Cold Calling or Root Canal Surgery

[solweb]

From my Blog

The majority of us would volunteer to have root canal surgery done, before we would do any cold calling. I once saw an ad from someone desperately looking for work, prepared to do anything but cold calling, obviously he was not desperate enough.

Let's cut out the bull faeces, you are not going to contract a fatal disease when making cold calls, but you will land customers. And the process is simple.

Before you can call, you need to know who to call. Ask your self who is my target market? Make a list and qualify it according to your criteria. Once you have a qualified list, it is time to hit the phone.

I usually call in the mornings on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Mondays tend to be catching on anything may have come in over the weekend and preparing for the week ahead and Fridays, people tend to be in weekend mode. I prefer the mornings as i will use the afternoon to consolidate results and also to get other work done.

So far so good, but here comes the hard part, we all hate rejection and you will make calls where you will be told, "not interested!" You are not going to score every time, but to reduce the number of negative calls, you need to change you mindset. Do not approach the calls with the attitude of "Oh well, they most probably will tell me to get lost!" take that attitude and you will be told to get lost!

Know what you want to say, be prepared to answer questions and be prepared for objections. But, two very important points, smile and be prepared to listen. If your prospect says no, ask when would be a good time to contact them again. If they are still not interested , diarise for six months time.

Get into the habit and it will become second nature.

[wynn]

I always felt that cold calling after lunch when the client was in a good mood was a better practice.

[gary001]

Hello solweb,

same hear i am also calling in morning around 10.30 am so they all are in good mood to answer positive but some of them gives a negative reply...

can you please explain me what we have to do when we get negative response?

Thanks for the share.

Garry Kirsten

[adrianh]

When somebody calls me and says "Hello, how are you" then I already know that it is a sales call and that I am going to give that person a hard time. The sweet tone of voice gets right up my nose.

[Kgashane]

Cold calling is the least effective, the least productive,
and the least profitable because...

Most sales people approach it with the wrong mental
attitude: to make a sale or get an appointment.

When you are cold calling, you are introducing an
idea for the first time. You therefore have to over-
come a lot of negative issues and objections.

The best way to cold call is to first change your
mindset: focus on engaging in a conversation to
built trust.

The purpose of cold calling should be to create a
two-way dialogue - not a one-way monologue.

Become Your Customer

Enter the conversation going on in his head.
Experience his mindset. Exchange with him
information that will let you know if you
are a good fit...

This is the only way to identify his needs
and wants, and to discover his objections
so you can overcome them.

Your first goal should be to diffuse the pressure
from the call ... to remove suspicion ... to build
trust.

Albert

[Blurock]

Cold calling is the least effective, the least productive, and the least profitable because...Albert

A lot of truth Albert, but cold calling is a tremendous waste of time and it irritates the hell out of the people that you want to reach. How can an activity with a less than 1% success rate be deemed productive? Cold calling is the original spam from before the digital age.

Tried client relationship marketing yet?

Nurture existing clients first. They will bring the rewarding referrals and endorsements. Word of mouth is the best way to grow any business. Consider that when calling one's clients, one can expect a one in ten response to any call to action, versus the cold calling stats quoted above.

If your business really depends on high-cost low yield marketing (cold calling) consider scanning the horizon (news, articles, CRM etc) for a trigger event that is more likely to result in a conversation. The purpose of a cold call is to have a conversation to determine whether a potential customer has:
• a need for your offering, and
• the money to pay for it.

The objective is to create a reasonable link between the event and what you're selling. The more logical the link, the more likely that the trigger event will result in a conversation. People have a natural reluctance to speak with a stranger. Having a reason you're calling, other than just the fact that you have something to sell, is the easiest way to get through that reluctance.

For example, suppose you're washing windows, you may begin the conversation:
"I have noticed that you now have much larger plate glass windows that go all the way up to the roof. May we offer our services as we have the right equipment to reach those high windows". Or may we quote to wash your windows etc.

Or a factory is re-locating; "Can we offer you a new security system?"

Peter Drucker, the marketing guru wrote, "The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous." I like the idea of marketing making selling unnecessary. If you have to do a lot of personal selling of your product or service, then perhaps your marketing is not very effective.

[solweb]

When they say no

I try to ask them why they are saying no. Usually when they say no, they do not want to discuss it. I will diariase to call againin six month and see if anything has changed and if they then say no again, I will just move on

[solweb]

When somebody calls me and says "Hello, how are you" then I already know that it is a sales call and that I am going to give that person a hard time. The sweet tone of voice gets right up my nose.

