Ten Steps to a Perfect Cold Call
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Two weeks ago, I looked at that mainstay of sales process: cold calling. I couldn't let that subject drop without providing a take from one of my favorite people, Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling". In a recent conversation she gave me a sure-fire ten step program to make cold-calling easier and more effective.
Click here for The Ultimate Cold-Calling Tool.
It's free, and it's Sales Machine's most popular post!
Two weeks ago, I looked at that mainstay of sales process: cold calling. I couldn't let that subject drop without providing a take from one of my favorite people, Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling". In a recent conversation she gave me a sure-fire ten step program to make cold-calling easier and more effective.
Here it is:
Wendy Weiss's Ten-Step Program
- Step 1. Determine the goal. If your company's sales process launches with a face-to-face meeting, the goal is to set up that meeting. If your company's sales process launches with a trial usage, your goal is to get the prospect to accept the free trial.
- Step 2. Understand the nature of the prospect. Research your prospect, your prospect's firm, and your prospects industry to find the "hot buttons" that will motivate the prospect. For example, if the prospect is a CFO, you will want to know the basic financials of the firm and how it stack against others in that industry.
- Step 3. Script the intended conversation. Knowing what you're going to say ahead of time helps ensure that your message will be heard. Your script should map out the basic conversation, potential objections, and the "close" on whatever action would fulfill the goal of the call.
- Step 4. Rehearse the conversation. Rehearsal transforms the script into a more natural dialog. You must internalize the rhythm of the call, so that your statements and questions flow more naturally. Rehearsal will also reduce the anxiety that you may feel about making the call.
- Step 5. Mentally reinforce your newfound confidence. Because you've prepared and rehearsed, you'll find it easier to keep focused and speak effectively during the call. Being aware of your newfound confidence helps increase that confidence and thus helps ensure success.
- Step 6. Assume the prospect needs you. Approach the call as if you have information and perspective that the prospect truly needs. Emphasize in your own mind that you can contribute to both the success of the prospect and the success of the prospect's business.
- Step 7. Differentiate yourself within 15 seconds. You have fifteen seconds (more or less) to communicate to the prospect that you're somebody worth talking to. This is generally not enough time to convey much information, so you'll need to accomplish this by touching one of the "hot buttons" that your researched in Step 2.
- Step 8. Mirror the prospect's speech pattern. Mirror (but don't mimic) the tempo and rhythm of the prospects way of speaking. If the prospect talks in quick bursts, talk in quick bursts. If the prospect has a long drawl, slow your talking speed to match.
- Step 9. Move the call towards the goal. While there will be times when a cold call might engender an in-depth conversation, remain aware of the intended outcome of the cold call. Without being pushy or abrupt, move the conversation towards that goal.
- Step 10. Celebrate or contemplate. If the call went well, take a few moments to congratulate yourself. If not, spend a few moments figuring out why. Decide what needed to be different in order for the next call to be successful. Then do it.