|
          
|
Cold Calling
Get
over the fear and improve your success
Most sales
people hate to cold call. It is frequently considered by many to be the
single most stressful part of selling. So much so that many people have
given up this noble and proud profession for non-selling positions. There
are actually several reasons why sales reps consider cold calling one step
below getting a root canal.
Fear of
rejection is one of the biggest reasons reps dislike cold calling. After
all, who wants to be told “no” all day long? However, there are other
reasons that add to the disdain, including not wanting to bother anyone (the
“telemarketing” syndrome), gatekeeper resistance, lack of confidence (in
themselves, their product, their company, etc.), or they just don’t know
how to do it. While these reason are understandable, they are all symptoms
rather than causes.
In
understanding that we don’t like to cold call, we also have to understand
why we have call reluctance. For instance, we may not like rejection, but
the reason we are rejected is that we are not approaching it the right way.
Or, we get resistance from the gatekeeper or feel like we are bothering
people because, again, we aren’t equipped with the skills to perform the
duty properly so that we don’t get rejected or bother people.
It comes down
to Will and Skill. We, as human beings prone to human nature, avoid things
we are not good at, and thus lose the will. If we are good at something we
will be more inclined to do it. Hence, when we improve our skills, our will
improves proportionately. So, it’s important to understand why we have
call reluctance – what are our challenges and why we are reluctant.
Why Cold
Calling is Important
Before
proceeding with recommendations on how to improve your cold calling, let’s
review why cold calling is important. A customer’s buying and decision
making process usually goes through several steps. First, they realize they
have a problem and identify what the problem is. Second, they calculate the
costs associated with the problem. Third, they evaluate alternatives. These
first three steps comprise the “Planning Stage”. The next stage is the
“Evaluation Stage”. In this stage they talk to vendors to consider
alternatives. Once that’s done, they decide on a vendor and move on.
When the
customer reaches the Evaluation Stage, to a certain extent they already
decided on the approach they want to take. But what if that approach isn’t
the right one for them? Or, what if their approach includes preconceived
notions that would preclude you from being a contender for their business?
When you call them, it’s already too late. You’ve had no inputs into
their Planning Stage. As a result, you could be chasing their biases and
forgone conclusions when, in fact, they are already leaning in another
direction. This is what often happens when you get an RFP (Request For
Proposal). The RFP is “wired” to another vendor or at least includes
questions that reflect the customer’s biases to another solution. You end
up wasting a lot of time responding with your proposal only to find they
really knew whom they were choosing all along. If, on the other hand, you
caught them in the Planning Stage and positioned yourself as a valued
partner, then you could help them in identifying their problems AND
alternative solutions.
Now what if
you do catch someone in the Planning Stages, but they don’t know they are
in that stage yet. In other words, they know they have a problem, but they
haven’t consciously decided to do something about it. This is actually a
perfect time for a cold call, assuming you handle it correctly. Here is how
not to call someone in this situation. Sales Rep: “Hi,
my name is Fred Johnson of Acme Software. My company helps businesses with
their accounting problems. I was wondering if you had any accounting
problems.” Prospect: “No! But thanks for calling. Bye.” Of course
they’re going to say no, because they aren’t aware or sure they actually
have problems, and hence they don’t have a need for you. Also, you
haven’t shown them that you care about their problems. Instead, you simply
came across as someone who only cares about selling them something.
If
you approached this differently, you could get invited in to help them
identify their core issues and explore alternatives. But you can’t come
across on the initial cold call as if you are selling something. Instead,
you need to position yourself as a trusted advisor by asking the right
questions, listening to their answers, and proposing how you might be able
to help with the exact pains they just described to you. A better dialogue
might be, "Hi I'm Fred Johnson with Acme Software. We specialize in
helping businesses improve their customer acquisition and retention. I was
calling to see how important improving sales and customer retention are to
your business. Do you have a moment for a few questions?"
Be a Boy Scout
– Always Be Prepared
You
help improve your cold calling by being prepared. We all get calls from
sales people who clearly are unprepared and embarrass themselves by trying
to “lower your phone bills” when they don’t even know how much you are
currently paying for your phone bills. Or they try to sell you office
equipment when you work in a shared-office environment and don’t purchase
this sort of equipment.
Like
most things I do, I have a process, and cold calling is no different. Your
cold calling process includes the steps, reasons and outcomes for every
call. To begin with, you should always have a clear purpose for the call –
Why are you calling? Next, have a goal – What is your desired outcome? Is
it to make a sale, schedule a meeting, or get introduced to the decision
maker? You also have to remember that in order to get your prospect’s
interest, you have to appeal to their needs, wants and desires. So remember
WIIFM - What’s In It For Me?
Of course, the “Me” in this case is your prospect. Make sure
your discussions make it clear that everything you are asking has to do with
helping their problem, not with you making a sale.
You also
don’t want to preach. This is what those annoying telemarketers do. They
“tell” you what it’s all about and try to lead you down their path,
which is to buy something, instead of asking what ails you. The key to doing
this effectively is to ask questions about the prospect, such as what is
currently not working for them, how much it is costing them to continue in
this mode of operation, what happens if nothing changes, etc. It helps to
use a script as well. Now I’m not suggesting you read from a script. What
I mean is write down bullets on the points and questions you want to ask and
use that as a guideline so you don’t drift off and digress from your goal.
A good script should help you organize your thoughts and keep you on track.
It will also help you discuss benefits rather than features.
You should
always “warm up” your cold calls by doing research in advance. It is
very easy to learn all about a company via the Internet. Read about their
company’s background and products. Read their press releases and annual
reports. Then when you call, you can refer to something significant about
their business which helps break the ice and shows you are interested in
them. And, don’t give up. These days it takes 6 to seven calls, maybe
more, to get through to someone. The average sales rep gives up after 2 to
three calls, not even half-way there. Perseverance is the key.
It also helps
to profile your prospects before calling. Know who buys your product, when
they buy it, how they buy it, and more. What is their profile? Are they
affluent males between the ages of 35 and 49? Are they businesses with less
than 100 employees and located in one facility? Are they departments within
businesses who can’t readily get the services they need from their
corporate offices? Once you know this, you can rank your call list and call
the “A” players first, those who match your profile the best. If you use
technology to help keep track of this information, which you should, then
organize your call list, schedule your follow-ups, and manage your day. You
will find that you will be more efficient, effective and successful.
Develop a Call
Quota
Finally, as
part of your cold calling process, remember not to take “No” personally.
They are rejecting your offer, company or product, but not you personally
(unless, of course, you upset them, in which case you deserve to take it
personally). Accept the fact that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find
your prince. You’re not going to succeed with every call. So don’t set
yourself up for disappointment every time someone says they don’t want to
meet with you. To help with this, give yourself a “Call Quota”. This is
not a quota for how many calls you should make in a day. This involves
knowing how many “No’s” it takes to get to a “Yes”.
Let’s say
your revenue goal is $100,000. and the average client spends $5,000. To
reach your goal, you’ll need 20 new clients. If your close ratio is 25%,
you’ll need to call 80 new Prospects, because 25% of 80 is 20, the number
of new clients you need. So, with this simple information, simply remember
that 60 of those calls will be No. Your goal then is to find the 20 Yes’s and
the 60 No’s shouldn’t bother you because you are expecting them.
Cold Calling
doesn’t have to be the dreaded, avoid-at-any-cost chore that many sales
reps make it out to be. With proper training and planning, it is actually
fun and a very necessary step in beginning your sales process.
Good luck and
good selling!
Russ
Lombardo
PEAK
Sales Consulting
russ@peaksalesconsulting.com
(702)
655-5652
|