Outgoing call centres are annoying, but keep in mind the person on the other side of the phone is trying to earn a living and put food on the table. They also give honest businessmen trying to grow their business through cold calling a bad name. The Consumer Protection Act and the new Privacy law are going to change the way they operate.

Two ways not to impress cusomers, a sugary sweet voice or a bland flat tone. if you are positive, people will hear it in your voice and will be more prepared to listen. But seriously, do not try to sell me another cell phone - I am happy with the one I have!

[adrianh]

You know, there is another thing that gets my goat. Let me paint the picture.

I had a Vodacom contract for many years. We decided to change it to pay-as-you-go this month becuase I hardly ever use the phone. I've got 500 free minutes yet I pay R350 per month for the contract. Anyhow, this was all done telephonically and the change was made. I get a call from Vodacom yesterday telling me that I am eligible for an upgrade. I tell the guy that I converted to PAYG. He now goes off on a tangent about the difference in cost and per second billing and per minute billing and contracts and costs and I don't know what all. This is at 17H00 while I am in the middle of drawing / running a laser, customer standing over my shoulder, kids making a noise etc etc. What gets on my nerves is that people simply assume that you are able to just there and then drop everything and have a meaningful debate regarding the merits of whatever they are on about. What they need to realize is that they are interrupting me and that first need to find out whether 1. I am interested in what they have to say and 2. that I am able to have the discussion right there and then. It would have been far more helpful if he asked me whether it is convinient to talk now, whether he should call me later or drop me a mail. That telephone call was like me barging into a board meeting and rattling on about the great new shampoo that the directors can use to wash their cars....like somebody else said yesterday...timing, timing, timing...

[solweb]

I do not believe that cold calling is dead. But how you approach it, is important. i have been getting around two or three people a day who want to know my prices and who have asked for quotes - this is only the first step- maybe they are being polite, maybe they are comparing me to the opposition, or maybe I have caught them at the right moment.

I ask them if I may send them the information on email - it starts a paper trail and I get their email address which means they have given me tacit approval to add them to me mailing list. Once I have sent them the information they have requested i will send them an email from my mailing list welcomeing them, telling what to expect in the future and give them the opportunity to remove themselves off the list. I send out two mailings once a month, a newsletter and a product campain.

I also network and use relationship marketing and also quote on the overseas jobs boards - I no longer rely on just one way to market.

[Blurock]

I try to ask them why they are saying no. Usually when they say no, they do not want to discuss it. I will diariase to call againin six month and see if anything has changed and if they then say no again, I will just move on

What part of NO did you not understand?

[adrianh]

@Blurock

So this morning I get the exact same story from Vodacom about the cancellation of my contract

--- this persistent difficulty with the understanding of the word NO is what leads me to say F*OFF to the next person that phones me from Vodacom

[Blurock]

I ask them if I may send them the information on email - it starts a paper trail and I get their email address which means they have given me tacit approval to add them to me mailing list. Once I have sent them the information they have requested i will send them an email from my mailing list welcomeing them, telling what to expect in the future and give them the opportunity to remove themselves off the list. I send out two mailings once a month, a newsletter and a product campain.

I also network and use relationship marketing and also quote on the overseas jobs boards - I no longer rely on just one way to market.

This is not intrusive cold calling. You are getting the right idea! Good luck with your prospecting.

[JoanneTom]

Cold calling...eish...I always cringe whenever telemarketers contact me - I think the cold calling experiences I've had as a consumer have been pretty awful. But the worst for me is when they don't take "no" for an answer - I'm fine if the person realises that they're not going to make a sale out of me and goes on to the next person, but those guys who PERSIST and nag after I've said "no thank you" just really annoy me. (But like I said, maybe I've just had really bad cold calling experieces?)

[CLIVE-TRIANGLE]

I'm sorry, but here is a quick list of my gripes with cold callers:
1. They phone me, I answer the phone with my name, then they ask for me by name, which
2. they can never pronounce.
3. Always phone from a blocked or withheld system
4. Don't know me from a bar of soap but express totally false interest in how I am today
5. Don't know or care what I was busy with just before they called
6. Presume I am having a wonderful day
7. Always seem to be selling something that I already have 10 of

A special place is reserved at the devil's place for those that want my ID and warn me about the call be recorded