Anyone Here Good at Cold Calling?

Hi Mate!

I have done a loy of sales in my life, and a fair bit of that was cold calling.
As I launch my Offline busibess and I find myself again having to go out and cold call my local town.

Technique is very personal as each person approaches that Initial few seconds of contact. I like to use humor to break down walls, but that can be dangerous, i ve had it blow up in face many times and its not funny. (Well not at the time anyway)

Fear of failure is a funny thing with cold calling, It depends on your desired result. is it initial contact and a meet and greet or are you there looking to close immediately on the day. It is important to have goals for each cold call and Know why your there in the first place. sometimes as well you need to be alert for that "Buying signal" and go in for the kill even though that wasn't the initial plan. I guess what I am saying be flexible,"Know when to fold em, Know when to hold em" so to speak.

If your going to be a cold caller then rejection will become part of your life, You will never get 100% so don't expect it. Know that each Rejection is one step closer to the sale as the numbers never lie. If you have research that your product/service is used by 1 in 30 businesses, then realise to get 3 sales you need to see at least 90 Business owners. Some days you find your 3 in the first 5, otherdays you will find your 3 in the last 4. Play the numbers......

DO NOT Look like a salesperson in anyway, get rid of the tie, get rid of the folder and laptop. Just you and a pen and paper. (Thanks sean sheahan for this nuget) You have about 3-5 seconds from first contact to make an impression, make sure its not a product pitch or company. The person needs to know you first, your product/service second. if they like you you will be 80% of the way there. Its no use bashing your head on wall, so if its not happening get out.... remember Play the numbers and leave the door open for tommorrow.

Do i enjoy Cold calling NO! Not in anyway, I crap myself all the way up to the door, But when I actually shake the hand or say G'day It all goes away and I just start talking crap and having a laugh. At some point the person will ask you why your there and you tell them.... Feature... Benefit... feature ... benefit....Crap...crap...crap, feature... benefit etc etc.

John, happy to talk more if you like..PM

Sorry for rambling

ODA

In all my years cold calling seems to be the bane of a marketers existence. To all the students I have taught it's intimidating, frightening, in fact 91% of marketers will avoid it if they can. The best way I can explain this is to simply walk you through my methods with a new team member or student.

I warn you my method may appear to be very direct.

I first reaffirm to my student or team member that their time is worth their weight in gold. Procrastination, fear, and hesitation of any kind will leave you with nothing but a sense of frustration and regret.

Secondly I remind them that the people on this list NEED their services to help them out of their current situation... If they didn't we wouldn't be calling them.

Lastly I instruct them to interview the prospective client with a professional tone that demands their attention. State your name, the reason you calling. for example my usual dialog is:

"Hello may I speak with [John]

Hello [John] How are you today.

My name is Jacob Hargreave. I am with [said company] and I am calling in reference to your inquiry.

I am currently in the process of interviewing several individuals with whom are looking to establish a profitable long term business relationship and was wondering if you would like to be interviewed today or at your earliest convenience."

9 out of 10 the interview process is started immediately or scheduled at a later date. Those that have no interest in the interview (very few) are immediately scrapped in less than 2 minutes of the call resulting in minimal time wasted.

During the interview process I instruct the student to ask questions about the client and their needs. Take notes based on their answers for later reference. Once the interview is over direct them to whatever website, phone number, or meetings you have in place for prospects and be sure to follow up afterward if need be.

This has led my students and partners to a stead 90% closing ration in all of their business ventures. They find it fun and their most reliable source of sales.

I'm researching for a report on cold calling. The biggest factor is that it's incredibly painful for most people. Yet, experts tout it as one of the most effective marketing techniques.

If you are good at cold calling, how did you get over your internal issues? Things like fear of rejection, fear of failure, nervousness, etc.

You don't get over them, nobody likes being rejected. You just learn to process it differently. So, instead of seeing cold calling as intrusive, you see it as a countdown to a sale. I know if I get off enough pitches I will get a yes.

Did you use any techniques? Did you have someone who taught you?

My technique isn't new but I like questioning, I like keeping the focus on the prospect I want them to do 80% of the talking about topics I directed them to talk about. Its psychological but effective. I was taught this a learn time ago by my former sales manager when I just started in sales.


Most importantly, do you enjoy it and why?

