In: Categories » Business » Ethics and presentation » Confident Cold Calling: A Reality Check on Positive Thinking
|
Before you make a cold call, do you “gear up” first? Do you get excited about your product or service, and try to anticipate making the sale? Well, if you’re following the old traditional cold calling mindset, that’s probably what you’ve been trained to do. But what you don’t know is that enthusiasm and confidence usually backfire on you. Why? Because you’re talking with someone who doesn’t know you. Think about how you’d feel if someone you don’t know approaches you with a lot of zest and enthusiasm. You’ll probably take a step back. You’re a little suspicious and somewhat on the defensive in the face of all that enthusiasm. It’s the same when you make cold calls. People don’t like the feeling of being pressured, and that’s usually what gets triggered when you approach someone with too much confidence. It’s called “positive thinking” in the old sales training strategies, but really, it’s overconfidence. Here are two things for you to consider the next time you start to dial the phone: 1. Artificial sales enthusiasm is – artificial When I’m coaching someone, many times I like to ask them to role-play with me. And often, just as soon as they move into their cold call presentation, everything changes. Their natural voice tone shifts, and they sound like a totally different person from the one who called and talked so naturally with me about their sales issues. You see, sometimes just the idea of making a cold call causes you to talk more loudly, and with a lot of “forward energy momentum.” But most cold calls break down the moment the other person feels all that enthusiasm. Why? Because with high enthusiasm, prospects feel sort of boxed in. They feel the pressure of your expectations. They feel pushed by someone they don’t know, and who knows nothing about them. So it’s much better to talk in a natural, conversational way, just as if you were talking with a friend. When you’re being a relaxed and natural, the difference is amazing. 2. Assumptions feel like presumptions The old cold calling approach encourages you to be confident that the person you’re calling should seriously consider buying what you have to offer. It’s a taken-for-granted assumption that if they fit your profile, your product or service should be a “fit” for them. But really, how much sense does it make to have assumptions about someone you've never spoken with, much less had a conversation with? How much can you possibly know about their problems, issues, needs, time frame, budget, decision making process, or other key information? Can you imagine how it feels to the person on the other end of the phone when you presume to know what’s “best” for them? They don’t know you, and they don’t trust you. So people naturally move into a defensive place. So it’s best to move away from making any assumptions when you make your cold calls. Approach your prospects from a modest, humble position. Avoid coming to the conversation already convinced in your own mind that they should be a fit. This way, you'll eliminate sales pressure, which triggers that defensive reaction. Completely eliminating assumptions and high enthusiasm in your cold calling will help people relate to you as a real person instead of a negative-type “pushy” salesperson. And you’ll find that they’ll usually respond much more warmly and naturally. Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don't know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
|
legal disclaimer
1) Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article as well for any and all copyright infringements by authors and writers. E-articles is a free information resource. If you suspect this article for any copyright infringements, please read the Terms of service and contact us to investigate the problem.
2) The E-articles directory team is not responsible for inaccuracies, falsehoods, or any other types of misinformation this tutorial may contain and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on the information gained here. Please read the Terms of service
Useful tools and features
If you like this article (tutorial), please link to it from your web page using the information above. Linking to this page, this is the only way to help us improve our service, the same time providing your visitors with a way to improve their online experience.
related articles
Almost everyone agrees that too much time is wasted in meetings. It doesn’t have to be that way; that time can easily be cut in half. As a sales professional, if you are running the meeting, take advantage of the code of meeting ethics. If you are a meeting participant, suggest to the meeting facilitator that you persuade the group to agree to follow this code. Put it on display. People who have adopted just the time-allotted agenda and the timekeeper ideas are enthusiastic about the results in time sav...
2. Ethics of Educating Your Customers
If customers don’t understand a product, they won’t buy it. Customers become educated through experience. Make it your goal to educate your customers so they can better understand the products or services you offer. Of course, when they are more educated they become more sophisticated and are more likely to know better what they want or don’t want, what it will take to get it, and how much it should cost. They are also more likely to negotiate when they are educated, but this can become a selling advantage if yo...
3. Telltale Signs of Dishonest Brokers
Dishonest brokers often ask their victims a steady stream of questions designed to derail honest investors from asking the right questions. In contrast, honest brokers encourage you to ask questions, provide you with additional educa tional materials, and make certain that you understand the risks involved in your investment decision. And if you decide not to spend your money, they’re untroubled by your investment decision. The National Futures Association has collected 16 questions that are turn-offs for dishone...
4. The Six Behaviors of the Effective Enterprise
No matter how intelligent a leader’s strategy for change, it will fail without the dedicated support of the rank and file. Winning that support often requires more effort than devising the strategy itself. Effective and intelligent behavior is important in all knowledge work. People tend to think of such behavior as particularly important in “valuable” problem-solving or decision-making situations and other high-level tasks such as determining corporate strategy. However, contrary to that no...
Too often, businesses look at their customers as they would rows in a spreadsheet. Businesses spend time figuring out how to get more money out of them, analyzing how often they come back and how much they spend on each trip, and figuring out how much a customer will spend on a particular item. But customers can and should be much more than just an income stream. Customers’ experiences can range from completely unhappy to glowingly positive. Both types of customer can greatly influence your company’s reputation. Generally...
6. Characteristics of the Effective Enterprise
Ideally, all enterprises should carry out their daily work exceptionally well. When they succeed in the short term, they should also, to the fullest extent possible, observe their goals and strategies to pursue longer-term opportunities and conquer or avoid threats. Such behavior will require management vision and considerable resources, infrastructure, and dedicated personnel. It is often anticipated and expected that all employees —and in the aggregate, the enterprise itself—always will act effective...
7. The Product Profile Sheet
The Product Profile sheet analyzes your products in terms of the concepts such as: Features. List the key features of your product that add value to it. The more specific the description, the harder it is for competitors or customers to redefine them to your detriment. Benefits. Express them in terms of time or money savings. Express a benefit as a verb followed by a noun. Value Type. Decide whether the benefits are perceived or measurable. ...
8. Goals and Needs
It may sound like an exercise in splitting hairs. What is the big difference whether you use the word goals or needs? The answer is "plenty" when value-driven sales are at stake. It is more than just a question of semantics when you focus on goals and not needs. Goals motivate you to think first like customers; needs encourage you to think mostly like, well, products. It is the difference between you selling features or customers buying value. Goals and needs are not interchangeable terms or concepts. In sel...