Conquering The Fear of Cold Calling
By Kim Michael
This is an article that I wrote in 2008 and it appeared in the American Salesman Magazine of that year. Though much has changed since them, still much of it is pertinent to marketing outreach efforts even today.
As energy prices continue to skyrocket and the cost of travel dramatically increases, companies large and small are once again turning to the telephone. Though it continues to be one of the most cost effective tools in the sales arsenal of business outreach tools, as anyone who has ever been in sales will tell you, “cold calling” is one of the most intimidating and difficult tasks you can undertake. I have seen former CFOs, and CEOs, sweat beading on their foreheads, hands trembling, as they made call after call, only to fail miserably.
What many fail to realize is that using the telephone effectively is a cultivated skill. Experience does not replace expertise and unless an individual has made the investment in understanding and developing this highly specialized communication skill, it is unreasonable to expect that they can succeed using it.
By far the greatest common denominator for failure is fear. No one wants to admit it, but even seasoned sales professionals cringe at the idea of making cold calls. So what is it about making a cold call that strikes such fear in us? We all fear what we don’t understand. Developing a methodology that allows you to break down the process and replace the unknown with something that is well planned and emotionally comfortable is where we have to begin. Like any skill, using the telephone requires practice, knowledge, and above all patience.
At this point it is important to distinguish the difference between telemarketing and actual telephone prospecting. The concept of tele-marketing is different than true sales prospecting, particularly B to B, or B to C sales. It is a simplistic approach based on the use of marginally successful predigested dialogue that often is written by people who don’t understand the fundamentals of successful telephone usage themselves. It is also perceived to be solely numbers driven. Unfortunately what works for basic “widget” sales significantly changes when you cross the widget boundary into the world of large, complex, and often protracted business relationships.
Though ultimately, numbers are important, it is not so much the number of calls you make, as much as it is the number of effective calls you make. In fact, making too many calls with no results should be the first red flag that you’re not making the right kind of calls. Any telephone effort that is not “results” driven rather than numbers (or task) driven will never reach its full potential.
Developing a methodology that increases potential is where the true success of using the telephone begins. The following is a step by step approach to the techniques, that when applied to the individual talents of the seasoned professional, transforms the common telephone into one of the most viable and effective tools in the first offensive line of any company.
As with any business the selling cycle of your particular company is unique and my intention is not to imply that all business outreach criteria are the same, but the fundamental way you go about getting your message across is. Even so, it is important that you realize that you still have to do the heavy lifting yourself; these are only the guidelines that will enable you to get you there.
PRE-CALL PREPARATION:
1. MARKET UNDERSTANDING
Before making the first call it is important to make adequate preparations. It begins with product knowledge and understanding your market, and how your product or service fits
into that landscape.
2. FOCUS:
Create a master plan. Set up your target prospects. Both time and momentum are lost when you have to stop to think about who to call next.
3. FIRST FIVE SECONDS:
The first five seconds of a call will often determine how an entire relationship is defined. Introductions should be fluid and concise; and your voice should be relaxed and succinct. Remember the most important element of a successful call is telling the recipient what they need to hear, not what you want to tell them. As with all sales initiatives, it’s also about listening, not only to what a prospect says, but also the way he or she says it. Knowledge is the driver, but emotions are the vehicle.
4. PRACTICE TALKING POINTS:
I am not an advocate of canned scripts, but having fluid and concise talking points and practicing them until they become second nature is extremely important. It is easy to fall into the mindset that sophisticated rhetoric implies professionalism. It doesn’t. We all think and remember in three second intervals so making statements simple and concise tends to get the message across more effectively, without sounding pretentious. Stumbling verbally is the surest way to imply a lack of expertise and you risk loosing control of the call.
5. FAMILIARIZATION:
Use the Internet to familiarize yourself with your prospect. If the Internet is not available there are various publications that will give you a quick overview of your prospects and then consider how they can best use your product or service. If the prospect has a past history, review those notes as well, but don’t allow yourself to be tainted by the previous sales person’s lack of success. Take time to reach your own conclusions.
You can also use reference material to find out the names of various individuals within the organization. Mentioning familiar names or market specific trends in a conversation implies a common history. Using names within the organization, particularly management names, will imply that you have other relationships within the organization and will significantly lessen the tendency of some lower-level individuals to try to shut you down prematurely.
6. NAMES:
Practice pronouncing difficult names. If a name is particularly difficult, write it out phonetically and put it in your notes for easy reference. The fastest way to ruin the illusion of an implied history is to mispronounce a name. I will often call the CFO’s office (even though he or she may not really the individual that I want to reach) just to be referred to a particular person or office. “I just spoke with Bob Peterson’s office and it was suggested that you would be the best person to talk to.” The likelihood of someone trying to get rid of you is far less if you are referred by someone higher up. The more you know about your business and the various players, the more you will be able to overcome the obstacles that can suddenly pop up.
