If cold calling, how many targets can a sales rep pursue each year? (Part 2 of 3)
When cold calling for appointments, it is important to note that if we follow a ‘Best Practice’ that consists of a certain number of attempts to reach someone, there is a finite number of targets we can pursue in a year. Part 2 of 3.
In last week’s blog, we explored the concept that it was important to have a well designed ‘Best Practice’ for cold calling that leverages the limited resource our telephone prospecting represents.
This week we’ll examine the components of a ‘Best Practice’ or framework for what we call a ‘Cycle’. Here are some simple questions to ask ourselves when designing one. But before I do that, here’s an example of a Cycle.
4 x 5 x 90
The first number designates the number of attempts I will make in this particular Cycle. The second number indicates the number of business days between calls, and the third number tells us how many days we’ll wait until we start a new Cycle assuming we do not reach the person during this Cycle.
There is no ‘Science’ to the design of appointment setting Best Practices, but here are a few questions to ask ourselves when designing a Cycle:
1. What level of buyer am I calling into? The easier it is to get a hold of the person we’re calling does have bearing on both the number of attempts and the delay between calls.
2. How many targets are there in my universe of potential suspects? The more there are, the fewer attempts I might make during a cycle, the fewer days I might wait in between, and the more I might wait before attempting another round of calls because I want to reach out to more targets each year. If I have a very few targets in my universe, I would probably at least shorten the wait between Cycles.
3. When do I cross the line between being a persistent sales professional and becoming a pest or irritant?
Next week we’ll tackle the question of how many targets is the ‘right’ number to pursue in a territory during a given year.
For additional information, you might also take a look at my blog from May 12th of this year regarding when is enough, enough?
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called The Prospector’s Academy™ under the brand name Coldcalling101. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations – the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 214 483-5800 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.
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