Do I enjoy it? HELL NO!!! I hate cold calling with a passion. I did it because despite my loathing of it I am good at it. It helped me make sums of money I would otherwise have not seen.

I should probably ask in a sales forum, but there are a lot of high achievers here.

Wow, thanks for all the excellent responses...

I have yet to meet one person who enjoyed cold calling. They all say they absolutely HATE it. I found and interviewed a guy who gets commissions of $25,000 for his cold-calling skills.

He's definitely one of those over-the-top outrageous personalities. His technique he used was standing up on a ladder. He wanted to be up above everyone else in the room looking down on them. He used a persona that fit with what he was selling. The $25,000 was for selling stock over the phone. His persona was that of a stodgy but wealthy British investor.

He would ask them how much they had to invest. If it was less than $5,000, he replied "Ooooh" in a long drawn out disappointed tone. He said it slightly belittles them as if they're small-time investors. I can't say his tactics were nice, but they sure seemed effective.

He, too, was a champion of using questions. Another aspect he touted was that of "Breaking News!" He said the undercurrent of the conversation was always an opportunity that wasn't going to last very long. The scarcity element got people to put up with his BS during the call.

Numberswise, I think he's an exception. I don't know that you could train an entire sales team to do it his way. They would all need to be extroverts to the extreme. Plus, the guy's wife says she puts up with his BS because he earns so much money.


@oda

Thanks for the tips on dressing. I especially liked you admitted how you sh#t yourself all the way to the door. Then, you just jump right into it. I think it's important people know this is one of those things like public speaking. You don't ever really get over the fear, but you just have to get past the first 30-90 seconds before you calm down a bit.

@Jacob

Thank you for the "preparation" tips. Reminding yourself that time is valuable. Seeing the procrastination, fear, hesitation as a thief of that time is a view others have expressed as well. One person used a quote that says, "The pain of discipline weighs ounces, but the pain of regret weighs tons." I believe that was a Jim Rohn quote.

Mostly, thank you for giving me your numbers. 90% is an excellent closing ratio. Hats off to you for the good job you did with your team.

@caper

Thank you for answering my questions directly. You re-affirmed many things I keep hearing. It's just good to get those reinforced. I really like your view of it being a "countdown to a sale." That's a nice was to sum it up quickly.

I watched a video today of a guy doing cold calling selling seo services - his percentage wasn't great, but he kept at it - it was impressive!
Thank you for this thread - I had assumed that people that were good at cold calling somehow actually liked it.

Pretend you're an actor, being paid to play a character. You're not you, you're that character. The character can be whoever you want it to be... a highly confident, super-closing cold caller, and more.

If you were a Hollywood actor getting millions of dollars to play this character, how would you act?

Pretend you're on stage. When you pick up the phone, it's like someone said "ACTION". After that, just play the part.

I succeed at it by turning the negatives into something else.

I don't fear rejection because I'm not being rejected. They're rejecting the person who just interrupted their meeeting, or their favourite tv show etc, not me personally. if you can get that into your mindset you'll lose that fear.

In terms of the numbers of rejections, again turn it round. Work out your closing rate. It'll be a pretty consistent number. For round numbers sake, say it's 1 in 10. 8 calls without a close and you know you're close to one. In other words each "no thanks" is a positive because it takes you closer to the next "Yes please".

I used the actor thing as well when I worked from an office. So in my mind it's something other than cold calling. Now I do it from home, and I know this sounds silly but this is what i do. I schedule 2 hours calling and when it's time I stick on dvds of old Star Trek episodes (nothing needing too much concentration). I phone from in front of the tv, watching as the phone rings, pressing the pause button when i get an answer. it takes away the boredom and psychologically, I've now come to look at those 2 hours not as horrible cold call time but as Star Trek time. It takes all the pressure off.

Best of all, I get to tell people I get paid to watch Star Trek.

ascor, I love it! Best excuse to have a tv in the home office I've ever heard of!

I could write about the cold calling experiences a lot.

But to cut the long story shorty i can fully recommend to anyone a system that literally saved my life and months of frustration.

It's Ari Galper's UnlockTheGame.

Check his few youtube videos so you will get the idea and a mindset behind it.

btw - even the famous marketer Perry "google adwords" Marshall is using this.

