You may hate it, but you know cold calling is part of your business, so how can you increase the effectiveness of your cold calling?
First, we start with a bit of an oxymoron. The most important thing when talking to someone is to sound confident and not desperate. But, if you’re still at the stage in your business or sales career that requires cold calling, let’s face it; you’re probably a little desperate. Otherwise, you’d already have enough clients through referrals and other means to stop making cold calls.
So let’s focus on the person who is most critical on the cold call; your.
You might ask, “Isn’t it more important what the prospect thinks and what their attitude is?” Of course that’s important, but the only way you can change that is by first changing the way you approach the call.
All hints or tones of desperation or need must be eliminated. Cold calling is simply the opening negotiation with a party you have yet to meet. It is nothing more than a simple negotiation.
If we know that to be a successful negotiator, one must have a consistent trading system, then we also know that this same system can be applied to our cold calls. What are the fundamental principles of this system?
As Jim Camp, expert negotiator, points out; The Oxford Dictionary defines negotiation as “The effort to reach an agreement between two or more parties with all parties having the right of veto.”
Therefore, in your cold calling efforts, you need to focus on the definition above. Your goal is to get an agreement between you and the person you’re approaching to move on to the next step in your process, whether it’s sending a sample product, setting up a needs analysis, arranging a conference call, etc. …
But, considering that you shouldn’t remove the person’s veto power, this removes any deceptive tactics you’ve been taught to use.
An example might be something like “Just give me 10 minutes of your time, that’s all I need.” If, in fact, you need much more than 10 minutes and are just trying to get what little time you can, you are actually being deceitful and seem desperate at the same time.
The attitude you should take is one of honesty and sincerity. If this is your first time contacting the person, you really don’t know if what you have to offer is of value to them. That’s what you’re trying to find out. Keep that in mind and approach the call with a sincere desire to know if you can help the person or if it would be a poor use of your time.
Prospects respond much better to a call that they can feel is coming from someone with their best interest in mind. It is very obvious on a subconscious level, although it may not be as noticeable on a conscious level. Don’t underestimate a person’s ability to detect insincerity. We have evolved to be able to perceive these things as part of our survival.
So in order to appear confident and competent, you must first be sure that what you are offering has value and that you approach the prospect with the intention that they will be just as happy if they say no as if they say yes. What is best for them is also good for you.
The anxiety that arises before making a cold call is not primarily due to the fear of rejection, but rather the fear of being caught trying to sneak something past someone.
Here’s an analogy to help explain.
Let’s say you go to the supermarket and buy some bananas. If you go through the checkout process and pay the agreed price, there will be no anxiety at all as everyone is honest about the transaction.
But suppose you changed the price for another pack of lighter, less expensive bananas. You would feel a lot of anxiety going through the checkout because you know that you are not doing what is best for all parties and that you have used a tactic to trick someone into doing something that is in your best interest.
So, on the phone during your cold calls, if you’re confident you’re being honest and have the prospects’ best interests at heart, the anxiety and despair that once plagued your calls will soon fade away.
