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10 Very Common Cold Calling Mistakes and Misunderstandings
by Pop Icon Mr. Cold Call™
1. More Cold Calls Equals More Sales
The outcome and success of your calls will be much greater if you make less calls and do more research on your sales prospect's website prior to picking up the phone. Many sales managers focus on the quantity of calls versus the quality of the call and this is a terrible mistake!
2. Cold Calling is about Selling on the First Call
Those who say that cold calling doesn't work probably say this because they think that cold calling is about making "the sale" on the first call. Cold Calling is really about planting seeds of information. If you go into the call with this philosophy you may not get the sale right away, but in time, you will make that sale!
3. Not having a Contact Management Software System in Place
Every cold call made should be entered into a contact management software program such as ACT or Salesforce.com. In your notes, detail facts such as what the company does, the names of all owners and senior executives, recent news, birthdays, top competitors, current vendors and the details of each and every conversation, the date and finally, the result of what happened on each call to your prospect.
4. No Sales Appointments for the Week
Try to set about 5 new sales appointments each week. That's really not too much to ask, that's only 1 appointment each business day with a qualified sales prospect. If this sounds like too much then you're probably not really taking the time to make engaging and strategic cold calls.
5. No Knowledge of Your Sales Ratios
Most sales reps don't even know how many calls they need to make to set an appointment? If you're really good at cold calling then I would estimate that you need to make from 15 to 25 cold calls to set a face to face meeting. If your just average at cold calling then I would estimate that you need to make from 25 to 35 cold calls to set a face to face meeting.
6. Lacking Enthusiasm over the Telephone
Einstein, how can you expect your prospect to be excited if you're not excited? Get excited, stay excited and get your positive attitude in order.
7. Talking too much
Everyone knows that listening is important, but not everyone does it well. Listening on a sales call is something you should be doing more than talking. When I go on sales calls I try not to talk too much. I just ask a few strategic questions and just sit back and listen. It's really an empowering experience. Who ever would have thought that closing your mouth more would reap so many rewards. Make a conscious effort to close your mouth and really listen to your prospect. In time, you will notice a huge difference in your sales.
8. Targeting All Sales Prospects
Who are your top prospects? Stop wasting your time on everybody and focus your sales efforts on your top 20%. Start working smarter and stop working harder!
9. Leaving Voice Mail Messages
So many sales reps decide not to leave a message. "Oh, they won't call me back!" Get familiar with Henry Ford's famous quote in which he once said, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."
10. Being Too Much Like Status Quo
Be different. Make your cold calls memorable. Stand out in a crowded room. You need to do what ever it takes to let your prospect know that you're unique from the rest. Attitude is one solution and doing more research prior to your cold calls is another solution.
Copyright 2009 MR. COLD CALL SEMINARS - All rights reserved.
Behind The Scenes With Mr. Cold Call™
Mr. Cold Call™ is a worldwide sensation and claims to have made over 80,000 cold calls to date. He has been quoted by numerous national publications such as Selling Power Magazine, Investor's Business Daily, Successful Fund Raising and Advantage Magazine. He has written over 65 articles on cold calling, developed a sales ratio calculator that automatically calculates your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sales ratios, offers a custom sales script service called "The Script Responder" and finally, is the author of four best-selling ebooks with FREE email support and these titles include:
For more information on Mr. Cold Call™ and to sign-up for his free weekly cold calling tips visit www.mrcoldcall.com
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