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Cold Calling Strategies

by cash89
7 replies
Hey warriors,

Kinda new to the forum, but I love it! I see around here that there are others that are not afraid to pick up the phone nowadays and make some cold calls. The people who are doing this and doing it right have a HUGE advantage over the competition that relies solely on emails and web traffic.

I just finished reading a book (for the second time) that I highly recommend "Smart calling: eliminate the fear and rejection from cold calling" by Art Sobczak. Book is great great and kinda changed my view on sales. In his book he pretty much breaks down the process into 3 major steps:
  1. Working with the gatekeeper (not getting past the gatekeeper) - using them to help you reach the decision maker and even to help influence them if possible
  2. Once you have the decision maker using a line of questioning to make them realize they need your product or services. (I cant force you to drink water but I can make you realize you are thirsty and then offer you a bottle of water)
  3. The presentation (showing them the bottle of water) - This is when you actually tell them about your product. Many of us in sales whether in person or on the phone usually rush into the presentation but it is the line of questioning where you really get your prospect ready to hear about your product and its benefits.
There is definitely more to this book and it is a great read for anyone in sales. I dont have any affiliation with the book, just admiration of it.


For all the cold callers out there I was thinking of we could all use each other to practice our calls. One would pretend to be the sales person and one would be acting as the prospect. What do you think of setting up these scenarios?
#calling #cold #strategies
  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    I review that book a lot -- tougher to use in a B2C marketplace where researching each person would prove to be a high level of avoidance behavior.
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    • Profile picture of the author cash89
      Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

      I review that book a lot -- tougher to use in a B2C marketplace where researching each person would prove to be a high level of avoidance behavior.
      I agree, but it all depends on exactly what you are trying to accomplish, if it can get you a higher success rate the research is worth the time. Let's say you are trying to get 100 sales or get 100 people to subscribe, by doing the research you will be able to reach your goals quicker without a doubt and with less dials.

      Also, knowing more about who you are calling will boost your confidence. But in some instances all that research is not needed but the steps I outlined that he described would be useful in any call or sales process.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    I agree. Just don't let "research" turn into "prospecting avoidance behavior."
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    • Profile picture of the author SalesNirvana
      i totally disagree

      the gatekeeper is there to prevent you from talking to him , why should he help u???
      if she helps you and your an idiot salesperson then she can get fired

      second ok you can question him but all questions are not equally made u need to have some pretty darn question to get him to see you.

      you need to know about his business so well he can see you first as an expert

      for good questions i recommend gittomer.

      presentation is only learned through making presentations no book can teach you ...
      all presentations have diffrent qualities to them

      the end
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by SalesNirvana View Post

        i totally disagree

        the gatekeeper is there to prevent you from talking to him , why should he help u???
        if she helps you and your an idiot salesperson then she can get fired

        second ok you can question him but all questions are not equally made u need to have some pretty darn question to get him to see you.

        you need to know about his business so well he can see you first as an expert

        for good questions i recommend gittomer.

        presentation is only learned through making presentations no book can teach you ...
        all presentations have diffrent qualities to them

        the end
        The gatekeeper is only a barrier if they already are in your mind.

        People tend to turn out the way we expect them to.

        Use this method to get them to work with you. Change your expectation. All sales is is one person talking to another. That's all dealing with the gatekeeper is, too. The gatekeeper will continue to be an issue for you only as long as you keep thinking they will.
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      • Profile picture of the author cash89
        Originally Posted by SalesNirvana View Post

        i totally disagree

        the gatekeeper is there to prevent you from talking to him , why should he help u???
        if she helps you and your an idiot salesperson then she can get fired

        second ok you can question him but all questions are not equally made u need to have some pretty darn question to get him to see you.

        you need to know about his business so well he can see you first as an expert

        for good questions i recommend gittomer.

        presentation is only learned through making presentations no book can teach you ...
        all presentations have diffrent qualities to them

        the end
        With that mentality any gatekeeper you talk to is going to be a barrier. Their job is not to prevent people from talking to their boss it is to make sure the RIGHT people talk to them. If you can make the gatekeeper realize that you do offer something of value they will connect you, and if you are as charming as most successful telemarketers are (which it sounds like you are not) you could even get useful background info from them that will help during your presentation.

        I agree no book in the world can teach you anything, sales, math, science, language they can only guide you and give you insight, this book does that. You should check it out, the worst that can happen is that you learn something new.

        Jason - That's exactly what some people don't understand. People are more willing to help than you would think if you ask them the right way.
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  • Profile picture of the author cash89
    Jason - Listened to your recordings, great work!! That's how its done. You CAN use the gatekeeper to your advantage and since most people feel like this is impossible (SalesNirvana) you have a huge edge on the competition if you can do this. I love using the unsure approach too, it really plays on human emotions in a positive way, people actually want to help others.

    Thanks for tips! Keep up the great work!
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