I was the motivational speaker at a sales conference the other day and one of the Sales Directors came up to me to ask about the future of cold calling. He explained that he had a sales team of some 100+ salespeople and that they all had to set up their own appointments and that one of the primary ways of doing this was on the phone. He went on to describe what a nightmare this was and how it was seemingly getting harder every day.
I won’t bore you with the whole conversation but I am sure just a few snatches of it will feel familiar…
“… changing markets… increased competition… no names policies… voicemail… gatekeepers… competition from abroad… clients getting too many calls… client indifference… inability to distinguish calls… just a numbers game… necessary evil… falling conversion levels… more calls required to stand still… demotivated staff…”
In frustration, he had searched the internet high and low looking for an answer but, far from finding one, all he had found was oodles of expert opinion and networks of websites dedicated to tolling the bell for the death of cold calling, gurus explaining how it would not / could not / will not work and explanations for why social media, new marketing and sales 3.0 were the only way forward…
Sheesh! Cold calling is one of the most divisive subjects in selling. You cannot start a conversation on cold calling in any sales training forum without igniting the age old debate… Does it work, doesn’t it work, is it dying…? Lah! Lah! Lah! You might as well argue about chickens and eggs but I have my metaphorical fingers firmly in my metaphorical ears because I don’t care…
- Truth 1! Cold calling doesn’t work and is a fruitless activity for most sales and business people. They might as well give up as it does not get them results.
- Truth 2! Cold calling is an incredibly powerful strategy that many top salespeople utilise ALONGSIDE other lead generation strategies to acquire new prospects, clients and business.
Difficult to reconcile? Not really. The more flexible you are in your approach to sales and marketing and the more options you have at your disposal, all the better. As with many things in life, you can choose to believe whatever truth you want to believe so my question to you is simple…
Would it be more useful for you to have some really good reasons and argument for why cold calling doesn’t work anymore or would it be better if you had proven, cold calling strategies that win new business in any economy?
If your answer is the first one then good luck and goodbye to you but if it is the latter then that is what I’m going to help you to attain… AND I am going to do it in a way that even the most phone shy, nervous cold callers can understand and implement. The world has changed, the economy has changed, your market has probably changed and so too your sales approach and sales habits should have changed.
If you work with a sales team or friends who would benefit from these awesome tips and strategies then email them now and tell them to sign up to my sales success newsletter to ensure that they get cold calling secrets right into their email box. Here are what just two delegates had to say after one of my half day seminars last month…
“It was realistic, motivational, client focused and entertaining. Result: 4 very significant meetings booked, doors opening and winning more business. I would recommend Gavin and his product without question. Do it!”
“Brilliant day with Gavin, with immediate results. Meetings booked immediately after going to the course.”
Here’s a thought to get you thinking about things for next week…
Why do most cold calls fail?
I’ll start to answer this next week but in the meantime, and if you already know how much impact my unique sales seminars have then you can book on the first full day open cold calling sales seminar I have run in several years now.
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About Gavin Ingham
I am currently trying to generate my own source of leads as when I cold call I feel that the people who I want to talk to are not on the other end of the phone. This can be really off putting as it seems 99% of the people I phone categorically do not want what I am offering.
Sometimes I am really good on the phone however I can be put off from putting in all the numbers that are needed by just a few rejections.
I think I get too attached to individual clients and don’t focus enough on speaking to as many people as I can. This is a new venture with a friend so I am working from home and lack the comradery/ support. I’m sure I come across as feeble in determination but in every other thing I seem to be able to muster the energy and enthusiasm!!
Daniel. Don’t worry, you’re in good company… many people struggle to do proactive sales activities whether that’s cold calling, networking, consistent blogging etc etc. Here are a couple of tips to help you…
* Put together a lead generation plans which includes multiple routes to market not just cold calling.
* Remind yourself of past successes on the phone and seek out stories of other people that have succeeded.
* Work out how you add value for your clients and create a target client list.
* Improve the quality of your calls and make them client centric. Quality and quantity are both important however it sounds like you may be doing too much quantity at the moment.
* Learn how to do it properly. Watch my free video on cold calling or have a look at one of my books, audios or sales seminars.
And finally, enjoy and sell with passion.
Thanks for the response. What you have said is very helpful.
I feel the biggest problem I have is the audience I am getting. I myself am not in control of the lead source but I am working on generating my own leads.
It can be so frustrating when people will not give you a second to explain yourself, in some calls I believe there is no amount of skill that can stop the person putting down the phone.
Daniel. Many companies buy in data and whilst this is a quick way to get started it also means that the data is not targeted at all. If you just start banging into the calls the odds of success on this kind of call are not good at all and I wouldn’t recommend it as a course of action. You can, however, dramatically improve your success rates by treating the data as pre-data and sifting it yourself and then focusing and targeting your calls at individuals making it about them and not all about you (like most calls). That said, all the preparation in the world cannot stop you getting rejected sometimes. Unfortunately, that’s life and it can happen in all walks of it, not just sales
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