Cold Calling Tips
Posted 1st April 2011 at 04:25 PM by Orderof47
Tags cold calling tips, confidence, phone sales, sales tips, seo
If you’ve found this, then you are probably dreading the fact that you are about to start cold calling. Firstly, don’t panic, with a few tips cold calling will become second nature to you. There are many people, that at some point in their lives will be given the task of cold calling a list of potential clients to set up an appointment , sell a product or service over the phone. From the company director all the way to the trainee sales assistant.
Anonymity
This may sound ridiculous to some, but making up a ‘selling name’ can work wonders for your sales technique. The knowledge that nobody knows it’s actually you, seems to dramatically boost confidence and in turn increase sales. There are already quite a few employers that implement this method, so if cold calling is getting to you, it’s worth asking your employer if they’ll let you try this approach.
No Script
Please do not, under any circumstances, read a script word for word during a cold call. Trust me, the person on the other end will instantly know that you are and will automatically have very little faith in what you have to say. The best approach you can take, is to learn everything you possibly can about the company you are selling for, what you are selling and who you are selling to and adapt your cold calling technique for different situations. If you absolutely must read from something because your mind goes blank during a call, then I suggest having a few main bullet points on a post it note on your computer screen. That way, if you get completely lost, you can usually find your way back.
I cannot stress this enough, even if your superior suggests you do, please do not read from a script!
Posture
If you can, I strongly suggest that you make your cold calls standing up. Sounds pointless? Trust me, try it. Especially when you are on your one hundredth call of the day and you’re starting to slouch at your desk!
Note Taking
Always keep meticulous notes about your calls. You’ll be surprised how many sales are missed because people didn’t follow up on calls they were supposed to. If you send out information to a client make sure you follow up, if you don’t, then everything from the initial cold call to the mail sent out was a complete waste of time and money.
Numbers Game
Cold calling is a numbers game, if you’re good, and I mean if you’re good. You can expect in the early days to achieve about a 10% return on calls. So, if you manage to make ten calls a day, you might get a sale a day, but you don’t want that do you? Make a hundred calls a day and you can expect about ten sales. If you work on this ratio, you’ll see that time is your biggest factor.
Emotions
You have absolutely no time to be offended by callers being mean or hanging up on you. If you do let it get to you and it effects your call numbers, then you’re too sensitive and you’re probably not cut out for sales. Sales is dog eat dog and if you can’t handle rejection, get out of the way because they’ll be someone just waiting to take your job. Especially in these tough times.
So, go and get your list, pick up the phone and start dialling. How are you going to be the next big thing if you’re too scared to try? http://www.orderof47.com/cold-calling-tips/
Anonymity
This may sound ridiculous to some, but making up a ‘selling name’ can work wonders for your sales technique. The knowledge that nobody knows it’s actually you, seems to dramatically boost confidence and in turn increase sales. There are already quite a few employers that implement this method, so if cold calling is getting to you, it’s worth asking your employer if they’ll let you try this approach.
No Script
Please do not, under any circumstances, read a script word for word during a cold call. Trust me, the person on the other end will instantly know that you are and will automatically have very little faith in what you have to say. The best approach you can take, is to learn everything you possibly can about the company you are selling for, what you are selling and who you are selling to and adapt your cold calling technique for different situations. If you absolutely must read from something because your mind goes blank during a call, then I suggest having a few main bullet points on a post it note on your computer screen. That way, if you get completely lost, you can usually find your way back.
I cannot stress this enough, even if your superior suggests you do, please do not read from a script!
Posture
If you can, I strongly suggest that you make your cold calls standing up. Sounds pointless? Trust me, try it. Especially when you are on your one hundredth call of the day and you’re starting to slouch at your desk!
Note Taking
Always keep meticulous notes about your calls. You’ll be surprised how many sales are missed because people didn’t follow up on calls they were supposed to. If you send out information to a client make sure you follow up, if you don’t, then everything from the initial cold call to the mail sent out was a complete waste of time and money.
Numbers Game
Cold calling is a numbers game, if you’re good, and I mean if you’re good. You can expect in the early days to achieve about a 10% return on calls. So, if you manage to make ten calls a day, you might get a sale a day, but you don’t want that do you? Make a hundred calls a day and you can expect about ten sales. If you work on this ratio, you’ll see that time is your biggest factor.
Emotions
You have absolutely no time to be offended by callers being mean or hanging up on you. If you do let it get to you and it effects your call numbers, then you’re too sensitive and you’re probably not cut out for sales. Sales is dog eat dog and if you can’t handle rejection, get out of the way because they’ll be someone just waiting to take your job. Especially in these tough times.
So, go and get your list, pick up the phone and start dialling. How are you going to be the next big thing if you’re too scared to try? http://www.orderof47.com/cold-calling-tips/
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