Why standard selling skills don’t work in cold calling.
There are three distinct differences between what happens in an Initial Appointment versus a cold call and there is one difference in how the best of the best prepare.
Before meeting us, virtually all of our customers had used the same objection handling techniques they employ in closing situations in appointment setting calls. It doesn’t work and here are the three reasons why it doesn’t, plus how we must prepare in each area to succeed.
The Beginning Repartee
In the Initial Appointment, what we call the beginning repartee or banter is collegial. Our target has agreed to set this time aside for us so is friendly and open to us.
On the cold call, the beginning repartee is adversarial, not friendly.
The Pace of the Exchange
In the Initial Appointment, the pace of the exchange is measured or comfortable. It’s a normal conversation.
On the cold call, the pace of the exchange seems like it happens at 90 miles an hour.
The Responses from Targets
In the Initial Appointment, the responses we receive from our Target are generally thoughtful and based on business logic because they’ve agreed to invest the time with us so they’re interested in learning whether it makes sense to move forward with us at the end of the meeting.
On the cold call, the responses from the Target contain what we call Conditioned Knee Jerk responses that are designed to do nothing but get us off the phone. As a matter of fact, most aren’t even true.
The Preparation to Succeed
The moral of the story is in our preparation for each of these distinct stages of the selling process. Good sales professionals succeed once a Target becomes a Prospect (pipeline selling) because we are good at thinking on our feet. Those of us that are good at setting the appointments (telephone prospecting) invest the time to study what responses are heard most often on these calls, prepare their Counters to those responses and then practice, practice, practice until it becomes second nature.
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.
Leave a Reply