Live Coaching Session: How to Make Better Cold Calls (Keith Rosen, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling and Time Management for Sales Professionals, demonstrates how to improve your cold calling techniques in this unrehearsed "live" coaching session.)

Chris Bjorklund: You're listening to the AllBusiness Podcast. I'm Chris Bjorklund. If you're getting this through iTunes or RSS feed or an online streaming media player, you have the opportunity to hear more valuable advice from top business experts right here on AllBusiness.com. We'll be right back after this brief message from our sponsor, Comcast.

Chris Bjorklund: An effective prospecting system is an absolute necessity in order for today's top sales professionals to bring in more sales and maintain their competitive edge, which is what you're going to learn from one of today's leading experts. Keith Rosen is the President of Profitbuilders and an executive sales coach, he's also an expert sales adviser here on AllBusiness.com; his books are The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling, and Time Management for Sales Professionals. So, Keith, why is it important for salespeople to get some coaching on cold calling?

Keith Rosen: There are several reasons, Chris. What I find is that, first and foremost, the definition of "insanity," which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And then you have that definition of "futility," which I add, which is, knowing the definition of insanity and still not doing anything about it. If you're struggling with cold calling or any aspect of your sales process, how are you going to make . achieving the result you want? You have to tap into some new approach, new wisdom, new insight, new strategy, or new way of thinking. Well, if only stay within the confines of what you know, I have a saying, "You cannot grow with what you already know," because all you wind up doing is recycling the same information over and over again, hoping for a different outcome. So, when you have someone on your corner-just think sports-if the coach is on the sideline, they're looking at what the professional athletes are doing, and while those athletes are in the middle of the game, they cannot see the panoramic view of what's going on. The coach sees the things the players can't. That's in the player's blind spot, because when you're playing the game, or when something is always going on, you become blind to it. Just like breathing, you don't think about breathing-you just do it naturally. So, the real issue that we have, we often can't even see because they're outside of our line of vision. So, what a coach does, looking from a perspective of the sideline, is he can, or she can peer in, seeing what you're doing, just like we can do with . what I do with my clients, and, from there, we can add another truth, or add an insight that they haven't seen on their own. The other thing is that when I coach clients, it's not only about focusing on what they do, but it's also how they think, because there are two ways to generate breakthrough results-you're changing what you're doing, and you're also changing how you think. When it comes to the tactical approach, it is often the dialogue or the language they're using which is getting them in trouble. So, they can go out and make 50 cold calls and not get a result; by changing the dialogue, the nuances of the language they're using-it will achieve a new outcome. And that's why it's so important for salespeople to realize that the real product they have is not what they're selling-it's their voice, it's their language, it's their dialogue they're using, because until the customer or the prospect has utilized your services first hand, that's all they have to go by. Finally, the advantage with working with a coach is it builds in that accountability and forward momentum that many salespeople struggle with. Especially if you're an independent salesperson-who is there to hold you accountable? Who is there to make sure you're engaging in the activities that are going to move you closer to your goals? And while we might have our supervisors or bosses, quite often, that's not always the safest place for us to go to share our challenges and concerns. Well, as a coach, I'm there to support my clients unconditionally. So, I get to see things through a different view, which is much more panoramic and less myopic than, say, a manager who's doing the same thing over and over again, in that specific business, day in and day out.

Chris Bjorklund: Let's show how it works in a live coaching session. Mark Zarniak volunteered to be coached live on this podcast. He's never talked to Keith Rosen before, and he has just started a new job in insurance sales.

Mark Zarniak: Hey, Keith. How are you?

Keith Rosen: I'm doing good wonderful, Mark. How's your day going so far?

Mark Zarniak: Doing great, looking forward to it.

Keith Rosen: Wonderful. So, I hear that you're having a couple of challenges that relates to cold calling?

