Do you cold call?

Privateer

I hate cold calling, but I find it a pretty effective way to generate leads and get clients.  Does anyone else cold call prospective clients and do you have a strategy for getting around the "no" reflex many customers have when they answer the phone?

DavidJackson

I hate cold calling, but I find it a pretty effective way to generate leads and get clients.  Does anyone else cold call prospective clients and do you have a strategy for getting around the "no" reflex many customers have when they answer the phone?
 
 
 
 
Do yourself a favor, and pick up a copy of   Red-Hot Cold Call Selling by Paul S.Goldner.
 
David Jackson

cubemonkey

Enjoy.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3yCB7AvvAkcubemonkey2/25/2009 8:02 AM

MattTurpin

My advice for cold calling is to be on the line when they pick up. I hang up on machines, and I`m not alone. My second piece of advice is to lose the script. When I get a call from a human who speaks freely like a person who believes what s/he is saying, I`m infinitely more receptive. I`ve said yes to two instances of cold calling, and they both met those qualifications. The caller didn`t treat me like a quota. I wasn`t one of a thousand calls queued up on a computer. When I talked to the caller, the conversation didn`t begin with reading a speech, and didn`t sound scripted. I have no problems with good cold callers. Bad cold callers irritate me.

SecurityProfessional

Cold calling can be tough, miserable work - but it can also be a very effective way of generating business. A day or two on the phone making cold calls can yield incredible results. Like many things in life, sometimes the things we hate to do the most are the very things that we should be doing.  
 
I agree with Matt`s advice; try and act as human as possible and pretend that you are talking to a friend or acquaintance. If you get a "no", try and learn something about your prospect`s reason for rejecting you: 1) do they not understand the benefits of using your product or service?, 2) are they using a competitor`s product or service instead?, or 3) do they truly have no need for what you are selling? This information is invaluable and can help you to better tailor your product offerings to meet market needs.
 
Finally, always try to leave the door open for future calls. Sometimes it is just a matter of timing and it can take two, three, or even five calls to achieve success. Sometimes, a client will buy what you are selling after a period of time because he admires your persistence (or just so you will stop calling ...  )

MattTurpin

To further clarify my point, one of those two cold callings was a marketing lady who was interested in my cell phone situation. I think she said she was with Verizon, because my iPhone was Cingular only. She was friendly, she was human, I didn`t feel like just business, and she got 45 minutes of the best answers I could give to what seemed like an endless list of questions. She intermingled the questions with small talk about the questions, so I didn`t really feel like I was taking a test. So yeah, just call your prospects like you`d call your friends, and at the very least, you`ll probably win people like me.
The second instance where I accepted a cold call proposal falls under Michael`s "or just so you will stop calling ..." category. This case was my college alumni association. Ever since I graduated UCONN, they`d been calling me every few months asking for more money. The callers were just unscripted college students, so they were always nice, always human, and always sincere. I was just always broke. This last one got me at a good time and UCONN got more of my money. So, persistence and friendliness are the two keys to success, I think. I know those two categories work on me.

nevadascul

I use to do outside sales for a company.  Here a a few lessons I learned about cold calling.
Number one, many business people won`t talk to someone doing cold calls.  Business people are generally busy and prefer sales people set an appointment to discuss a new product or service.
Number two, never call on Mondays or Fridays.  These are the two busiest days of the week for managers.
Number three, never use a canned sales pitch that you think fits all situations.  Learn something about the business you want to sell to and who does the buying for you type of product.  Then create a sales pitch specifically for that customer.  A typical example involves a pitch I made to a building maintenance engineer.  I tailored my pitch to his needs as a maintenance engineer, not the purchasing departments needs.  He had the authority to override the purchasing department`s decisions if he wanted the product.  Also, many business managers find canned sales pitches offensive.  It tells them you didn`t put any effort into learning anything about their needs and business.
Number four, don`t forget the amenities.  A friendly greeting should always be the first thing out of your mouth.  A firm hand shake is also a good opening.  Never call or walk up to someone and go directly into you sales pitch. Take time to chat like you would with a friend.