Many people would agree with the following…

  • “No one enjoys making cold calls, no one likes receiving cold calls.”
  • “Social media and email are better platforms to reach potential customers. “
  • “No one has the time to answer a phone call, it’s easier to reach them via email.”

So the question of the day is this: Has the ever evolving, ever changing internet, altered the effectiveness of a Cold Call?

The answer in short is no. I’m sure you’ll agree that nothing beats a direct, genuine conversation with a prospect- and I’m sure all prospects will agree too.

So what’s the problem then? The problem is that most people do it wrong, which is why they think it doesn’t work.

Furthermore they are still hanging onto common misconceptions, that are ultimately holding them back from succeeding.

Here are a few:

  • Everyone and anyone is a prospect, just pick up the yellow pages and start making those dials.
  • Do 100 dials a day, and you’ll eventually get a yes!
  • Practice techniques to close the sale as quickly as possible.
  • Cold Calling today isn’t about manipulation, or numbers.

It’s about being smart, targeted and ultimately building up a successful, maintainable relationship with our customer.

So here are my new Cold Calling rules: 

  1.  Know who your customers are.

Create a list of all your existing customers. What type of business are they? Where are they based? What is their annual turnover? How many employees do they have? Who is your main contact within their business?

Once you establish who your customers are, you can then start to point your calls in the right direction.

  1. Appeal to the prospects needs.

All too many Cold Calls begin with the standard “My Name is X calling from X company. We are the leading accountants in the North East and we work with….”

And BAM you’ve lost the sale!

Before making your calls ask yourself:

  • What problems are my prospects going through right now?
  • What type of issues could the prospect have if they didn’t have your product or service in place?
  • Can you resolve these problems?

In order to appeal to your customers, you must first understand them. If you want their attention in those first few critical seconds- you need to have something good to say!

Get smart with you your calling and start to see better results

To learn more, get a free copy of my new book “How to get a win on every call ” here:

http://freebook.touchstonesalesacademy.co.uk

Kevin Ireson – Touchstone Sales Academy