The #1 Cold-Calling Mistake
By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker
- Word Count: 608
- Time To Read: 2.4 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]
If you are responsible for sales at your organization, you have probably noticed that cold calling a prospect has gotten a lot tougher -- not only are you leaving a voicemail message 80% of the time, but people are no longer receptive to what you are saying.
First, and foremost, you need to know that cold calling isn't for everybody. However, if you do decide to give it a go, make sure you avoid the #1 mistake most people make when cold calling.
Before we share with you the #1 mistake, you first need to know that your goal isn't to sell someone on your initial call. It is to move the sales process forward by uncovering (or exposing) the pain that person is in or could be in. That's right; your job is to move the sales process forward by asking certain questions. Do this, and you will find that it will do wonders on getting a face-to-face meeting, having someone attend a webinar, workshop, demo, etc.
This Is The #1 Mistake Most People Make When Cold Calling.
Over the years, I have made 50,000+ cold calls. And one mistake that I have seen many salespeople do (including me) is pick up the phone and start calling without any game plan or objective.
To make things easier for anyone in sales who is faced with cold calling, I recommend sending a marketing campaign to your list of targets BEFORE calling them. This could be a lumpy mail campaign (which is awesome for its interruption value - see page 145 in my book), e-mail marketing campaign or a direct mail campaign. The reason for doing this is to allow your target audience to get a snapshot of what you do but more importantly, give you a solid reason to call them. Trust me when I tell you that it is much easier to say, "Hi this is ____ calling from ____ and I quickly following up the _____ we sent to you a few days ago."
Staggering Cold Calling Facts:
Additionally, you need to know that it takes many calls to reach that one person who will have an interest in what you are selling. Check out these stats:
- You will leave a voicemail message (or message) 80% of the time.
- 75% to 85% of the people you are calling have no interest in what you are selling.
- 8% to 15% of the people you are calling are actively or passively investigating what you are selling.
- .5% to 3% of the people you are calling are an immediate buyer of what you are selling.
Know That You Only Have 10 to 20 Seconds -- Not 60 seconds -- To Pique Someone's Interest.
When cold calling (following-up on a marketing campaign), you need to know that you only have 10 to 20 seconds to pique someone's interest before they disconnect from what you are saying (mentally and physically). That said, what are you going to say or better yet, what questions are you planning to ask someone to get them to become engaged in what you are selling? Is it an open-ended or closed-ended question? Are you leading with price or some other feature of your product or service? Nonetheless, you need a game plan before you pick up the phone.
Executive Summary: The key to cold calling is sending out a marketing campaign prior to dialing. And just as important, have a game plan when making your calls - from having a define objective to having a script in front of you. Do these things and you will start to see magic happen.
About The Author
Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc. He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist. He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayroll.com. His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.
To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales with our payroll marketing system, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.
