When is enough, enough when making cold calls?
Sales people many times ask me how many cold calling attempts to contact someone are too many.
That question actually comes in several flavors. For instance, how many times should I call this person today if I don’t get through, or how many times should I call this person over time until the law of diminishing returns kicks in and I’d be better off calling someone else for the first time rather than calling this same person again?
The reason this came to mind today is that I am in Chicago where I gave a talk yesterday to the National Automated Merchandising Association. I’m staying with my dad who is retired. He went with me yesterday, so we were gone all day.
When we got home last night, he printed out a list of calls he had received during the day off of his answering machine. There was one phone number on the list fourteen times. (I’m not kidding.) It was a stock broker who has never sold him anything, but has been calling him for a number of years. When he spoke with the broker today (you guessed it, he called again), he tried to sell my dad a twenty year bond. My dad is 85 years old. Do the math…my dad did.
There are two points to this story. 1) This guy has talked to my dad on numerous occasions. He has never asked my dad what his investing goals are. He only knows my dad is a pretty active trader. So when he calls, he’s most of the time trying to interest him in things that just don’t make sense or that my dad has no interest in. 2) Why did this guy call my dad fourteen times and leave NO messages? Did he think my dad wouldn’t know he called that many times? Did he think that what he wanted to talk about couldn’t stand on its own enough to get my dad to call him back? What kind of credibility does he have with my dad?
Moral of the story: 1) It takes time to make a dial and time is money. Spend those dials just like you would any other limited asset. Make sure it is worth it before you do it. Making another dial to the same number over and over again so that you kid yourself into thinking you’re busy is foolish. Calling someone and throwing mud at the wall to see if something sticks is also a waste of time. Record your activity and look at the outcome. If you don’t like the results, try something else. Don’t keep doing the same thing expecting a different outcome. It’s the definition of insanity.
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.
May 18th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
For me that’s annoying . . . calling to someone for how many times even he/she is not interested. It is really a waste of time.
May 26th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
[...] 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? [...]