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Mistake No 1: talking too technical
I work with a lot of IT and software companies’ salespeople who feel that as they have a technical product or service their phone calls should have lots of technical content. This then just leads to a pointless conversation of just educating the prospect. The sales call is exactly the same as any other, discover pains and problems. Ask BRILLIANT questions and let the prospect tell all about their situation and problems…BEFORE you tell them all about the benefits and value of your widgets and gizmos. Ensure the clear reason or purpose for the call and eventual meeting benefits the prospect and not just fills your diary.
Mistake No 2: Lack of research
Not understanding enough about the prospect. I had a salesperson on the phone to me today. It was obvious that he hadn’t even looked at my web site. He even spelt my company name wrong in his email to me…..and yes….. I know, the email address had my company name in it!!! He clearly had not done any research. As the conversation went on I could tell he had [finally] pulled up my site and was beginning to try to understand my business…..too late….. It wasn’t the most professional busking I had ever heard. Five minutes research or less will mean each call is commenced with an understanding of the potential issues faced by the prospect. DON’T ASSUME…let them tell you all about them.
Mistake No 3: Not keeping the outcome in mind
If the desired outcome of your call is to make an appointment…then make sure you have a diary in front of you with available times marked, to enable you to close the call like a professional. Make sure that you don’t get court up in technical conversations with the prospect and lose your momentum to make an appointment. If they are so keen to learn about you and your product or service it is a perfect opportunity to make an appointment and make a sale.
Like this:
When sales people start cold calling they focus on the word COLD and do what ever they can to WARM it up. This usually leads them into adding bits that make the script more ‘friendly and open’. So, how do they do it? Well, they usually add three little words to their first sentence. They take a statement and turn it into a question. The words Read the rest of this entry »
Getting More from Your Cold-Calling
Cold-calling is a NATURAL and ESSENTIAL ELEMENT of almost every business development strategy. However, a lot of salespeople and business owners are uncomfortable putting it into action. This usually leads to procrastination, nervousness; lack of planning and unfortunately, bad results. This then feeds back negative feelings and reinforces why people don’t like cold-calling.
At some point every sales professional or business person is going to have to do some cold-calling. Whether it’s ringing totally new clients or prospects, chasing leads, getting referrals, networking or even just Read the rest of this entry »
Cold calling, no matter how much you don’t like it is one of the quickest, most efficient and cheapest ways to actively generate new customers. So many people hate it so much that they put themselves in a mindset that automatically leads to failure. They then never return to it and miss out on potential revenue.
Here are 6 ways to make cold calling not only far more effective, but also to make it more fun.
1 learn the right physiology. You may well find that standing up and putting on your biggest smile will help with your attitiude.
2 Timing is crucial.I sometimes talk to sales people who call for 6 or even 8 hours per day. I would stick a to maximum time on any session at 2 hours. The best two hours to make business to business telephones is 10 o’clock to 12 o’clock on a thursday morning.
3 Plan and practice the opening statement. It should be relaxed and rehearsed and bridge to an investigative question.
4 Understand the importance of cold calling. Too many people go through the motions. It will pay dividends if you are comfortable doing it.
5 Learn to cope with rejection. I always hear it from delegates on courses I run. They want techniques to stop rejection. Firstly, all sales people get rejection. Think of it as a numbers game. The more rejection you get, the closer you are to a yes.
6 When you have started. Never put the phone down. This will save you lots of time and stop you having to keep picking the phone up.
Hope you enjoy your next cold calling session.
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