Mark Zarniak: Yes. Being relatively new within the insurance field-obviously, the majority of my contacts, other than friends and family, can be via telephone, and, so, I'm just trying to figure out ways to overcome a quick response from them, such as, "No thanks," "I'm dealing with somebody already," or, really, the quick one is, "No, not interested," when, really, I'm not selling them anything at that point in time, I was just trying to get out there and kind of meet them, and if they meet my criteria, great, and if not, then, that's OK, too.

Keith Rosen: OK. Thanks, Mark. And let's just rewind the tape a little more-what does that opening statement sound like, which is then leading to those objections that you're hearing?

Mark Zarniak: I just tell them who I am, and, "Hi, my name's Mark Zarniak, and I'm calling because we opened a new agency, and we'd love to have the ability to give you a free insurance quote on your home and auto insurance," something similar to that.

Keith Rosen: OK, got it--and, the objections that you're hearing from that?

Mark Zarniak: "No ." the first one I typically get is, "No, not really interested," otherwise, "Oh, you know what, we're good-we're OK with what we've got."

Keith Rosen: And, Mark, I'm going to twist this model on you for a second-if you were the customer, and you were the recipient of that approach, how might you respond?

Mark Zarniak: I guess that would depend-I mean, if I honestly have a very good relationship with my agents, I would probably say, "I appreciate . we're covered right now," or something similar like, "I've been working with so and so for 15 years, or something, so ."

Keith Rosen: And, why do you think you'd respond that way? In other words, what's missing?

Mark Zarniak: I just want them to know that I've got a solid relationship with who I'm dealing with, so, that's probably why I would respond that way.

Keith Rosen: And, Mark, let me ask you this-what would it take you, Mark, in that example, what would it take you to even want to explore using another agent or another broker?

Mark Zarniak: To me, it all boils down to relationships. So, if, maybe I haven't heard from the individual for an extended period of time, or, really, they've never done anything other than just collect my check, if somebody comes along and says, "I'd love to be able to service you," I'd be interested in, at least, getting some information about them and kind of go on from there.

Keith Rosen: OK. And, ultimately, Mark, what would have to happen if you even had to make that decision to want to use someone else? There has to be something that's present, right? There has to be something that they would offer you, right?

Mark Zarniak: Right.

Keith Rosen: What might that be? And we're talking broad brushstrokes here.

Mark Zarniak: I guess what I would say, would probably be, obviously, if I feel they're informative and they're able to educate me, maybe on either what I do have or what they think I should have.

Keith Rosen: OK. So, "informative," "educate," "what you think you should have"-if we were to package that up in one word, what are we really talking about, giving you what?

Mark Zarniak: I'm going to go with relationship, but I don't know if that's the proper phrase.

Keith Rosen: And, no, and I appreciate you wanting to have a strong relationship-and that's critical- but what else is important? In other words, if they're not helping you, you're probably not going to want to use them, right?

Mark Zarniak: Oh, value.

Keith Rosen: Value. Thank you. Giving value. So, here's my question to you-looking at your opening statement, at what point in your opening statement are you giving value?

Mark Zarniak: I don't think I am.

Keith Rosen: Exactly. So, one thing that I'm hearing that's missing, Mark, is, "What's in it for them?" Remember, when you call a prospect, they're tuned in to one radio station, WIIFM, "What's in it for me?" And when you make the call-up and say, "Hi, this is Mark. We've opened up a new office, we'd love to offer you a free quote," where's the value? Where's the end result of the benefit that person might realize? See, offering a free quote-while I can appreciate there's some value to that-is it unique?

Mark Zarniak: No, it's not.

Keith Rosen: No. So, what if there was a way, Mark, for us to take that and weave in more of a compelling reason? In other words, if I were to ask you, Mark, when people utilize your services, what's the end result of the benefit? Why are they truly buying from you? And, what is the value that they see they're getting?

Mark Zarniak: I do like to tell them that, obviously, I'm able to save them an X percentage off their current overall insurance cost.

Keith Rosen: OK. Perfect. So, there's clearly a measurable monetary savings.

