I always laugh to myself when I read or hear someone proclaim “cold calling is dead.”
I can assure you that, for those who proclaim such doom and sadness, the cold call was never alive! Cold calling has nothing to do with “cold”, and those who have built and continue to build their businesses every day, using this fundamental skill, are in an elite club. It’s a club that lives by the motto: “I think I have something that people want and need, and I’m excited to talk to them.” These club members wake up each day embracing the words “believe” and “excited”, never wavering, and in doing so, they enjoy initial and long-term success in opening new accounts and forming new business relationships.
That kind of success doesn’t come from a place that is “cold,” but from one that is warm and welcoming. It doesn’t matter if your job is to sell insurance, stocks and bonds, cars, clothing, memberships, or patio furniture; If you believe in and are excited about your product or service, your enthusiasm and desire to speak to as many people as possible will not diminish and you will enjoy the long-term success that comes from building and maintaining that momentum.
It is important to realize that the professional way of cold calling is somewhat subjective and prone to variation. The best approach for you, as a salesperson, should be based on this question: If someone were to approach me “cold”, either on the phone or in person, what approach would you immediately judge as the most professional and appropriate? What behavior and communication style would you respond favorably to? What would turn me off? What would I need to hear, in that first sentence spoken, to be interested, and what would immediately make me disinterested? Asking these questions is the first step in developing your own professional, but personal, cold-calling style.
The next important step in finalizing your professionalism as a “cold talk” is knowing your material, inside and out. Practice, exercise and rehearse your lines. Consult with a veteran of your industry for the most common objections and to rehearse the responses so that you can recite them in your sleep. When meeting with clients, there is always a question that is in the back of their minds but they are reluctant to ask … know what that question is and then answer it, early in the process, before they have a chance to ask it. ; then watch them immediately become more relaxed. Congratulations, you just gained a little confidence. Also, don’t forget to answer any important questions that potential customers forget to ask; By doing so, the customer will know that you have their best interest at heart.
Always, always, always look for the opportunity to make “cold” calls and experience the trust that is built and increased with each new account that is opened and with each business relationship that is formed!
The so-called “cold” is anything but cold; it is a warm, honest and sincere communication with a fellow man in an effort to help them. It is who we are as human beings and, for that reason alone, we will never die.