Our salespeople spend a lot of time networking without any certainty that they will meet someone who fits our target criteria. I”™d like them to save energy by working the phones. They complain that cold calling is a waste of time. What should we do?
Thoughts of the Day:
Salespeople want to talk with other people ”“ that”™s how they”™re wired. Do homework before making calls. Make each call personal. Don”™t presume there”™s a lead ”“ find out. Focus on what goes right. Set goals and measure results.
Don”™t eliminate networking. Do add up the time that goes into networking: out of bed at 6 a.m., in the car by 7 to get to the event by 7:30; at the end of the day rush out of the office to get to an event, home well past 8 p.m.; canvass a room of strangers only to find the prospects skipped the event; sort through business cards the next day and still have to make cold calls.
Watch their eyes glaze over when you tell a salesperson to stop networking and make cold calls. They”™ve heard it before. When pitching cold calling as a sales strategy focus on what salespeople care about: talk to more people faster, build a bigger rolodex of sales opportunities and make more money.
A salesperson”™s job is to talk with people. Help them do that and save them time by doing their marketing for them. Research lists of likely prospects. Provide background information on targets. Send out intro letters and teasers. Warm up the target community so they respond to a call ”“ that”™s marketing. Give salespeople a list of people who are likely to buy and likely to talk ”“ that will get any salesperson”™s attention.
When calling make sure you have something useful to offer and be concise about how to convey that offer. Start the call with something that will hook the call recipient ”“ whether it”™s a direct connect or voicemail, be able to say, “I”™ve done my homework, and we should be talking; I can help you.”
Be respectful of people”™s time. Find out if they have time to talk. If they don”™t, make an appointment to call back and ask them what you should do if you call back and can”™t get through. Give callers permission to push back, but check out if it”™s valid.
Don”™t sound like a stranger. Know enough about the person or business you”™re calling that you don”™t fumble around with inane generalities. Be prepared to have a real, live dialogue, not just ask a bunch of canned questions. Be truly interested in what the call recipient is saying. Use the phone for what it”™s good for: qualifying the situation, asking for a meeting or deciding to move on to the next prospect.
When it comes to cold calling, goals and measures are helpful if there”™s enough quantity. Making five calls per day won”™t get enough traction. Try 50 to 70 dials at a time. That might take an hour or two ”“ no more than the time you would have spent at a networking event.
Practice cold calling regularly, at least a couple of times per week. It”™s about building muscle. If you only go to the gym once every week or two, it”™s going to hurt every time you go. If you show up multiple times weekly, it gets easier.
Warm up by making enough calls to get into the flow. Focus on the calls that go well. Except for learning, don”™t spend time worrying about calls that were off track. Even at networking events you”™ll meet rude people you”™d rather not have contact with.
Looking for a good book? Try “How to Sell More, in Less Time, With No Rejection: Using Common Sense Telephone Techniques,” by Art Sobczak.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a business consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached by phone at (877) 238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Please send it to her, via email at AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com or by mail to Andi Gray, Strategy Leaders Inc., 5 Crossways, Chappaqua, NY 10514. Visit AskAndi.com for an entire library of Ask Andi articles.