Mark Zarniak: Right.

Keith Rosen: Excellent. What else? Anything else?

Mark Zarniak: It's after I meet with them in person, I try to stress the importance of communication, keeping in contact with them, and then, also, keeping that avenue open, that they can contact me for questions or concerns, or anything.

Keith Rosen: OK. Fair enough. So, the key point here is for you, first and foremost, when opening up your statement, if you can weave in more of a compelling statement, which is something that's going to grab their ear, that end result of the benefit, you're going to capture their listening more. And that could sound something like offering them some type of percentage off their current policies; some type of monetary savings because people do like saving money. And they're going to like that a lot more than hearing just, oh, you can offer them another quote. Well, you can, but that's not the end result of the benefit-the end result of the benefit is the fact that they're going to put more money in their pocket, right?

Mark Zarniak: Right.

Keith Rosen: So, first and foremost, I would suggest weaving in a compelling statement in your opening . in your opening statement that will help motivate them to want to hear more about what you have to say. Does that make sense so far?

Mark Zarniak: Oh, yes, most definitely.

Keith Rosen: The second thing I'm hearing, also, is that when it comes to these initial objections, you said, "I'm not interested," "Thanks, I'm working with my broker," or may sometimes you hear just, "Click," how do you typically respond to those objections? "I'm not interested," "Thanks, I'm working with another broker," how do you typically respond to those?

Mark Zarniak: If they say that they are working with someone, I will say, "Do you feel like they're treating you well?" "When's the last time you've heard from them?" try to get them to talk a little bit about that person that they deal with.

Keith Rosen: OK.

Mark Zarniak: If they say they're not interested, I'll come back with . I usually come back with, "Well, honestly, I'm not selling anything, I just like to be able to provide you a free service."

Keith Rosen: Does that truly focus on their objection, though? In other words, they're saying they're not interested and you're saying, "I'm just here to give you a service." Is there a "disconnect" there?

Mark Zarniak: No, there is not.

Keith Rosen: You're sure? How effective is your approach when you go ahead and typically overcome their objection?

Mark Zarniak: I would say maybe one in ten, if I were lucky enough .

Keith Rosen: One in ten? OK. I appreciate your honesty. I'm going to share with you a different response that you can use, because what I'm hearing you say is that when you hear the objection, you're responding with a statement. Is that correct?

Mark Zarniak: Correct.

Keith Rosen: OK. What if we turn that around-turn your model around-and instead of responding with a statement, I want you to respond with a question-here's the thing, the art of diffusing objections is about creating new possibilities for your prospects. When you react to an objection with a statement, all it does is create an adversarial posture between you and your prospect, because all you wind up doing now is defending your point of view. And who's going to win in adversarial environment? Every time, they're going to win, right?

Mark Zarniak: Correct.

Keith Rosen: OK. So, when you hear an objection, and by the way, this one model that I'm going to share with you right now, you can use for, "I'm not interested," "I'm working with another agent right now," "This is a bad time," OK?

Mark Zarniak: OK.

Keith Rosen: Here's what I'm going to want you to do-you're going to tee up by saying this, "Mr. or Mrs. Prospect, with your experience, I know you may not believe this now, but what if there was a way to reduce your rates by as much as 35 percent, increase your coverage, and give you greater peace of mind, would even the potential of attaining these results be important enough to explore in more detail?" How does that sound to you?

Mark Zarniak: Well, it sounds really great and very professional, and non-combative.

Keith Rosen: Exactly, Mark, because what you wind up doing now is you wind up taking . now, remember, I just created those three compelling reasons right on the sly, and with a little more work, we can flush them out and make them measurable and specific. They key point here, though, is by responding with a question, infusing three compelling reasons in there, it allows me, again, the opportunity to reinforce the value proposition that I have for them just in case they missed it in my opening statement. And then, by turning it around and giving it back to them, by saying, "Would even the potential of attaining these results be important enough to explore in more detail," I'm giving them another opportunity to turn that "No" into a "Yes," especially now that there are valid reasons why it might make sense for us to continue that conversation.

