Poor cold calls hurt everyone’s ability to sell. Cold calls are an important tool for companies getting their product or service into new markets. But when they are done wrong, you feel like hanging up instantly and cursing the name of the company the caller represents.
The problem is that most training is based on a color-by-numbers approach that yields a statistically low amount of sales. You may make a ton of calls during the day but are your sales matching your efforts? Making a sales call is a skill and one that needs practice and careful thought.
With that in mind, here are three things to avoid the next time you pick up the telephone and prepare to make a cold call:
You Talk Too Much
Have your every been at a party and meet someone who can’t stop talking? You’d like to get a word in but you can’t and soon you tune out the conversation and make a quick escape. That’s what it’s like with a lot of cold calls. It’s as if the caller thinks that if they stop talking, then you will hang up.
This may be true but why not try to have a conversation? Start off the call by saying who you are and what problem you can solve that I may be experiencing. From there you’ll know if I’m interested in what you’re offering. Then you can talk more about your services.
You Don’t Know Who I Am
Imagine if you picked up the phone and someone said, “I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about your company but I think I have the perfect product for you.” My guess is that you’d hang up pretty fast. Today with the Internet, there’s no excuse for not taking a couple of minutes to research your prospect. Find out the company’s slogan, how many offices it has, research the staff, and see if there is any company news listed.
Think of this as your CliffsNotes for the call. This does take a few minutes but it shows respect to your target. I think you’ll find that while your calls per hour will go down, your success rate will go up.
You Panic If I Don’t Act ASAP
This is the calling card of an inexperienced caller who can’t handle rejection. I don’t immediately jump to take your offer and suddenly you go from best friend mode to public enemy.
“Well all I’m trying to do is save you a lot of money,” you’ll plead with me. You may be right but never say anything that makes your target fell like less than the most important person in the world. Would you walk into someone’s house and say, “You’ve got ugly furniture!” That kind of unsolicited judgment is a cue for me to get rid of you.
Play it cool instead and say, “We’re here if you ever need our services and I appreciate you time.” This way you leave the call holding your head high and you haven’t burned any bridges. Remember that a, “no,” is not a, “never.” You may have called at an extremely busy time and your prospect may not be able to make a buying decision at that time. You just never know what’s going on with the other person.
Bad behavior is remembered and it will rule out any future business. Think of your call like it’s a YouTube video. If I deliver some good information, you’ll keep watching.
FYI: Recently I’ve had some issues with my former health care provider, Humana. The experience has inspired me to create a series of videos for the company CEO, Bruce Broussard:
