Cold calling is a very efficient and cost-effective way to find new customers for your business. But to do it well and effectively, your primary, differentiating focus must be to establish trust.
Once your potential customer discovers that you are not like all the rest and that speaking to you carries no underlying tension or urgency for a sale, the atmosphere around your call will change rapidly.
To establish yourself as professional business person it is only necessary to open with a question as simple as,
“Can you help me?”
This is so unlike the usual cold call ‘pitch’ that most customers are instantly disarmed.
The response is normally to ask who is calling and what you want help with. Your reply is another question which begins to open up the dialogue.
New information is only presented at the request of the customer.
You: “Good morning…Is that <Mr Prospect>? I wonder if you could help me please?”
(WAIT)
Prospect: “Well …it depends what you want”
You: “Well I’m just calling to find out if your company is grappling with the problem with a long list of potential sales which are just not closing?” (Common specific problem you can fix. Also notice the use of the emotive word ‘grappling’ in relation to the problem)
Prospect: “Who are you please?”
You: “My name is <John Smith> and my company is <The Sales Company.> I wondered whether you would be open to hearing some ways in which we can solve the problem of potential sales which are sticking and not being finalized?”
(Notice the powerful use of the word ‘open’ in relation to potential benefits)
Carry on the conversation in this normal relaxed way using questions about typical problems you solve in order to keep the focus on the customer and not on you your company or your product.
Try never to introduce new information, features or benefits unless the customer specifically asks for it. There is no script in all this in fact the only piece of paper in front of you maybe a reminder list of some of the main problems you can solve.
Finally, at the point at which the average cold caller would normally ‘close’ for a sale or ask for an appointment, simply ask,
“What would you like to do next?”
Naturally quite a few will transfer you to someone else or ask you to send more information – which you should do- or even express no interest at the moment. This is not a problem because your objective is purely to establish trust in an unpressured, relaxed atmosphere.
But you will find that the approach is so unusual that many potential clients will immediately invite you in for an appointment.
I know this works because it is what I do.
I would be very interested in hearing about your experiences.
Bob Etherington
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