Mark Zarniak: Right. Yes, definitely.

Keith Rosen: OK. Now, I know we're topping our time here, so, before we wrap up, I'd like to hear from you-what are the specific takeaways you're getting from our brief coaching call this morning?

Mark Zarniak: Reinforce the value. Obviously, that, to me, is probably the biggest thing. And then, also, just the way . to present another way of, "OK. I can understand you're not interested, but what if we can go ahead and make this a win-win situation?" What the question you indicated . I don't remember word for word but, "If we can provide you a better rate, lower cost, more coverage, with additional peace of mind," I mean, obviously, that's something that, I think, everybody would at least want to give a quick thought of. So, I would . probably, those two things are the best that I can get off for the call.

Keith Rosen: That sounds perfect. Mark, by the way, I'd happily e-mail you. I will get your email from Chris, and I will shoot that over to you later on.

Mark Zarniak: Perfect. I'd appreciate that.

Keith Rosen: It's my pleasure. Well, listen, I want to thank you for joining us today. It sounds like you've walked away with a couple of new strategies to fine tune your opening statement, as well as diffuse those initial objections. Sounds like Mark is walking away with some solid tips today.

Chris Bjorklund: You're listening to an AllBusiness Podcast. Keith Rosen has never talked to Norm Riley before; and Norm is a real expert in his field, which is telecommunications, he has 25 years of experience doing that-but like a lot of other salespeople, he finds himself putting off making those cold calls. So, here's another cold calling session with Keith Rosen.

Keith Rosen: Hi, Norm. I appreciate your participation today.

Norm Riley: Thank you. Thanks for having me on, Keith.

Keith Rosen: Oh, it's my pleasure. So, Norm, what seems to be your biggest challenges that relate to cold calling these days?

Norm Riley: Well, I guess, finding the right customer to present my value to. It seems like I'm constantly kind of researching and not actually going out and putting my face in front of the customer. I think I bring a unique service to the industry and to my customers, so, I have to find the right customer to do that with, before I call.

Keith Rosen: OK. And when it comes to researching, Norm, what's the typical amount of time that you need to invest to do some pre-qualification and pre-call planning, as I call it, to find those qualified prospects that you'd want to call on?

Norm Riley: I guess that's kind of one of my struggles, as well, it's a lack of guideline for the percentage of time I should be spending on that research and "prospecting." I tend to just continue going until I have it perfect or just right, because I think I've only got one shot.

Keith Rosen: So, it sounds like you're investing a lot of time in finding out . mining for those prospects, and, understandably so, you have one shot. What exactly are you researching that's causing it to be so time-consuming?

Norm Riley: Well, I have numerous data sources to pull up about . I'm in telecommunications and we offer . we bring our services over fiber optics, so, we have to either have our own fiber into the building or we'll build into it. And, so, I'll find buildings that are close and then I have to find the right customer that's going to fit a profile, which I, really, don't even have an idea what profile to get for a customer. So, I tend to drift and start looking at every possible aspect, and trying to uncover any opportunity, as well.

Keith Rosen: So, Norm, when it comes to the qualifying that you're doing, is it just to find the name of the company or you're doing a lot . or you're trying to find a lot more about them?

Norm Riley: Yes. I'm trying to find a lot more about them-here's the trick, the size of the company doesn't matter, it could be four users, but they need to have a need for high bandwidth applications or, essentially, really fast data connections, if you will. Research on what do they do, how do they do it, where's their location-and a few other things, again, around the ideal client, that's information I'm searching for, as well-trying to figure that out.

Keith Rosen: Just out of curiosity, Norm, how much time are we talking about? How much time are you actually investing in pre-call planning everyday?

Norm Riley: Oh, there's a good four hours, anyway.

Keith Rosen: Four hours?

