NetForum - Message Replies

Forum: Idea Exchange

Topic: Telephone Skills & Internet Business

Posted by: Zankhana Broker (zankhanab@hotmail.com )
Date posted: Wed Apr 17 0:28:39 2002
Subject: How to increase Sales when you are Cold Calling?
Message:
hi,
I work in Call Center in Tele-Sales Dept., are targets are very high n at times unachievable...the biggest objection to our calling is ; we are rated as "unfelicitated calls" or "cold callers" ...so how do i get more sales every day n maitain cosistency of sales?
option 1: Take as many calls as you can...
in addition to this if u have any suggestions...thanx in advance..

Subject: Cold calling
Reply Posted by: Tom Cotter (tjc45@aol.com )
Date Posted: Fri Jan 17 8:01:41 2003
Message:
Here's a subject I know a lot about. I've built my business on cold calling. I've been doing it for 20 years. Not as much now, but I still like to get down in the trenches every once in a while. Does it work? You betcha! There are boat loads of financial advisors making huge six and seven figure incomes from cold calling. The biggest retail broker in the country brings home over 10 million a year. He built his biz by picking up the phone and talking to strangers.
Cold calling today can be more frustrating than ever. With the advent of answering machines, caller ID etc., just reaching your intended target can be a job in its self. But the numbers tell the tale, it still works. Case in point, a young trainee in my office, in his third year, is using cold calls to get attendees to his monthly seminars. His 2002 income was over 120k. Not bad for a rookie!
To be successful in cold calling you first have to realize that it's a numbers game. To get a benefit you have to make the calls. For example, last week I cold called for 13 hours. I made 841 out going calls. I reached 174 intended targets. Of those, 25 were interested in the information I offered and have money now. Another 6 will have money coming due in six months. Using 20 years of historical data, of those 25 prospects 3 will become clients. 2 will come on board over the next 30 days and one eventually will sign up. Those are the numbers. To make them work you have to do it everyday.
In my biz the key is money in motion. I have to find the money. In the car biz it's cars in motion. You have to find the cars that are near the end of their current ownership. This is a contact sport. To find those cars you need to get out and play in traffic. Take two hours a day and cold call people. Or take the slowest day of the week and cold call all day. Use a script so you don't get tangled up in what you are going to say. Practice the script so you don't sound "canned", like you are reading. Concentrate on how you sound. The purpose of your call is to find out how close the people on your list are to trading their car. I would call with info on one of your products, to start the dialog. I would ask them when they'll be in the market for another car. Ask them if they would consider buying your brand of car. Keep it short, one minute or less. Another way to go would be to call and offer to send info. Then send the info to all who responded positively. One week later call'em back and qualify them. The second call is the money call, where you find out what you've got.
Maintain a positive attitude. This can be tough with the high level of rejection you'll receive. To do this I make myself the rejector. If someone says they're not interested I say THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THEN HANG UP. I'm sincere. Thank you for not wasting my time. Thank you for being a jerk right up front and disqualifying yourself. Thank you for passing up an opportunity to deal with the best, your loss! It's numbers. By not wasting time with the pits you find the cherrys.
This subject could fill a book. In fact it has. "Prospecting Your Way To Sales Success" by Bill Good is the absolute bible for cold calling. I'll leave you with this: who you call is very important. Calling farmers to entice them into your Lexus showroom won't go nearly so well as calling the owners of Beauty Salons. Everybody in the local Yuppie Palace neighborhood wants a Benz, Beemer, or Porsche. And finally there is this tidbit: an old saying, The easiest person to sell a Cadillac to is a Cadillac owner. Take a ride through neighborhoods near your dealership, using a tape recorder, record the address of every house with your brand of car in the driveway. Midnights or Sundays would be good times for doing this. Then head off to your local library. Go to the refrence section and get the local reverse street directory. In this book are the names of your future customers. This book lists peoples name by address. This enables you to put a name and phone number with an address. Call'em up and talk to them.
Make sure you comply with all state do not call regulations. Happy hunting!

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