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Cold Calling, Appointments
1. OPPORTUNITY CALLING METHOD
How to Achieve a Win on Every Dial
Keynote Speaker and Published Author,
"If You Can't Act, You Can't Sell”
2. Successful cold calling is as simple as “A, B, C”
Attitude
Keep your attitude positive
Behaviors
Do the behaviors
Beliefs
Modify your core beliefs
Commitment
Commit to take risks
Commit to practice
Comfort Zone
Step outside your comfort zone
Change
The purpose of the call…. A.I.M.
Approach Cold Calling With a Winning Mindset
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3. Change the Association of Cold Calling
I’m making calls to help my prospects
The person I’m calling is no better than I am
I can’t fail when I make telephone prospecting calls
I believe that I have something that can help my prospects
I’m calling my best friend
Telephone prospecting really is fun
I’m making the call to disqualify the prospect
MANTRA: “I’m calling to speak with those people who want to speak with me.”
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4. RULE:
You cannot fail at telephone prospecting;
you can only fail to prospect.
Having a winning mindset is the
most overlooked aspect of a
salesperson’s cold calling and
appointment-setting success,
yet it is by far the most
important.
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5. Prepare to Win
FOLLOW A DAILY PLAN. Write down daily prospecting goals. For example, the
number of new dials you’ll make, the number of new conversations with decision
makers or the number of follow-up calls or referral calls you’ll commit to make.
PREPARE YOUR CALL LIST IN ADVANCE. In other words, prepare the night before
for the prospects you plan on calling the following day.
MAKE THE DIALS. During call time, make the calls. If your call list is “ready-to-go,”
you should be able to make between 10 and 12 dials per hour.
BLOCK TIME. This is a very powerful strategy for reclaiming your time. Block time to
make cold calls in your digital planners, Smartphone's, and Outlook Calendars.
HAVE A TELEPHONE SCRIPT PREPARED. Create an outline or a template of what
you want to say and what questions you’ll ask. Use a script to guide your words and
your delivery, but NEVER read any script word for word.
SALES RESEARCH. Sales research is typically an overview of a particular prospect
industry, market, and its players.
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6. LINKEDIN
There is no doubt that LinkedIn is the undisputed
champion in the prospect research arena. With the most
up-to-date employment information on an ever-expanding
network of professionals, LinkedIn is a treasure trove of
potential customers.
This professional networking giant has a lot of the
information a Cold Caller could want or need.
By checking your connections in common, you can
quickly find the most effective path forward with a
prospective client.
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7. Target Ideal Clients
One of the cornerstones of top performing sales professionals is
that they know the profile of their ideal client—the kinds of
companies they seek to engage with.
Generally, ideal clients have the following characteristics and
attributes. They:
Appreciate and value what you have to offer
Pay what you ask without haggling or negotiating
Entrust you to handle most, if not all, of their business
Become your biggest advocates and refer others exactly like them
Ask for your recommendations in other areas of their lives
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8. Connect With Screeners and Gatekeepers
Five Ways to Connect With Screeners and Gatekeepers:
1. DON’T VOLUNTEER TOO MUCH INFORMATION. Give information
sparingly. The gatekeeper’s job is to screen the calls of time-wasting
salespeople. Don’t make their jobs more difficult by over-loading them
with too much information and wasting their time.
2. BE A LITTLE “NOT OK” ON PURPOSE. Use phrases like: “I’m a little
confused,” “I’m not sure I have this right,” or “Is this something you can
help me with?” People love to help people who ask for assistance.
3. USE FIRST NAMES. “May I speak with Charlie?” or “Please connect me
to Bob.” If you use a convincing tone of voice, gatekeepers will think
Charlie and Bob are your best friends and often will connect you with
decision makers without asking lots of screening questions.
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9. Connect With Screeners and Gatekeepers
4. USE INTERNAL REFERRALS: For example, “I just got off the
phone with Kathy in purchasing. She suggested I speak with Bill in
the president’s office. Please put me through to him. Thank you.”
5. USE PATTERN INTERRUPTION: What is pattern interruption? It’s
a technique that people use every day to disrupt existing thinking
patterns. “Phil for John. Is he in?”