7. GATEKEEPERS:
Secretaries have an ever-evolving responsibility as “gatekeepers”. They should always be referred to as “assistants” and they can make a huge difference in your success. Always use their names when talking to them and always have the sound in your voice that you already know them. People respond unconsciously to a warm voice that sounds familiar.
8. THE POWER OF A QUESTION:
Again the first five seconds of a call are critical. Even before giving your initial introduction, try asking a question using that person’s name. “Sarah, can you help me I’m not sure I’m in the right place?” This stops the initial qualifying that we all do and focuses the individual on helping you rather than trying to size you up. Thanks to telemarketers we are all increasingly sensitive to the canned “How are you today?” True, it is a question, but it’s the wrong question.
9. CALL BUSINESS PLAN:
A. Every call requires a business plan. Before you call, you should already know what
you want to accomplish.
B. Make an outline of all the information variables that you will need to make the
call and the goal successful.
C. Questions are the key to understanding any opportunity. Take time to consider
the questions you need to ask and how you will ask them. You can often lead
a sales process just by asking questions and how those questions are answered
will often tell you how serious your prospect really is.
D. Determine the decision makers from the decision influencers. How many deals have
been lost just because the wrong people were involved?
POSITIONING:
Positioning is one of the finer nuances of telephone sales and perhaps one of the most critical. In a way, positioning is like an acting job; it is the art of sounding as if you are on the same level as your prospect, whether they are a manager, or a director, or even a CFO.
This does not mean you should try to mimic these levels, but you should have the same tonal comfort and familiarity in your conversation. People are more relaxed and typically more honest when they perceive they are talking to a colleague.
As you begin to develop this technique of “Implied Same Status”, keeping your voice relaxed and friendly also requires “balance”. It is easy for “friendly” to become “gushy” or worse, pretentious, and once that boundary is crossed, it is very hard to go back. I once had a trainee listen to my calls so she could better understand the dynamics. At the end of the day she said to me, “This was helpful, but tomorrow can we call people who don’t already know you?” She looked surprised when I told her, “We already did.” The truth was every call I made that day was to people I didn’t know. The illusion was not perceptible, even to someone who was looking for it.So why does the sound and intonation of your voice make such a difference?
We all have an unseen “Body Language” to the way we speak. At least 75% of what we communicate when we talk (even on the phone) is non-verbal. If your speech pattern is uneven, or laced with nervous breaks, or you unconsciously use a reverse inflection (ending sentences with a rise making them sound questioning) it sounds as if you are unsure of what you are saying, or worse, untruthful. If you sound anxious, your prospect unconsciously will become anxious as well. We transfer what we project. Even a smile can be heard and felt.
Also you must learn to listen while you talk. People will tell you if they are listening. They will respond, shake their heads, make sounds (often non-verbal) of agreement or disagreement. These are called “listening receipts” and if you aren’t getting them, they probably aren’t listening. You never want a person to stop listening before you stop talking. If you sense this is happening, ask a question. Soliciting a response is a good way to regain control.
Understanding these basic personality links and how they reflect in our speech patterns helps us understand how what we say is perceived, and absorbed, by others. The way to best develop this skill is to listen to yourself. Using a tape recorder is one way, but the best way I’ve found is to call my own voice mail and leave a message. When you do this, you will hear things that you have never heard before and ultimately, you will never sound believable to others, if you don’t first sound believable to yourself.
COLD CALL FUNDAMENTALS:
1. TITLES:
Use self-describing titles that are devoid of the word “sales”. The mere word
“sales” in any context tends to set an expectation that can put some prospects
on the defensive. Introduce yourself as a business manager or some
other “non sales” delineation.
2. RESPONSE:
When a prospect asks for something, respond immediately. Waiting gives
them time to forget you, or worse, why you called.
3. CALL BACKS:
Never assume that just because you have not heard back from a prospect
that they are not interested. When I teach telephone techniques I tell
people (jokingly of course), You need to stamp this on your forehead
so you see it every morning when you look in the mirror; PEOPLE DON’T
CALL BACK. You have to lead the process.
4. NEGATIVITY:
Never react negatively. This is by far one of the most difficult aspects
of telephone prospecting, but it is also one of the most critical. You can
make an enemy and doom your chances of a sale in a heartbeat if you
allow yourself to get caught up in a negative call. As an associate of
mine always says, “Take the high ground, because in the final analysis,
it is the only way to see where you’re going and how best to get there.”
5. CONFIRMATION:
When you send an email or a contract, always call back to verify that it was
received. At the same time schedule your follow up call. This will tell you
how serious your prospect really is, and at the same time, insure they won’t
be perturbed when you call back. When you do finally make the follow up
call, reference your previous call, who you are, why you called and their suggestion
of the best time to follow back up with them. Countless deals have been lost
only because the prospect forgot about the original call and was too embarrassed
to admit it.
