Let's say you're at your office and you're working away. Your phone rings and someone says, "Hello, my name's Mark. I'm with Financial Solutions. We offer a broad array of financial solutions. Do you have a few minutes?"
What would go through your mind when you hear this pitch? Probably the same thing your potential clients are thinking when they get a cold call from you. In other words, “How can I get this person off the phone as quickly as possible?”
This isn’t exactly the response we’re hoping for when we make our cold calls. o how can we better understand and relate to the person we’re calling?
Here are three ways to step into the world of your prospect. When you do this, you invite a positive response rather than a negative reaction.
1. Put some thought into how your product or service solves a problem for them
This new cold calling approach is tied to finding a specific, real problem that other people are experiencing. When you’re relevant to them and their world, they trust you more easily. This is needed for them to feel comfortable in having a conversation with you. They sense that you’re there to help them solve a problem – not sell a product.
So remove yourself for a moment from what you have to sell, and think about what problem you can solve for somebody.
For example, if you’re in the coaching industry you might say, “I’m just calling to see if your company’s open to the idea of using coaches to improve management performance.”
Focusing on how your product or service solves a problem for your potential client means you’re stepping into their world. You’re outside your own personal sales agenda, and this means less negative reaction on their part. .
2. Realize a cold call can be experienced as intrusive, and find ways to avoid it.
There are lots of ways a cold call can feel intrusive to the other person. The way you begin the conversation is a big one.
When you begin a cold call by immediately talking about yourself and what you have to offer, this forces the other person to step out of their world and relate to you in your world. And this feels like an intrusion, or at least an interruption.
So stop for a moment and think about how to begin your cold call in a way that invites a real conversation. You might use the phrase, “Maybe you can help me out for a moment?”
The response is almost always is something like, “Sure, how can I help you?”
Now you’ve avoided the intrusive feeling of hearing an uninvited sales pitch. And now the rest of your cold call can relate directly to them.
Here’s a good example, “I’m just calling to see if you’re still having difficulties with unpaid invoices, and if you’d be open to exploring new ways to solve this problem.”
When you’re talking about them right at the beginning, it feels less demanding to them. You see, most people find it easy and natural to talk about themselves. When you’re relating to the other person and his or her issues, this is what you’re inviting.
Also people tend to respond well to genuine interest. You’re not just using phrases to convey an interest in them, you are interested in them and how you might be able to help them. So your cold call becomes less of an intrusion and more of a welcome conversation.
3. Recognize that enthusiasm can feel overbearing, so try to speak normally
Many of us think that enthusiasm is helpful in cold calling. But it often feels so overbearing to the other person that they immediately wish we would go away.
Enthusiasm with someone who doesn’t know you just doesn’t sound natural. It’s not the way we do conversations in regular life. And when we’re trying to carry a potential client along with our enthusiasm, this feels like manipulation to them.
So my suggestion is very simple. Just be yourself. Most folks respond well to another human being, being human. A normal speaking voice while cold calling is less off-putting to the other person and invites a real connection.
When you try these three ways of understanding the person you’re cold calling, the rewards will be significant. You’ll be less reluctant to make cold calls. And you’ll find that potential clients generally respond in a more positive way.
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