Cheers

Dan

I worked in a call centre for 8 months straight, I have no fear of cold calling. Trust me, calling during the last presidential election season...well let's just say I've been called everything but a child of God. After a while you get used to it. The worst they can do is threaten or curse you, you just can't take it personal.

The way most people succeed at cold calling is out of a sense of necessity.

Either a job pushes them or like others have mentioned above, they have tried other methods of getting business, however, though a client here or there may come through, taking the bull by the horns and cold calling is the only way any of them can get any CONSISTENT numbers to happen.

You cant build a business on numbers that are uncontrollable and actions that cant be quantified.

So while cold calling isnt most peoples favorite activity, despite alot of trial and error and skippy results... most find if they want their business to succeed they have to do what other offline do... "Utilize sales people".

That is proven time and time again to be done most efficiently through the phone. I hear people tout all the time of successful direct mail campaigns etc... but they are always funny about mentioning their consistent results...same seems to go for the door to door guys...

Having watched the journey of thousands of telemarketers many of them here on this forum, I can tell you that the initial motivations are different for everyone...

As far as LOVING cold calling...

You will find that there is only one thing people really love about cold calling, granted sometimes its fun and you are in the mood to do it, but the thing Im referring to is SCORING!!!!

The joy of telemarketing is synonymous with the joy of achieving something that an average person couldnt break through the walls to achieve. And the pride of knowing you are "good", and knowing the hard way it took to get good like that... the way that most will never know.

Understanding that you and your comrades only stand together because you were tougher than the ones who fell by the wayside. Stockbrokers live for that.

So in your quest to find a way to make telemarketing more joyful I suggest you place alot of your focus on the area of achievement and increased lifestyle quality.

Also maybe focus on the pain, and emotional roller coaster... of other methods that leave you feeling skippy about the results, and without control.

There's a pride, an ancient one in accomplishing things that are hard.

I leave you with a quote I have memorized that sums up the post Im making here, and applies to cold calling. It is where you will find the joy , if you are looking in the right places:

"The carreer I have chosen is laiden with opportunity, yet it is also fraught with heartbreak and dispair. The bodies of those who have come before me and failed, were they piled atop one another would cast its shadows down upon all the pyramids of the earth, but I SHALL NOT FAIL as the others for in my hands I now hold the charts that will guide me out of shallow waters to shores which yesterday seemed only but a dream, until even apples made of Gold will seem to me only as my just reward..." ~Og Mandino

There is a pride in telemarketing...

Wheres the joy in playing football?

You'll find the heart of a telemarketer and the heart of a football player to be very similar!

I was afraid of doing cold calls for over 20 years... the only thing that motivated me to pick up the phone and start calling was an even bigger fear. I had moved from the USA to Australia and when my money ran out and I couldn't find a job... the fear of hunger caused me to overcome my fear of cold calling. Now I'm still hesitant to make them but as soon as I make that first dial I'm OK and can keep on calling. You may want to visit fellow warrior John Durham's forum out at: The Telemarketing Forum - Index

I'm good at cold calling. I suspect that the fact that I was a Scout, and Jehovah's witness in my teens helped:-) I learnt about the importance of being well prepared. It's very easy to lose one's confidence when you're not prepared.

Early in my sales career, I also learnt that you just have to do your best. At times, no matter the level of your preparation, some won't buy. You win some, you lose some. I learnt to embrace failure, and I learnt about the importance of becoming an ''expert''.

Brian Tracy, in ''Advanced Selling Strategies'' suggested that one develops a consultant's mindset. If you become, and position yourself as a resource --putting your client's interests first, cold calling becomes a lot easier.

Just do your best. Fears are normal. What is abnormal is when you allow them to stand between you and a more awesome life.

Hi John

Cold Calling is a funny business when you make no your Vitamin, all that aside there is a couple of rules I use to get quick results.

Tips

1 use the 80/20 get 80% no’s out of the way ASAP, the 20% will make you rich

2 this is the most valuable time saver I use.

When you call the business make sure you use the following words “I’m looking to talk with the person who is responsible for ------------ whatever your service is. This will get you passed the receptionist, the mangers and you'll get to the decision marketer because most people don’t want to feel responsible

I hope this helps

Kevin

I used to hate cold calling, but was forced to do it when I needed to do a survey for my new business. My anxiety was so bad it was almost unbareable. The only way to get over it is to do it, and keep doing it.