Norm Riley: Yes.

Keith Rosen: OK. So, as your interim coach, Norm, I'm going to make a suggestion to you, OK?

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: I'm going to suggest you don't do any more than one hour of pre-call planning each day.

Norm Riley: Well, OK.

Keith Rosen: And I'm going to back that up with some data to support that, OK?

Norm Riley: All right.

Keith Rosen: With all the preparation that you're attempting to do prior to picking up the phone and calling that prospect, all the information you're looking to gather about them, when you finally pick up the phone and call on them, Norm, how do you typically qualify them?

Norm Riley: They need to have . well, and there's part of my research, too, is I'm trying every way I can to find exactly how to qualify them-typically, I'd find out if there's any contract that they have and if they have a need for the services I'm offering, and if they're close enough to the fibers. So, they're somewhat pre-qualified by all the research that I do, and that's part of the struggle, as well, is that I've got to make sure they're pre-qualified before I waste my time, because I'm afraid of . sounds funny now, but I was afraid of wasting my time on if they're not qualified.

Keith Rosen: I can totally appreciate that; except I want to tweak that . I'll challenge your thinking on that .

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: While you're saying you're afraid of wasting time with the wrong prospects, I couldn't agree with you more. The shift, though, the subtle shift I would encourage you to make, though, is shifting from doing your qualification on your own, to doing the qualification with your prospect.

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: Because it sounds to me that there's an opportunity for you to ask more and better questions when you're actually on the phone with them. And when you make a cold call, Norm, what is your intention of that cold call, when you pick up the phone and make that dial? What are you ultimately asking for?

Norm Riley: An appointment, but, again, I want an appointment with a qualified prospect because an appointment can last two hours .

Keith Rosen: Oh, I couldn't agree with you more. And that's where I'm thinking the gap, Norm, is how many qualified questions are you actually asking before you ask for the appointment?

Norm Riley: That's a good question-I can't answer that.

Keith Rosen: I think there is an opportunity there. And what I hear, Norm, is you're not alone in your thinking-I hear a lot of salespeople, they go on appointments, and they walk out of the appointments scratching their heads saying, "Why did I just waste my time going out there?" "I just wasted half my day." So, while you're trying to compensate by doing more pre-call planning and research, what I'm suggesting is put that pre-call planning aside, cut it down tremendously, and do it with the prospect on the phone before you ask for that appointment.

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: Now, I'm sure, Norm, there are certain things you need to know about that prospect before it would even make sense for you to go out and meet with them.

Norm Riley: Or even call them, is what my feeling is right now, that's kind of my .

Keith Rosen: No. I hear what you're saying, but it's almost as if . is there any truth to that what you just said being some type of diversionary tactic?

Norm Riley: Yes, quite possibly.

Keith Rosen: Quite possibly?

Norm Riley: Yes.

Keith Rosen: Or is it .

Norm Riley: I don't know. Internally, I would say, "No, it's required information I need before I really feel qualified to make the call," but then again, subconsciously, I think it could quite diversionary to-part of my procrastination. Yes.

Keith Rosen: And I appreciate your honesty on that one. What I'm hearing is that it sounds like that diversionary tactic is a great model for you to avoid picking up that phone and actually engaging with the prospect.

Norm Riley: Yes.

Keith Rosen: "I need to do my research."

Norm Riley: Yes.

Keith Rosen: "I need to learn more about them." "I wanted to be," as you used the word, "perfect."

Norm Riley: Right.

Keith Rosen: And my view on perfection? Perfection is paralysis.

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: It will freeze you up every time. And, just think, in the same spirit-I'm not changing your core philosophy-I'm agreeing with you that you want to make sure you're dealing with qualified prospects, but if you think about the time you're spending, four hours a day, pre-call planning, you wouldn't be able to make the calls, and you're not even going to be able to get in touch with a lot of those prospects. Isn't that true?

Norm Riley: Right. No, that's exactly right.

