Cold Calling Pressure Reduction

Who likes cold calling?

Most salespeople don't like cold calling, and do as little of it as possible. There are a number of reasons why most of us don't like it. One reason is the way we view cold calling. People who don't like cold calling view each call as do or die. They think of cold calling as a war in which they have to win most of the battles in order to win the war. A sales rep good at cold calling is considered a sales god. A sales rep who is poor at cold calling is a sniveling wimp.

The reality about cold calling is much different. You don't have to win all nor even most of the battles to win the war. Cold calling is the reconnaissance before any battle begins. Cold calling is not where the sale happens. Cold calling is simply advertising done by sales reps.

Yes, I said that you are doing advertising when you are cold calling.

Cold calling is a means of identifying potential prospects for your sales efforts. And the purpose of advertising is to identify or attract potential prospects - in other words to generate leads.

Think of cold calling this way. Every time you make a cold call, it is as if you grabbed your prospect by the shirt, shoved a billboard ad for your product in their face, and said "Do you want to buy this?"

Obviously, real cold calling is more involved than pressing their nose up to your ad. Specifically, cold calling should be mostly about asking questions rather than a sales pitch monologue.

Just like a newspaper ad or a billboard, all you are trying to do when cold calling is to get someone's attention. And if they don't want or need what you are offering right now, that's OK.

With your new view of cold calling as advertising in mind, you should focus your cold calling goals a little differently. One of the surest ways to get frustrated in sales (and an ulcer) is to take responsibility for things that are beyond your control as a sales rep. You really cannot control whether the person you are cold calling needs or wants your product.

What you can control is how many cold calls you make, and the quality of your techniques while cold calling.

Set your cold calling targets and define your success criteria around the number of calls or dials that you will make. Judge the quality of your calls by how well you stick to a cold calling formula that you have defined in advance.

If your cold calling goal is set as "To Make $300,000 in Sales Next Month", you are just setting yourself up. This kind of cold calling goal might be useful if you are a tele*sales* person responsible for actually closing business by phone. But in professional business-to-business selling, cold calling is too far removed from the actual close to directly influence such a goal.

Instead, you can backwards plan how many cold calling "advertisements" you need to run in order to make $300,000 in sales next month. Use your own or other sales reps activity numbers to figure out how many sales will result *on average* if you make 1000 dials when cold calling. Then you can determine the time period needed to make 1000 dials worth of cold calling advertisements in order to make your sales goals.

Look at cold calling as one-to-one advertising and focus on the number of dials you have to make and you'll find cold calling a lot easier to do.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The Relationship Between Colour & Sales

Make no mistake that emotions are the driving force behind... Read More

Is Sales Profession an Oxymoron?

If you are in Sales, you have probably heard these... Read More

Writing Effective Sales Messages

A sales letter is a document designed to generate sales.... Read More

How Leaky is Your Sales Pipeline?

Does your Sales Pipeline leak? If you answered no, you... Read More

Can Walmart Make You Rich?

Have you ever shopped at Walmart and thought... I need... Read More

Now Is A Great Time To Sell!

Its official. The news just came out. Yes, we are... Read More

How to Write Effective Selling Proposals

Depending upon how much you enjoy writing, writing sales proposals... Read More

Caring - The Secret Sales Strategy

Sales information resource Just Sell, calls caring "sales love". Here's... Read More

What is Lead Generation?

Lead Generation is vital to all businesses. All companies try... Read More

Book Yourself Solid

THE 7 KEYS TO GETTING MORE CLIENTS THAN YOU CAN... Read More

Flea Marketing Lessons

A few days ago, I was signing copies of my... Read More

An Introductino to Insurance Lead Generation

It is vital that insurance salespeople have a steady stream... Read More

Peddlers, Hucksters, & Empty Suits

Ever feel like you were "just a salesperson"? I think... Read More

Getting Past the Gate Guard

Over the years, many prospects have hidden behind their well-trained... Read More

Its Better When They Tell Them

You know that word of mouth can grow your business.... Read More

Do Your Customers Buy On Price Alone?

Here are four simple things you can do to take... Read More

Your Clients Buying What Youre Selling

Linda felt like she had reached a plateau in her... Read More

How To Write A Riveting Sales Letter That Closes Sales

How do you get people's attention and build their interest... Read More

The Most Important Word in a Business Letter

What do you think it is? Many experts insist it's... Read More

Why You Buy, Part Three

Still more discoveries from the recent studies in behavioral economics:Over-Valuing... Read More

Solution-Sell is a Myth!

Who among us is not already up to here with... Read More

Everything Follows the Pitch

If you asked me to point to the heart and... Read More

Are You a Winner or Whiner?

I've found that winners say "I choose to." Whiners, on... Read More

Nothing Happens Until Someone Sells Somthing

You can always tell a good salesperson, they are always... Read More

The Top 10 Myths About the Sales Profession

Myth 1: Sales People are all Shady!In the Broadway play... Read More

Do You Have Enough Prospects To Make Your Numbers?

Several years ago I worked with a CPA who wanted... Read More

Too Much Empathy Will Cost You Money

Ever have a prospect start out your sales call by... Read More

Dead Silence From Your Prospect: The Worst Sound Of All

Could this be the worst moment in your selling cycle?You've... Read More

Selling: an art of a skill?

Selling is as much an art as it is a... Read More

Aikido and The Art of Cold Calling

Imagine being in a crowded concert or bar. All of... Read More

Things You Need to Know Before Joining a Direct Sales Company

A lot of people are very intrigued by the idea... Read More

Creating Intense Emotions That Motivate People

Ever wish that your presentations could be as much fun... Read More

Lessons Learned At Gunpoint

"If you do anything foolish or try to get out... Read More