I also hated making videos, but I gave it a go and now I kind of enjoy it. Same thing you just have to throw yourself into it and get used to it. On a new vid I still sit there frozen for the first take or two. Then I get warmed up and I just keep taking takes until its good enough.

I was in a class to learn how to speak in front of audiences. One woman was terrified. She would just freeze and then sit down. We would ask her questions while she was standing and she was so scared she could not even answer. Then one day she ended up being filmed for her business, and because she had to she was just fine.

Interesting thread. Just days ago I probably would have agreed with what most people have said here about nobody liking a cold call.

But then I bought Robert Nelson's "The Ultimate WSO." In it he talks about hiring "superstar" sales people who are "overachievers" to market (sell) your SEO ad services on website real estate that you own and rent ad space to brick & mortar businesses.

He gives a whole blueprint script for interviewing, selecting and hiring the best sales people, who he claims, love making cold calls and working strictly on 100% commission.

His WSO package is very interesting and I found the idea of hiring a "superstar" salesperson on straight commission as a great way to let someone else do the cold calling!

Might be worth a try if you have a similar need.

Doc Reed

I think it is a mind set .Done Cold calling for over 2.5 yrs . Initially did so I could get girls. I hate being rejected .I thought if i had to speak to strangers , it would put my confidence on steroids!!. It did not really work out that way because when you are doing it earn you are in different mode

I still hate rejection but I have a more realistic expectation of what to expect . Expecting most people to say and keeping myself happy knowing that I am closer to yes . If you are well trained , you would at least get 1 person in a hundred to yes .

Everyday is difrent and scary and exiciting at the same time . You wake not knowing what results you are going to get . It is a good exercise to do for 3 months to handle the fear of rejection

I think before you offer a sale you need to offer something of value first to whom ever you are calling, this will bring your prospects defenses down making them more open to hear what you really have to offer.

I work in an outbound call center setting (I don't make calls). The most successful (over 100k income) outbound telemarketers are really good at being persistent:

Just because someone says no (3 times) today, doesn't meant they will say no a few months down the road. Keep contact with your prospects. If you offered web design and they said no because their cousin will do it... check back in 6 months because it will most likely not be done!

Keep track of your prospects using some type of crm.

In my late teens and early 20s I worked quite a few telemarketing gigs. I'm one of those weird people who actually enjoyed the work and was always among the top salespeople for whatever product we were selling (newspapers, advertising space, swimming pool resurfacing, entertainment books, etc.).

There were always a few jitters with the first couple of calls, but after getting comfortable with the script, it was pretty easy. For me, my nervousness wasn't about the person on the other end of the phone, but had more to do with nearby employees with more experience listening to the new girl read the script. Still, I'd forge ahead, do my best and soon enough everyone else in the room would fade into the background while I did my thing.

Telemarketing was always a numbers game. I knew this and never took rejections personally. In fact, I would be thankful whenever a person rejected sooner rather than later. There's nothing like spending 5 minutes with a polite someone on the phone who isn't interested in what you're selling. I much preferred the people who hung up in my face in the first few seconds as these people left room for me to squeeze more calls (numbers) into my hour.

As for techniques, mine was always to remember that I was speaking to a human being on the other end of the phone. Although I wanted their money, I tried not to appear too anxious. Instead, after becoming comfortable with the main points of the script, I'd turn it into my own. In maintaining a friendly tone, a moderate pace and a relaxed demeanor in speaking TO people and not AT them, I could usually talk the person into my great deal. Oh, and using that person's name often in the same tone that you'd speak to a friend also helps the process along.

Smiling when you speak to people is also very important as it really does somehow shine through to the other end. Also, asking how a person is doing and genuinely listening. Although cold-calling is a number's game, people have real life issues going on that don't stop at the exact moment of your call. I've gotten people on the phone who'd just received news of a loved-one's death, the birth of a new child or who just finished arguing with a best friend. When I ask how they're doing, I've sometimes gotten an earful, but I've listened, offered a few kind words and either offered to call again later or have gone into my pitch if I'd determined that it was an appropriate time. A number of times, people appreciated the thoughtfulness of being treated like a human being and asked me to call back at another time (as opposed to merely saying they're not interested). Those call backs almost always turned into a sale, too.

