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10 Secrets to Cold Call Success

Living in Scottsdale is a real treat for me. It’s a beautiful part of the country and I enjoy the year-round warmth and lifestyle. However, it does have its downside; during the summer, it’s hotter than hell and monsoons blow my table umbrellas into the pool.

It’s also difficult to advertise a business using street signs. The rules and regulations practically yell, “Do not think of posting a sign where people can see that you are in business.”

Coming from New York, this strikes me as beyond strange. You’d think the city would want my business to thrive and to generate jobs. Since Scottsdale won’t allow me to put signs in front of my business or hire clowns to dance up and down to draw attention, I tend to prospect clients with cold calls.

According to Wikipedia, cold calling is the process of “approaching prospective customers, via telephone, who were not expecting such an interaction.” The word “cold” is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting a call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by a salesperson.

Reject Rejection
First thing I learned when I started to cold call was that I was afraid of rejection. I couldn’t bear to have people hang up or yell at me. I was always afraid of selling myself and feared that if I didn’t make a sale, I wouldn’t make any money. As a result, I hated picking up the phone and dialing strangers.

After a lot of trial and error, I found that if I first Googled the people I was calling and found out something nice to say about them, they were more likely to listen to what I had to say.

While in the perfect world, your phone would be ringing off the hook all day with customers looking to buy something from you, the reality is you need to go after prospects and show them how you can solve their problems.

Many small business owners and sales professionals hate cold calling. They’ll do everything to avoid it, including hiring others to do it for them. Sadly, this doesn’t work in the long term because it erodes gross margins and profits.

I’ve been lucky. I got over my fears and now I look forward to cold calling at least once or twice a week. To be successful, I learned to do it only on certain days and only when I feel like it: I learned very quickly that if I’m not in a good mood, I have no chance of selling anything to anybody, including myself.

So, here are the top 10 secrets to cold calling for success.

1. Write down what you’re good at.
People buy success from other successful people. You need to write down your unique qualities, strengths and successes in order to talk about yourself naturally. If you don’t believe in yourself or your product, you better get over it before it destroys you.

2. Write down a list of companies that you want to get as clients.
Prospects love to know that you want to help them. Many entrepreneurs run tight-knit shops and don’t have the luxury of spending the time and money to find solutions to their problems. To my surprise, many of them will take my phone call if I’m prepared to talk intelligently to them about their company and how I can help them solve their problems.

3. Tailor your product and service benefits to your prospects.
Companies love to buy products that will help them or their customers. Companies love to hear from experts that reflect their values and lifestyles. If you’re pitching expensive solutions to companies who can’t afford you, you’re wasting your time. Use market research to target the right audience for your message. Then find out as much as you possibly can about the company. This gives you the huge advantage of being able to talk intelligently about their company. Google them and dig deep. Please remember that company decision-makers get upset by people who pitch a product or service that doesn’t match their needs.

4. Focus on the goal.
Beginners think that cold calling is about making the sale. It’s not. It’s about getting the chance to make the sale. A successful cold call happens when an executive agrees to forward your idea to the next decision-maker in the chain. That person might be the president, CFO, COO or a member on their board. It’s about getting permission to proceed to the next step, which may require a review of your website, credentials or testimonials.

5. Prepare your pitch.
Organize your thoughts and avoid common mistakes that can cause executives and company owners to hang up on you or not respond to your e-mail. For instance, you should never ask, “Is this a good time to talk?” or “How are you today?” If you give prospects the opportunity to reject you or say no, they will.

6. What should be in your opening statement?
You get 30 seconds to convince them to proceed to the next step. Always start with your name and a great teaser question. Get them interested in learning more about you. For example, if someone called me up and said “Let me reveal 10 ways to generate more business than you could ever imagine,” I would want to know more.

7. Offer to do an on-site presentation at a moment’s notice.
You’d be surprised at how many executives tell me they always have last-minute cancellations and would love to meet me if I can be there that afternoon or the next day. That’s why I always carry my calendar and a database of telephone numbers in the unlikely event that I need to reschedule appointments.

8. Gatekeepers are your allies not your foes.
Develop strategies to get the gatekeeper on your side. Sometimes asking, “I wonder if you could help me?” will help you get the information you need, such as the name of the right person to talk to or when the best time to contact the prospect is. Learning the names of gatekeepers and being friendly when cold calling always helps.

9. Smooth the way for your cold call by sending prospects something in advance.
If you’re an author, send them an autographed copy of your most recent book. If you make a product, send them a sample. This helps break the ice and makes you stand out from the crowd. Make sure you have the proper mailing address and send it via FedEx, UPS or the U.S. Postal Service, which allows you to track delivery. This way you can always ask if they received your package.

10. Do your cold calling early in the morning.
That’s the best time to reach the decision-maker directly, and for most people, the time that they’re most energized.