10. Capture the Decision Maker’s Attention
A TELEPHONE PLAYBOOK provides a PATH TO
FOLLOW, from the first “hello”, through the entire phone
conversation.
Introduction
Connection
Step
Transition
Question
Mini
Interview
Appointment
Close
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11. Capture the Decision Maker’s Attention
Get the Prospect’s Attention
The first challenge you face after getting prospects on the telephone is to secure his or
her attention for the duration of your call.
1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Introduce yourself and the company you’re calling from. Confirm that you are
speaking with the decision maker and ask the prospect if you have caught him
or her at a good or a “bad” time (“bad” time is a pattern interruption).
2. CONNECTION STATEMENT OR QUESTION
This is your opportunity to deliver a connection statement or question and
provide the prospect with a point of reference about what they stand to gain
from the conversation.
Example
“Bob, we’ve developed a sales model that’s helping sales teams double their number of
qualified appointments, improve their close ratio by up to 25 percent, and bust through
sales goals.” I pause and then proceed to invite the prospective client to participate in the
conversation by asking a transition question.
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12. 3. TRANSITION QUESTION
The transition question shifts the focus from you and your company to the
prospect and their company. The transition question is designed to get the
prospect thinking about whether or not he or she needs or wants what you are
offering. The transition question provides the prospect with the first opportunity
to get involved in the conversation.
4. MINI-INTERVIEW
During the mini-interview step, your goal is to keep potential clients talking and
to gather additional information. Ask open-ended questions to identify, explore,
and develop areas of potential problems, difficulties, aims, challenges, and
unresolved issues within the prospect’s organization.
Ask qualifying questions. Before investing time, money, and energy in agreeing
to meet with a prospective client, determine whether the prospect is a good
match for you and your company.
Capture the Decision Maker’s Attention
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13. 5. APPOINTMENT CLOSE
If the prospect meets your qualifying criteria, ask for the appointment. If you
don’t ask for the appointment, I can assure you that you won’t get the
appointment!
Example: “Bob, based on our conversation and the apparent fit between what
you’re looking for and our solutions, it sounds like it makes sense for us to
meet. I’m available to meet on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. and Thursday at 2:30
p.m. Which day and time works best for you?”
Capture the Decision Maker’s Attention
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Rule
It’s just as important to disqualify opportunities that you feel aren’t a
good match as it is to qualify opportunities. I call this “going for the
no.”
14. GET A COMMITMENT FOR THE NEXT STEP
Perhaps the single biggest mistake a salesperson can make is not
establishing a specific date and time for the follow-up step at the end of their
initial phone call or meeting.
Vague commitments from the prospective client (such as “Call me next
week”) or the salesperson says, (“I’ll send you the information you requested
and follow up in a couple of days”) result in missed calls, unanswered voice
messages, and ultimately a longer sales cycle.
AGREE ON A NEXT STEP
Ask for a specific date for your follow-up call, and
Ask for a specific time
Next Step
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15. Use Voice Messages To Connect With Decision
Makers
Some salespeople won’t leave voice messages under the false assumption that they
won’t gain anything from it. The logic of this is supremely faulty simply because your
prospect will never know that you called unless you leave a voice message saying
so.
VOICEMAIL STRATEGIES
Voice messages are an excellent way to introduce you and your company to
a prospective client. It’s your chance to leave a FREE, uninterrupted
commercial
The length of a voice message should be approximately 20-25 seconds. If it’s
too long, you'll lose their attention
Speak with enthusiasm. If you're not excited about what you have to offer,
then how can you expect a prospect to be?
Don't give away the farm. If you tell the prospect in the voice message
everything you'd want to tell them … what’s their incentive to call you back?
SLOWLY say your phone number or extension TWICE, once at the beginning
of the call and once at the end
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16. Bernie Cronin, CMS, is a dynamic speaker and consultant with
decades of sales and sales management experience to empower
Top Executives to become “Top Performers.” Bernie has studied
with prominent acting Coach Eric Morris and has participated in
the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theater’s Emerging
Playwrights group. He has also collaborated with original Blue
Man Group member, Frank Licari.
Life is a theatre and whether you
realize it or not, you are always
performing.
Prepare and plan for every interaction
Read and understand your audience
Help your audience discover and believe in your
message
Develop meaningful communication that resonates
Follow a system to support your role
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