel – cheap, sleazy and unprofessional. If Cold calling makes you feel uncomfortable then you will not succeed with it because you will do almost anything to avoid picking up the telephone.
I know people faced with bankruptcy that still wouldn’t Cold Call!
Let’s face the truth. As salespeople, we all know that getting in front of more prospects is the key to growing our business but if we are not making the calls how will it happen? Most salespeople will procrastinate endlessly hoping the telephone will ring and end our dread the Cold Call.
What is the Solution?
Cold Calling is not dead, in fact face-to-face field sales roles are becoming fewer and more telephone selling is on the increase.. The answer is a different approach to calling that is more respectful and honest.
Personally, I really struggled with Cold Calling!
I hated Cold Calling but did it because I had no choice. When I stopped my business suffered. It is essential to pioneering new business.
In frustration, I scheduled an entire month to read everything that had ever been written on Cold Calling and tested the ideas that seemed to make the most sense. Combined with my history of selling, in-person and on the telephone I began I craft a different approach and my results skyrocketed. I went from booking one or two appointments from an entire day of Cold Calling to booking twenty-two appointments during one seven-hour day.
The best part!
By far the best part of my new approach is that I felt good about myself and felt that I had been sincerely engaging with the people I had called.
What is my approach?
Well, the truth is that it is not about writing the perfect script or finding the most compelling language – sure that is helpful – it is about creating genuine engagement with the person on the other end of the telephone.
Think about this.
When you receive a call how long does it take before you know it is a Cold Call? Fractions of a second – correct? Once you recognize that the call is a cold one how long does it take for you to shut down on the person? A second or two – correct?
It is not the words we use it is the approach we take that creates difference. Be real, be authentic, be humble and get results!
•••
Learn How to Cold Call effectively and create the kind of results that you want with our Rainmaker Cold Calling Program. It is a 60-minute audio program with a work book that will take you step by step through an effective Cold Calling program for your business.
Order this new program for just £29.95
Within 48 hours you will receive, via email, a 60 minute Audio Coaching Program and Field Training Book