Do you use your phone to sell, make appointments, or follow up with existing customers?
If so, you are cold calling. Even if you’re calling an existing customer to talk about a new service that you know will help them, it’s cold calling. You are interrupting them and chances are they are not in the mood to be interrupted.
The good news is that cold calling can be very effective if done right. It can also be the worst job in the world if you keep doing it wrong.
The problem is that many people who use the phone to sell are terrible at cold calling! We’ve all experienced it, which is why we know a bad sales pitch when we hear one. As salespeople, we should probably be a little more understanding when a fellow professional calls us. However, we also tend to try to get rid of that poor guy as quickly as possible.
So how to make cold calls correctly?
The answer is to avoid any and all of these methods as bad cold calls. If you know you have a tendency to act this way on the phone, it’s time to stop and fix it.
1. Not being ready
This is the worst. I pick up the phone from him and he greets me with a rustle of papers, a deep breath, and a conversation he’s having with a colleague. Be prepared for the call. Get into the right frame of mind. Have a drink before the call, not just when the person answers. Every lead you have is a potential sale and if you’re not ready for the call, don’t even pick up the phone!
2. Mr. / Little Miss Generic
Do you sound the same as everyone else? Do you use the same lines, the same empty promises that everyone else calls me to sell the same thing? If so, it is very likely that it will go through a tunnel very soon and cut you off. How can you make yourself remarkable in any way? Seth Godin talks about the Purple Cows because this would make you stand up and pay attention. Why should anyone pay attention to you?
3. Super script
I believe sales scripts have their place, and that’s in your office recycling bin. Too many salespeople read a script that is generic, boring, and doesn’t ask a question until page three. If you want to audition for a monologue, don’t call me. If you want to have a conversation with me to find out what I want and potentially sell me something, drop the script and let’s talk. It’s okay to have a few lines prepared for a clear introduction, but after that, engage in a proper two-way conversation.
4. No power
Do you really hate your job enough to not want to be there? If so, call a helpline or something instead of calling a potential customer. How many salespeople do you hear just going through the motions? It makes me mad that you think I should be interested in what you have to say when you’re not even interested! Instead, go for a walk, do some jumping jacks, and then get back on the phone before you make the call. If you’re still not excited about the call, maybe just go and talk to HR. H H. and keep them from the inevitable conclusion.
5. Not going to the point
The other day someone called me and offered me a unique government-backed investment opportunity for my tech business that would be better than my current provider and cheaper than anything I’ve used before. This sounded great, so I asked him to tell me what he was saying. The same previous words were rearranged and reiterated. So I asked him again what he was selling. She got frustrated and we both hung up the phone. If you can’t clearly articulate what you’re selling, there’s a good chance they’ll find something more interesting to do than talk to you.
Well, these may seem like obvious tips for improving your cold calling, but marketers all over the world are guilty of these crimes every day.
Tip: Record your calls and play them back. Do you make any of these mistakes? If you do, then you know exactly what to do!