Keith Rosen: So, now, you've put all this time in planning, and you're not even going to be able to leverage that data, that "intel" that you just found because you can't even get them live. So, now, we're going to put that aside, we're not going do it, we're going to get them live, Norm, then we're going to be able to pre-call them right in that conversation-asking them the questions that you need to ask, giving you the information you need that will determine whether or not they're truly a fit for your service.

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: Now, at this point, I want to stop. How did that sound to you?

Norm Riley: Oh, that sounds excellent. I guess the next question would come then, how much of my time is wasted asking the questions of the wrong prospect?

Keith Rosen: Well, look at it this way, if you compare it to the four hours you're spending a day on pre-call planning, and then you measure that comparatively to the calls you make to find out that that prospect is not a fit, I think you'll find that you're going to wind up getting in touch with more people and uncovering more qualified prospects on the phone because, once again, Norm, you can uncover all the greatest qualified prospects in the world doing it the way you're doing it, but it's not serving you if you never get in touch with them.

Norm Riley: True. True story.

Keith Rosen: So, by you carving out some questions, within a five to ten minute-conversation, or even less . well, chances are, if it goes that long, they're probably qualified.

Norm Riley: OK. Yes.

Keith Rosen: So, by asking just several key questions, you're going to know within the first several questions whether or not they are a fit. Let me say it in a different way, Norm, there were those questions that you want to uncover, that are industry-specific for you, and then there were those questions in your needs analysis during a cold call that you use, which are more focused on how they make a buying decision, and how to motivate them to that next step into your sales process. So, if we just divide those two types of questions, then, for a second, look at what you're relating to, which is, "What is that "intel" I need to see if they're even a fit?" What are some of the things you need to know? You already shared it with me-you said, "They need to be close to fiber," what else makes them qualified prospects?

Norm Riley: The need for the large bandwidth application.

Keith Rosen: OK. And then there was another thing you shared with me?

Norm Riley: A contract-whether they're in a contract or they have any initiatives moving forward that would nullify or not nullify a contract, but .

Keith Rosen: Perfect. Now, I want you to envision yourself on the phone with a prospect-how long do you think it would take to get that information from them?

Norm Riley: Yes, I know . 90 seconds or less, yes.

Keith Rosen: How much time do you invest trying to get that information on your own?

Norm Riley: Yes, quite a bit.

Keith Rosen: So, what we're really doing here, we're actually killing that proverbial bird there with . two birds with one stone, because, not only is it going to get you on the phone, but it will also get you more qualified prospects.

Norm Riley: Right.

Keith Rosen: We're reducing your reluctance; we're getting rid of the perfectionism; and we're getting you into the activity you need to engage in, by removing that diversionary tactic, which, by the way, we all have-and we do a wonderful job selling ourselves on.

Norm Riley: Absolutely. "Oh, yes, I'll get this done."

Keith Rosen: Of course. Of course-"After all, I can't get on the phone until I do my pre-call planning," right?

Norm Riley: Right.

Keith Rosen: And I'm curious, Norm, I want to . I know we're topping our time today-I do have one question, though, how do you currently manage your time? In other words, do you have some type of a routine that you have that detail the activities you need to engage in?

Norm Riley: No. That's another challenge of mine right now-is actually managing the time. I'm using the philosophy of David Allen-getting things done to manage kind of tasks, if you will, so, that's that area, but as far as how much time do I devote to prospecting, networking, cold calling, and meetings; I don't have a way to track that yet.

Keith Rosen: OK. I want to share with you an observation, which is this-when I work with clients, and when they tell me they don't have a routine, and then in that same breath they also tell me they're not able to get to cold calling, think about it; if you're out there and you're independent, and you're answering to yourself, who's there to hold you accountable?

Norm Riley: My wife.

Keith Rosen: Hey, you have the same boss as I do-and a great one at that.

Norm Riley: Yes.

Keith Rosen: Now, with that said; other than our wives, who else is there? No one .

Norm Riley: Myself.

Keith Rosen: . which means we're not giving anyone the power or the authority to hold us accountable, which is one of the reasons why people hire a coach in the first place. But if you're not working with a coach, one thing that I've seen to work fabulously well, is that when you have a solid routine, and you've carved out different time blocks for these specific activities you need to engage in everyday, which are the ones that are going to move you closer to your goals, you have now empowered your routine to hold you accountable.

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: Conversely, if you open up your Outlook, or whatever CRM software you are using to mange your time, and you see a blank day, with no appointments; think about the message it is sending you-there's really nothing for you to be accountable to.

Norm Riley: OK. I'm following you.

Keith Rosen: By building in those time blocks, and specifically around cold calling, which, by the way, I'd suggest doing it first thing in the morning .

Norm Riley: OK.

Keith Rosen: . rather than waiting until the end of the day, especially if it's something that you're reluctant to . people always feel better when they get the hardest thing done first, rather than let the hardest thing sit on their shoulders the whole day, until the end of the day, when, chances are, there's still not getting to it; so, they just kind of just added that self-imposed stress for nothing-get it done first thing, and you'll feel a lot better, plus, you've now built that into your calendar, so, now, there's that accountability piece.

Norm Riley: I follow.

Keith Rosen: How does that sound to you?

Norm Riley: That sounds good, with the exception that now it takes away my ability to act on new opportunities that arise-be flexible or . I feel too locked in and dedicated to .

Keith Rosen: I appreciate that. I appreciate that. It's actually counter-intuitive when you have a routine; it actually winds up giving you more time because, now, you're only focusing on activities which are going to move you towards your goals, rather than being distracted by the things you probably shouldn't be doing, anyway.

Norm Riley: That's so true. I could see that.

Keith Rosen: So, Norm, at this point, I know we have to start wrapping up, so, I'd love to hear from you-what are some of the solid things that you're taking away today?

Norm Riley: Certainly, the last thing, the last thing we talked about, is getting the routine; I think having the routine will show me and hold me accountable for the cold calling and say, "Hey, look, you're supposed to be doing this at this time. You're accountable-just go do it," as well as limiting my time that I spend researching and the pre-call routine to a manageable amount so that, like you said, I can save a lot of time calling and talking to the customer directly . or prospect, I should say . directly, and getting those qualifying questions rather than trying to find that information on my own; that I should limit, from the four hours down to the one-hour pre-call planning; and "Perfection equals paralysis."

Keith Rosen: Well, Norm, I want to thank you very much for participating today.

Norm Riley: Thank you.

Keith Rosen: I appreciate your time, and I'd look forward to hearing about some of the successes you have as a result of changing your process.

Norm Riley: I will. I'll definitely . I go to your website pretty much each and every day and look for tips on . and now I'll start searching for the routine and make sure I get that down and figure out how to build one of the .

Keith Rosen: I can probably send you some tips on that, and please, certainly, keep me posted on your progress.

Norm Riley: Excellent. Thanks a lot, Keith.

Keith Rosen: Oh, my pleasure. Have a great day.

Norm Riley: You too. Bye.

Keith Rosen: Chris, that was a great call-we were able to bring up some specific things that were actually outside of Norms' line of vision that we put in front of him-to really have focus on leveraging his time. It was counter-intuitive, but getting his routine together, while it might look like it's providing less flexibility, it actually winds up providing more flexibility. And, at the same breath, having him do his qualification, and qualifying on the phone is going to free him up even more so he no longer has to spend four hours doing his pre-call planning.

Chris Bjorklund: You can learn more about cold calling and prospecting from Keith Rosen by going to his website at profitbuilders.com, and by reading his blog and checking out his video cast on AllBusiness.com. If you have feedback for us, or would like to suggest a guest, send your e-mails to podcast@allbusiness.com. I'm Chris Bjorklund, and thanks for listening.