by Ari Galper, Founder of Unlock The Game®
Have you noticed that the old “tried and true” cold calling techniques which were once successful have completely lost their effectiveness over the years? They just don’t work anymore.
But many salespeople are still use them because that’s all they know. They’re working from that old, ineffective cold calling mindset. And they’re making the same mistakes over and over again.
People almost always feel “pushed” by sales enthusiasm, especially when it’s coming from someone they don’t know.
People almost always feel “pushed” by sales enthusiasm, especially when it’s coming from someone they don’t know.
So to them, you’re just another salesperson who wants them to buy something. And so the walls go up.
It’s much better to modestly assume you know very little about your prospect. Invite them to share some of their concerns and difficulties with you. And allow them to guide the conversation, rather than your pre-ordained strategy or pitch.
2. Your goal is to always make the sale
When your target in cold calling is to always make the sale, prospects are aware of your agenda. And almost immediately, they’re on the defensive. After all, you’re primarily focused on yourself and the sale – not on them.
In the old traditional mindset, you forge ahead with the hope of getting a sale. You’re coaxing, persuading, and pushing things forward.
But most cold calls break down the moment the other person feels this sales pressure. Why? Because they don’t know you, and they don’t trust you.
So the sales momentum you’re trying to create actually triggers a backlash of suspicion and resistance. They’re trying to protect themselves from a potential “intruder” with what appears to them as a self-serving agenda.
Instead, you can approach cold calling with a different goal. Your focus can be on discovering whether you’re able to solve a problem for the other person.
When you become a problem-solver, this feels vastly different to the person you’re talking to. You’re not triggering rejection. You’re calling with 100 percent of your thoughts and energy focused on their needs, rather than on making a sale.
3. Focus on the end of the conversation – that’s when sales are lost
If you believe that you lose sales because you’ve made a mistake at the end of the process, you’re looking in the wrong direction. Most mistakes are made at the beginning of a cold calling conversation. You see, it’s at the beginning that you convey whether you’re honest and trustworthy. If you’ve started out your cold call with a high-pressured sales pitch, then you’ve probably lost the other person in just a few seconds.
Most traditional sales programs spend a lot of time focusing on overcoming objections. But these tactics only put more sales pressure on your prospect, which triggers resistance. And you also fail to explore or understand the truth behind what’s being said. When you hear, “We don’t have the budget,” or, “Call me in a few months,” you can uncover the truth by replying, “That’s not a problem.”
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