20+ Tips for Cold Calling in the New Year PT 11
20+ Tips for Cold Calling in the New Year PT 11
12. Know why you’re here
Be clear about the purpose of a meeting with a prospect. Most of the appointments I set for my clients have to do with several aspects. They have a need for the service. They are making a buying decision within 1-3 months. They are open to a meeting. And finally, they understand that the sales person isn’t coming there to sell them anything on the first meeting. This last criteria is what really gets the foot in the door because no one wants to have a meeting and go through a hard sell 5 minutes after saying hello.
13. Ask for the sale
There are two aspects of my business that I like to focus my workshops on. Cold calling and sales. I’ve noticed over the years that some sales people -(gasp) don’t know how to sell. They’re just really bad at it. Several years ago I taught a class on cold calling at Fort Mason Center here in San Francisco. The room was filled with salespeople from many different industries all looking to get tips for making a simple cold call. These were intelligent, well educated and ambitious professionals who for one reason or another weren‘t closing a lot of business which happens. I remember asking one very important question toward the very end of the session. Why do you feel you aren’t closing more sales? No one could answer. So I asked “are you asking for the sale at the end of the meeting”. It was like 20 light bulbs went off all at the same time. It so simple that no one ever really thinks about it. Not asking for a sale is almost insulting to the prospect because it means you’re not interested in their business.
