How many of you fear picking up the phone and calling a prospect that you have never talked to before?
How many of you believe that what will happen when you cold call is similar to the picture of this blog post?
A cold call will take most people out of their comfort zone to want to call someone that may scream at them to stop calling. So much so many companies these days have gone to the robo call which is really annoying. I especially like when they start the message with “Don’t hang up…” You are literally telling me to hang up on you by saying that subconsciously. A better opening would be “ Keep listening for some great information…” That would create more tension in me to want to hear more.
Cold calling is almost an art form. To get the person on the line and talk to you takes practice. I still to this day do cold calls to associations and businesses to drive more business. Prospecting is key in growing your business. Cold calling is not just dialing a phone either. You can walk into a business that you have reviewed and think would benefit from your expertise. Just watch for those no trespassing signs.
Cold calling is not fun for me as I am more of an introvert by nature. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone is a must if I want to stay on the hunt for new business. I have gotten voicemails and had to leave a message, people asking me to call them back later, people using a firm tone that they are not interested, and sometimes, sometimes I get great conversations with them and an appointment to visit to discuss more.
That is what the cold call is for. To get the opportunity for the next conversation. You are likely not going to make a sale on this call. Your focus should be to get that opportunity to come in and sit with the person to learn about them and their organization. How you can help them get to a better position. Your product possibly will enable them to take that next step in their growth. Don’t you think that is a good reason to talk to them?
Insurance sales professionals have lists of people they cold call every day. They have studied statics over the years and have a metric that out of ten calls three should result in “Fact Finding Opportunities” and then should result in one sale. That is a 10% success rate for sales. Very few professions have studied the results. I have met quite a few wealthy insurance sales professionals and they all have told me that they do this by making cold calls. If you are going to be successful selling, you need to do cold calls.
Keep in mind though that the person on the other line has three questions that they are asking themselves when you start talking.
1. Do I like this person?
2. Do I trust this person?
3. How can this person help me?
If you’ve read my book, “That Sales Process Uncovered”, been to a training, or been a reader of my blog for a while you should be able to answer these questions for them. Social media such as linkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc have made it even easier to research your prospects prior to the cold call to help you as well.
For now, don’t fear the cold call. Accept it as an opportunity to help potential customers get to a better place. Who knows, you may strike up a great conversation and learn something new about someone that will help you at a later date. Think positive and you don’t have to get off the starting blocks to the finish line in one phone call. This is your opportunity to start helping people.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom