Five Things You Do Wrong With Cold Calling

Article written by Michael Miller.

First off if I hear another person question the validity of cold calling, I will scream.

Cold Calling is not dead!!

It just scares you.

I get it, it’s the immediacy of the whole thing.

I do lot’s of real-time coaching, with headphones on, I can listen, can chat with the sales rep, but the customer can’t hear me. It’s super sexy, fun work. Here is what I hear.

Five Things You Do Wrong With Cold Calling

1 - You begin by asking me how I’m doing. Try telling me what you do. (and why I should care)

“Hi this is Richard with Interrupters, how are you doing today?”

Click. No one has time for this kind of pleasantries.

Instead, tell them how you can help them right away.

“Hello, this is Michael with Rise Up Selling, I help sales teams close at a 25% higher rate or I don’t get paid.” People are interested in this. Tell the customer what you do; who you are is less important. You can get to that later.

2 - You try to get out the whole pitch in one breath.

Ask a new rep how they felt about a call, and they judge it on how much was said.

Look at successful reps and they say very little, expecting pushback.

Then they overcome these like a boss.

Objection, counter-objection, etc. The customer uses No to end the call, don’t accept it. Keep moving till there are none.

Bam sale.

3 - You let the customer rule the conversation.

My old boss almost lost his mind the first time I told a customer to pull over to the side of the road so I could hear her better, or even better “Grab your credit card Carol, you need this.”

Here’s the truth, people like to be told what to do. If you let them run the show, you will be calling them back endlessly. When you encounter this, push back.

When you encounter this, push back. “Look, Jennifer, I could call you back later, but we are both busy, let’s chat for 10 min and see if this is a good fit for you.” Sounds scary but it’s a kind thing to do.

You are saving both of your time.

4 - You pause when you should talk, you talk when you should pause.

I want to make sure my pitch is coming through.

We as humans only hear 70% of what is said to us. So I might want to circle through small information circles, repeating what we said in different ways.

I catch 80% of people in their cars, we have wind noise, traffic sounds, people talking.

It’s important to keep rolling, UNTIL I make the pitch, then shut up.

Let them think. Wait for the no.

It’s coming.

Which brings me to my last point.

5 - You dread the word no.

Hearing no does not mean we are finished.

No means, I don’t see the benefit for me.

I love No, because now I can find the real reason why you think this won’t work. Because I’ve done my homework, I know the objections ahead of time.

Let them say no.

Then ask why?

It’s either time, money or they haven’t heard the real pitch, in which you just start again.

Cold calling is money, but we have to work to get better day by day. Like exercise we need daily improvement.

Then we can look back and see real success with our growth.