5 ways to overcome cold call reluctance
January 5, 2010 by Ken DooleyPosted in: New Research, Sales meeting ideas, Special Report - Sales & Marketing, communication, economy, sales management, training
Here are some good reasons why ramping up cold calling efforts now, during a down economy, can get your salespeople in front of more prospects:
- Many salespeople deal with a recession by making fewer calls. One study showed salespeople reduce their cold calling efforts by 38% during tough times. That means the competition’s making fewer calls.
- It’s no longer business as usual for most customers. Customers are under pressure from management to find more value for their purchasing dollars. More prospects, especially those who’d always claimed to be satisfied with their present suppliers, are now looking for new suppliers who can help them get through this tough economic period.
Attitude is key
Salespeople who excel have the determination, perseverance, enthusiasm and positive attitudes that are the backbone of cold calling. One sales study found that optimistic salespeople sold 37% more products and services on average during cold calls than negative salespeople.
Here are five cold calling tips from sales consultant Ted Barrows worth sharing with your salespeople:
- View success in the long term and failure in the short term. You’re working diligently to stay afloat during a tough economy, and that’s your long-term goal. But there will be failures along the way, and it’s important to remember those failures are always short term.
- Reframe what you hear and see. Perception is how you choose to interpret events. If prospects tell you they’re happy with their present suppliers, do you place them in the “do not call” category? Or do you accept the statement as a challenge and vow to resume your efforts to show why they should do business with you?
- Remain focused. You may not be able to control the feelings and statements prospects make to you during a cold call, but you can control your reaction to them. You may not be able to control the outcome of your presentations, but you can control your input.
- Practice positive mental thinking. Does it really help you to obsess over negative news about your industry or the economy? Or is it better to stay positive and go out and increase your cold calling efforts?
- If a prospect seems unreceptive or even antagonistic, try to find out why. Maybe you made your call at the wrong time and the prospect is too busy to talk then and there. Try calling back at a time when the prospect may not have so much to do.
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Tags: cold calling, economy, Ted Barrows
January 6th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Have a calling buddy. Agree with a fellow sales person, in a different company probably, to call each other in the morning and make your ‘pitch’. Role play if necessary. Then immediately after that call pick up the phone.. have the list ready.
January 6th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Great tips on this list. I don’t know if anybody really loves cold calling, but it’s absolutely essential in building an maintaining your sales pipeline.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:37 am
Almost all people buy in their own time, for their own reasons. If they are not ready they will resist a cold-caller. Thus, attempting to get prospects to do anything during the first call is counter-productive.
Learn how to turn cold-calls into warm-calls. Then, over 90 percent of the prospects you called initially will welcome a series of subsequent prospecting calls. And, they will be favorably disposed to you when they are ready to buy.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Create some friendly competition with someone on your sales team for dials and conversations. I’ve always found this a healthy way to keep the phone dialing. Anyone who is serious about making sales a career is usually competitive and always wants to be number 1. Additionally, phone time is contagious. If you’re the only one being heard in the office, eventually others will follow suit whether it’s because they don’t want you outselling them, or they don’t want to stand out for NOT being heard. This can create some solid momentum for the entire team because it’s easy to make calls when you hear everyone on the phone talking.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Prepare in advance a “NO” strategy. Let it be your bridge for permission for future follow up calls to contribute solutions to problems the prospect may or may not know exist. Interesting research and intelligence are excellent tools to accommodate this. Knowledge is power and by offering it as an incentive to sample your value…your value will increase. Just make sure your future follow ups are customer value oriented.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
A little piece via SALES HQ
No Does Not Mean Never! When you’re turned down for a sale, whether you’re able to gather more information or not, don’t give a “no” more weight than it merits. If you find yourself panicking that it’s all you’ll ever hear or that you’ll never meet your quota, remind yourself that it’s just one sale. Every salesperson hears “no,” and it’s no indication of how your next meeting will go.
And don’t forget, if you field this “no” with finesse, the person who didn’t buy may be left with fond enough feelings to find a way to send future business your way. Establish whether you can call on the prospect again in the future (be specific about when, suggesting a time when the circumstance that led to the “no” may have changed), and make sure your clients know that they can call you as well.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Establish Rapport
One you get a “no for now” response quit selling. Ask questions, the more personal (but appropriate) the better. A “How’s the weather in xxxxx?” question could lead to finding out what the prospect likes to do outside of work. Do the fish, hunt,? Do their kids play sports? Anything to get the person talking about themselves, even in a business sense, will help open the door when it comes to a follow up call. Make notes and refer to the things they disclosed in your first conversation. People buy from people, especially ones they like.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Sales is a numbers game.
More calls = More contacts = More opportunities to set appointments = More appointments = More opportunities to do business = More business. I’ve been in sales for over 20 years and the first call of the day has never gotten any easier for me…but once that first one or two are out of the way — look out!
February 10th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I used to keep a small mirror on my desk so I could look at myself while I’m talking. I know it sounds silly but when you’re smiling prospects can sense it, and when you’re not smiling they can sense that as well. I think I may go back to some of the tricks I learned 30 years ago just to keep fresh.