Making an initial contact with a “cold” prospect can be difficult to say the least. But it doesn’t have to be.
Assume the viewpoint of the individual you are calling, what would peak their interest, or at the least compel them to want to take the next step?  After all in a cold call you are “infringing” on their space, are you not? This is what makes cold calling so difficult. But here is some tips and tools that will help you succeed:
Try having manners and a sense of humility. Yes it really could be that simple.
In the initial call never ask the prospect “…how are you today?” That comment doesn’t ring true for most people, particularly when asked by a stranger and a salesperson to boot. Because most people suspect a “salesman” doesn’t care how I feel today, you are really only setting yourself up as a target people want to shoot at.
Instead give the prospect the understanding that you know his or her time is valuable and ask for their help – this is something the vast majority of social personalities, as opposed to the anti-social individuals, are willing to give.
Try this introduction instead, starting with their first name if you have it. In this example I’m using the subject of selling advertising;
“Good morning Michael, Bob Smith (your name) here with ABC Marketing (your company) and I’m not sure if you’re in a position to help point me in the right direction this morning, but I work with marketing managers like yourself that find themselves getting frustrated with the lack of results they seem to be getting these days with their advertising – I happened to see the recent advertisement your company ran in _________________ and some questions came up about the ad design – do you have a moment to speak about it?”
This complete introduction is exactly 24 seconds long. Communicate it a relaxed, confident manner.
More on this subject will be discussed in our upcoming training at SELLability – just remember, have the viewpoint of making the call non-threatening but focus the subject on a hot-button topic (in this case their lack of response to traditional advertising) that the executive will feel is worth his or her time addressing.
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