The main goal for me was always to shed the "telemarketer" vibe as quickly as possible and just get down to the business of talking to people. Of course, it also helped that I really believed in the value that I was offering folks, which, for me, was very important. I could never be comfortable convincing someone to buy something that I wouldn't buy myself.

I've also done door-to-door sales (business and residential) in my former Avon business and loved it. Used the same techniques as above. It all boils down to being friendly, honest and not taking rejections personally. In fact, when I'd cold-call for my Avon business, I'd create a sheet filled with the world 'NO' and I'd cross one NO off for each rejection. I don't recall the exact number of NOs I'd create, but it was probably like 50 or so per sheet. My goal was to cross as many of them off as I could as fast as I could, because each one was bringing me closer to a 'YES'. In this way, I learned to actually look forward to rejections and count them as a good thing.

Sorry for my rambling, but I hope my reply has been helpful, John. Cold-calling doesn't have to be a painful ordeal.

Cold calling is simply another means of contacting people. Think of it as meeting a stranger in a grocery store at the vegetable aisle. You look at each other and say something like Hi or Hey There and a conversation may or may not result.

Cold calling is the same thing. You know a conversation will result if the person answers the phone, opens the door or lets you into their office. Just because one of these acts occurs, doesn't mean you will make the sale. It only means you were successful at cold calling. You have achieved your goal. You have the other person's ear.

What follows is the sales process. That is completely different from cold calling since cold calling is only the contact process. Nothing more nothing less.

What you do after you initiated successful contact determines the outcome.

If you are good at cold calling, how did you get over your internal issues? Things like fear of rejection, fear of failure, nervousness, etc.

I have done cold calling in the past, and the phone always felt like it weighed a 1000 pounds. To get over my fear of calling, I relied on reading positive books that taught me about the power of positive thinking, and used to find that associating with like-minded people who were also doing cold calling really helped. To be successful, you really have to believe in what you are calling them about. To increase this belief, learn more about what you are calling them about. If you are not entirely convinced, then it shows through in your voice, and you will be unable to handle the rejection that comes with anything related to cold calling. As well, it helps to talk over your fears with someone else (but not focus on them too much) who can help you overcome them, but then make sure to take ACTION. The only way to overcome fear of anything in this life is to bite the bullet, and do it. You learn best by doing.

Did you use any techniques? Did you have someone who taught you?

You need to find a mentor, someone who can be available immediately. There are different ways to do this. First, you need to listen to your mentor making calls, and take notes. You should then role play. Then start doing actual calls. You can try the calls yourself, but if they are not going well, you need to let your mentor listen in on the calls as you make them so that he/she can provide you immediate input before you make more calls. It can help to have notes in front of you when calling, but make sure that you don't sound like you're reading from a script. Dani Johnson has some great audios on how to make cold calls.

Most importantly, do you enjoy it and why?
I have enjoyed it when doing it daily so that I did not get out of practice. The satisfaction of getting a "yes" is what keeps you going.

I tell the people on my floor( own calling center in california ); "You'll never see the person, or talk to the person ever again". So leave fear @ the door.

I had seen people doing cold calling many times. They were not at all perfect in that but they did a hard work. This was very nice.

What is cold calling? Is this one of the call centre jobs? Where they call up people and sell them stuff?

Most people feel shame in doing this job. You have to tell them, that it's nothing to fear or be ashamed of. You are just doing your job, selling them something they might need.

Some good tips here. Yes cold calling is painful - mainly because of the rejection. But I've found that when someone says "not interested" and you say "well, thank you for your time and have a great day." Their tone really changes and it makes it a lot easier to get to the next call.

Apparently it has the highest conversion rate going, even though the rejection is fairly high.

I like an 'anti-sales' approach.. get them into a conversation, listen to what they say, talk about benefits that relate specifically to them... but find a reason why it might not be right for them - which triggers something in them, maybe the fear of loss, I'm not sure, so they want to know more information.. and making the sale is easy from then on in.

I had to do some cold calling very early in my sales career when cellphones were still in their infancy. Did a bit during my pharma sales career but most of the calls in that industry were arranged ahead of time. And no, I never did like cold calling but got use to the discomforts with practice. Sometimes cold calls with colleagues made things better too.

The notion of having customers come to you is a lot better than the other way around!