4 Steps to Make Cold Calling More Productive
Most sales professionals hate cold calling. Not because it's difficult, but because they approach it with an attitude that makes the process is as painful as possible. While there is a certain amount of skill involved in cold calling, the major hurdle is managing your emotions so that you're consistently effective.
Many factors contribute to cold calling success. Hot leads help, of course, and it's crucial to have a proven cold calling script. If you lack either of those, click on the "Related Posts" below. However, if you've got reasonably good leads and a reasonably solid script, your biggest challenge will be your own attitude.
This post describes how top cold-callers (the people who can drum up new business day after day) get themselves "psyched up" to both make call and make the process work for them. The entire 4 step routine takes less than a minute, but it can easily double your conversion rate, based upon what the experts tell me.
If you cold call, take this post seriously, because it's the key to making some truly serious money.
Click HERE for the first step... »
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STEP #1: Adopt a Powerful Physiology
Your body and your mind are connected. If your body is slumped, if you're frowning, if you're feeling down, that physiology will ABSOLUTELY be reflected in your attitude. And even though you'll be on the phone, the prospect will hear your lack of enthusiasm and energy in every word that comes out of your mouth.
Your first job, therefore, is to get your body into the most successful physiology that you can imagine. Here's how:
- Smile!
- Stand up!
- Shake your body out!
- Stretch!
- Take three deep breaths!
- Sit back down!
- Sit up straight!
- Keep that smile on!
Note: Never cold call with a handset. Use a headset. It is IMPOSSIBLE to adopt a powerful physiology when you're scrunching your neck to one side or holding one hand in the air keeping a handset by your ear.
STEP #2: Visualize Success
When it comes to attitude, the only thing that's more important than your physiology is your focus. Your attitude will ALWAYS reflect whatever your mind is focusing upon. If you're focused on losing the sale, your fear of losing your job, or anything else that's not totally confident, the prospect will immediately sense your lack of confidence. It is literally impossible to hide it.
Therefore, you MUST direct your focus in a way that will express confidence and success in everything you say.
While still sitting up straight, close your eyes.
Think of a time when you were incredibly happy. It might have been an event, or when you were with a certain person. Imagine what you were feeling, seeing and hearing. Make it as vivid a recollection as you can. Now make in your mind and imagination bigger, louder and more vivid.
Now think of a time when you won a big sale. Imagine what you were feeling, seeing and hearing. Make it as vivid a recollection as you can. Now make in your mind and imagination bigger, louder and more vivid.
Your mind is now telling your body that YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL. And your body (from the physiology shift, is telling your mind that YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL. If you did both of these steps with enough energy and passion, you're now in an upward feedback loop that will create more success.
You've got one more step before you make the first call...
STEP #3: Disconnect from Your Goals
If you've been following the steps closely, you're energized, passionate, and convinced you're going to be successful.
Now comes an absolutely crucial step. Pull back just slightly from your goals, because your goals can get in the way if you put them front and center.
Put your goals aside, because cold calling is about the customer, not about you. If you're too focused on making the sale, you won't be able to listen to the customer. You won't be able to react and adapt to the conversation.
Another good reason to put aside your goals is that, in a sense, you've already achieved them. If you followed steps 1 and 2, you should be feeling successful already. In that case, it shouldn't matter all that much whether you actually get a bunch of conversions.
Finally, disconnecting from your goals (at least a bit) leaves you free to have some fun and enjoy the process. Will you probably end up calling some negative people? Sure. But did it ever occur to you how petty somebody must be in order to be rude to a salesperson? What a loser!
Since you're already in a peak state, you'll find it easy to shrug off the naysayers and be more ready, emotionally, for prospects who are truly interested. And those are the one who you want to connect with, anyway.
STEP #4: Take Action, then Celebrate
After each cold call, take the time to celebrate.
Why celebrate? Either you moved the sale forward into a conversion (Yay!) or you eliminated a false lead from your list (Yay!).
What's more, you deserve praise simply for making the call. It takes guts to cold call, and the fact you made the call means you've got them.
Seriously, most people don't even have the chutzpah to do anything like cold calling. They're terrified!!! You're not. Simply by making a cold call, you're one of the Bravehearts of the business world.
After you've celebrated, take a few moments to consider your performance during the call and figure out something that you could do more effectively next time.
Strive to make every call, better than the previous one... not in terms of its outcome (you have little control over that) but in terms of your attitude, and your ability to express that positive attitude during the call.
If you find yourself flagging while you continue to call, go back to Step 1 and begin again.
Trust me, folks, this system works. If practiced religiously, it trains your mind and body to be at their highest level of performance, when you need to be in that state. If you work hard enough at your attitude and emotions, you can cold calling from a chore into a hobby.
It can even become the favorite part of your work week. I'm entirely serious about this, because I've talked to people who simply LOVE to cold call. Many times.
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