Cold Calling – the very words scare people half to death but there is no better way of opening up lines of communication. I try to make 20 calls a day. Out of that 20, on average I will expect 10 to prove not be in my target client group. Of the remaining 10 around 7 will give me the name/email address of the correct contact, or put me through. Of that 7, 4 or 5 will tell me when they are next in my market and one will want a quote now. Tell me one other initial contact method that returns those numbers.
The downside is that it’s time consuming – locating prospects, phoning them, logging and actioning them and following up. But to not do so is a waste of your initial investment of time.
Todd had got the wrong end of the stick when his boss had asked him to go and make some cold calls!
1. Make cold calling part of an overall strategy. Including social media, website, advertising etc.
2. Do a little research beforehand. Googling people or using a Credit Search site can remove non starters.
3. Do it where you are comfortable and away from all distractions.
4. Only do it for as long as you feel energised. About an hour is my limit.
5. Decide beforehand what you want from each call. If you expect an order each time you will be disappointed. My aim is to obtain the basic information to start building relationships with viable prospects.
6. Use the 5 W’s (who what when where why) A sentence beginning with any of these can’t be answered with “No”. Try it! (“How” works as well).
7. Ask for what you want – It won’t just be offered.
8. Agree an action plan, and stick to it.
9. Empathise with the person on the other end – don’t try to impose your personality.
10. Don’t be scared. The worst that can happen is someone tells you to go away and play. This will happen once or twice a year as long as you remain empathetic.
Oh, and one last thing – keep it simple. People don’t want to know how clever you are, they want to know if you can solve their problems.
Of course there is a lot more to the subject, but I hope these few guidelines help – if anyone wants a little coaching on their premises just contact me. I’m cheap! Peter can be reached on sales@border-contracts.co.uk or 01584 841416.
Border Vehicle Contracts owner Peter Simmons, a business to business sales professional for 35 years, shares some trade secrets on various aspects of sales.
