Here are my top 7 ?advanced? tips for effective cold calling.
1. What is the Goal of Your Call? Is it to get an appointment? Get in to see the boss immediately? Or is it to make a sale on your first call? First know exactly you want the outcome to be from the call. Given today?s business environment, I would suggest focusing on creating an interest and getting an appointment to come back to present your wares another time. At the very least, leave with the decision makers business card in hand so you can do a follow-up call or email campaign.
2. Know Your Pitch. If you want to achieve the intended goal of your call, have your ask pre-scripted and practiced before you go in. Your initial ask should include who you are, your benefit statement, and an ask for the decision maker. Once the decision maker is there, your pitch should include their name, your name and company, your benefit statement, and an ask for an appointment by suggesting two specific times.
3. Where Are You Going? If you don?t have the luxury of simply walking the halls of a massive office building to cold call, and have geographically dispersed prospects, create a route on Google that takes you to each location in the most efficient manner. Your time is gold. Don?t waste it on the road. (PS ? To MAXIMIZE your windshield time, make prospect calls on the phone while you drive between cold calls)
4. Bring Choch. Okay? The first three tips were pretty basic, and this one sounds cheesy, but stay with me. If you focus on executing these behaviors, you will WIN at cold call prospecting. Now, back to tip number 4 ? Bring a goodie for the gate-keeper (receptionist). Chocolate and manicures typically work very well. Present it with a big smile and they will love you forever. Why else do you think drug reps bring food to doctors offices? It?s not for the doctors?
5. Do Some Strategic Calling. I cold called my office building a couple of years ago, and instead of asking for meetings to show my product, I asked for meetings to discover how I could trade potential business prospects with my prospect. You?ll get an overwhelmingly warm response, a higher rate of appointments set, and probably some deals out of it to. During my strategic calling, I met Scott Cunningham, who ended up referring me some business, becoming part of my referral team, and also a client. Boom.
6. Circle Call. I don?t schedule time to cold call. I simply schedule appointments to sell my product, and then plan 15-30 minutes before or after an appointment to visit the surrounding businesses. Asking the client you are in an appointment with for referrals around their office location can also support this activity.
7. Do It and Mix It Up. Driving to an office complex, having lunch, taking a 1/2-hour nap, and then making 3 calls is not a day of hard cold calling. Make a plan and visit 10-15 offices in a day. Depending on how close they are, you should be able to make at LEAST 2 calls per hour with qualified companies. Don?t rely on cold calling alone. This strategy is simply one of many that should be employed in a robust business development strategy.
What are some other strategies that you have used to make your cold calls more effective?
Jamar Cobb-Dennard
jamar@jamarspeaks.com
Tags: Cold Calling, indianapolis small business, Jamar Cobb-Dennard, Sales
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