6. LIVE PEOPLE:
Always try to talk to a “live” person. If you get a voicemail hit “0” and see where
it takes you. The road to failure is littered with people who leave voice mails
thinking the prospect will call back. Again always remember, PEOPLE DON’T
CALL BACK. If you can’t talk to the targeted person, the next goal should be
to talk to his or her assistant. If “0” doesn’t take you to someone else, hang up
and call back and find a live person (it is that important).
7. LEARNING TRAVEL PATTERNS:
Anthropologists study the movement of prehistoric man by looking up to the cave’s
ceiling. Tracking the soot and smoke residue of campfires and torches help them
determine where the inhabitants spent their time and how they lived. To some
extent, that is what you do when you talk to assistants or secretaries: Does your
prospect come in early, do they stay late? When is the best time to call back?
Even when are they most likely to be sitting at their desk with no gatekeeper
around? Getting email addresses and/or direct phone numbers (even fax
numbers) will also help you shortcut the time it takes to make the connection.
8. CLOSED DOORS:
Never accept a door that closes. Every company has at least five doors through
which you can enter and if one closes it doesn’t mean the effort is dead. I
have seen inexperienced sales people continue to try to sell the prospect long
after he or she has said no. This is very dangerous in that you can create
enemies that could hurt you later on. It is always best to move on with a smile and
try not to give them a bad reason to remember you.
9. VOICE MAILS:
Voice Mails can be dead-ends, or they can be a great communication tool. Never
leave a message expecting a call back. Again the cardinal rule is–PEOPLE DON’T
CALL BACK. They do, however, listen to their voicemails, and they usually listen
to the entire message. It is a great way to leave a brief overview of why you’re calling,
and also some “hook” that will catch a prospect’s interest. If you can call back later
that day or the next, you’ve given them a reason to take your call. Never wait more
than a day to return a call.
A. TONAL EXECUTION:
Voice mails should always be made exactly like a “live” call. The same
intonation, the same warmth and they should always be as short as possible.
Initially, say your name slowly and even a bit over pronounced, then leave
your “direct” number. Using the term “direct” promotes the idea that you
are not a sales person. Follow it with a concise one or two sentence overview
of who you are and why you’re calling, and finish the call by restating
your name and number again, not that you really expect them to call back, but
because it is expected.
B. LISTENING TO THE VOICE MAIL OF OTHERS
Earlier we discussed the value of listening to yourself on a recorded call, but
what about listening to a prospect’s voice mail? I have purposely called companies
early in the morning, or after hours just to listen to my prospect’s voicemail
introduction. You can learn a great deal about how to communicate with
an individual by first hearing how they communicate with the world at large.
Invariably, people will introduce themselves as they preferred to be addressed.
If they use Mr. or Ms., you can minimize the distance this automatically creates
by saying the salutation, not as a title, but as a name. People also tend to listen
at the same speed that they speak, so when leaving a voice mail, or when you
speak directly with them, pace your message accordingly. If you talk at the same
speed they listen, they are more likely to absorb what you say. They are more
likely to trust you as well. There is a reason why the term “fast-talker´ has
evolved to mean someone who is untrustworthy or disingenuous.
C. DIFFICULT CONTACTS:
If the effort to make a contact takes a long time (days or even months), try to
vary the content of the voicemails you leave. Leaving the same message only
insures that your message will be erased sooner. Also include a quick statement
that you understand they are busy and probably haven’t been able to get
around to returning the call. You never want the lack of response to be
because your contact is embarrassed that they haven’t called you back.
D. REPETITION:
Keep a list of numbers by your phone and intermittently call them throughout the
day, trying to vary the times, but not always leaving a message. Eventually you will
make the connection and if you have taken the time to space out the messages
that you’ve left, and varied them, they are more likely not to be upset. This is where
a time date stamped contact management system is helpful. When you make follow up
calls you are always more likely to get a person at the same time when you first
got them.
E. EMAILS:
Even though I prefer not to use emails, they can be particularly useful if you are
transferring information via a gatekeeper or assistant. Second generation
information is almost always flawed. Putting a concise message in their hands of
why you’re calling and who you are can be very helpful. If your message is
complicated, this insures that the decision maker gets the message you want
them to have. Again the message needs to be short and concise. The higher
in the food chain the recipient is, the more concise the message needs to be.
F. CALL COMPLETION:
Once the call is completed, make notes, particularly the positives and negatives
that the prospect has given you. Respond immediately to requests, and begin
to form the plan that will lead to the close.
Mastering these simple techniques will not insure that you will close every deal, but it will allow you to competently create an environment in which a favorable decision can be made, and that after all, is the ultimate goal of an initial cold call.
***
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