For many of us the thought of picking up the telephone means that we suddenly become distracted by a million and one mundane things that you desperately need to do! Tidy the desk. Sort through the Inbox. Do that filing. In fact anything, rather than pick up the telephone, but by following a few simple guidelines you can take the cold out of cold calling.

Sign up for our Email Newsletter The following is an approach that will enable you to put the right proposition, to the right person, at the right time, and achieve the right results. Planning

Initially you need to establish the list of companies you would like to call, but don?t worry if you don?t have contact names at this point. Next, plan when you will carry out the session. This is important as it will help you to get mentally prepared for it, but you must also make sure you won?t get interrupted. I used to stick a note to the back of my chair that read: ?Warm calling in progress please do not disturb until 12 noon?! I do have other tips to help you deal with the physiology and psychology of cold calling that I will cover in another article.

Qualification

Asking the right qualification questions can save you an awful lot of time and money if done properly. You or your marketing department may believe that the companies on your database are the right size, in the right geographic region and in the right sectors, but bought in data is often out of date. No database I have ever seen or worked has been up-to-date. In fact, I strongly believe that all data, information, and knowledge ? has a shelf life!

So, what you need to do initially, is check the facts and make sure none of your potential customers have gone into sheep farming (unless, of course you supply sheep farmers with wellies). Other things change, companies downsize, right size, specialise, and unfortunately, sometimes go out of business! Direct these questions to the receptionist, general admin or maybe PA to the person you may ultimately want to speak with. Why? At this stage you could only pitch a generic proposition ? just like the 15 callers that failed before you and you may not know who in the company has a problem you can solve.

You also need to be asking some other key questions at this early stage to establish if this could be a good account for you. For example, a computer support company may ask: ?Do you have an IT Manager?? As the companies who do have one in place, are more likely to recognise the benefit of what you are selling. Is their somebody providing the products and services that you?re company provides? If they do, great! This will tell you that the company understands the value of what you provide. More often than not, sales people will ask about the competition when it is too late, or you find out that you have been used so that the customer could get a better price from the incumbent. How often have you asked about competition at proposal stage and the buyer/decision maker won?t tell you?

Being armed with some key questions that you can ask, as well as, knowing that you probably won?t have to pitch to a buyer at this stage, should give you the confidence to pick up the telephone.

I struggle with the ?elevator pitch? idea, as you can?t get thrown out of a moving elevator going up 20 floors, but somebody can put the telephone down in just 3 seconds! What I do believe, more so in today?s fast paced society, that a series of adapted sound bites work best. So, at this early stage of calling, you will need to have a sound bite outlining what you offer, you need to give something to get something in return. An example of what I might say is, ?We help companies to improve their business performance, through the implementation of practical programmes, which achieve more predictable sales results?. Could you help me by telling me how many sales people you have, and whether or not you sell direct?

Once you have confirmed, by asking a series of key questions, that the company could become a customer at some stage you then move on to the next stage in the process.

Gathering Information

Knowledge is power!

Wow, what a statement. But, knowledge is only power if you use it quickly and wisely, before it goes out of date or somebody uses it before you! So, you now know that ABC Company could potentially buy from you, but how do they engage with suppliers? Do they have a need right now? What is the process they go through to buy? What is the organisation structure? Who is feeling a pain that you can solve? All good questions, but don?t go straight to the potential decision maker to ask these type of questions. You need to identify who else in the companies that you sell to could answer these questions and then get asking. As you move around the organisation you will start to get a better of picture of what is going on. By mentioning that you have spoken to Fred in accounts, you may get a warmer reception and more information from Brenda the sales administrator. What is on top of the MD?s priority list. How do you find this out? Ask the MD?s PA, they are there to support and help the MD and if they can help solve one of their boss?s problems through something you provide, then they will help you. So-called Gatekeepers rule okay!

Other places to find information, company web site, press releases, magazines & journals, trade associations, online tools like OneSource and Hoovers, Google searches and many, many more.

Next stage.

Clarification

Check, check and double check information that you have been told and uncovered. Not that I am saying the people would go out of their way to lead you astray, but sometimes people will guess, assume and outright blag! Blagging is a word, Thomas Power used it page 13, Chapter 5, of his networking book!

So, check the facts and you will often be pleasantly surprised at what else you discover.

Final stage.

Execution

No, this doesn?t mean shooting people, it?s against the law ? I checked!

At this stage, you should have qualified that this company could buy off you. You will have a better understanding of who and how the company goes about buying your products or services and also if you have competition. You will know if somebody is dealing with an issue or has a need you can fulfil. You are now in a position to make what I call a ?Warm Call?. You will be able to deliver sound bites that will press the hot buttons of the buyer, you should be able to relate to their issues and provide a very brief verbal case study of how you have helped somebody else solve the same or similar problem. They will appreciate the fact that you have bothered to take a look at their company and have some understanding of their challenges. You may not be their hero, yet, but they shouldn?t slam the telephone down on you.

The end result should mean that you spend more time in front of people you can help. At the same time you will maximise your selling time and your sales results.

Written By John Bancroft