I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of selling. Last week, I defined the four trends that I believe will drive sales into the rest of the 21st century, and I’m even hosting a Webinar on those trends on July 6. One of the dangers of thinking about the future, however, is that you lose sight of what worked in the past and can still work today. I’m not going to do that. That’s why this week’s Navigator is going to be about why, if you think cold calling doesn’t work, maybe the problem is you and your skills.
Cold calling is probably the oldest technique for generating new prospects. It’s taken many forms over the years, but it’s still around. Should it be? Spoiler alert – YES. But you have to be good at it. Yesterday, I had a cold call that illustrated something I’ve been saying for years: If you think cold calling doesn’t work anymore, you’re probably lousy at it. I’m going to tell you about the cold call I received, where he went wrong, and how you can do it right (and why you still should).
Yesterday, I was cold-called by a guy who was selling recruitment services that matched military veterans to employers (a worthwhile cause). On the face of it, this is probably a guy who should be talked to if you are hiring. Here’s where he went wrong.
The first time he called, his phone connection was so bad that I couldn’t understand anything he was saying. He said, “This happened on my last call, let me switch phones and call you back.” Wait – if it happened on his last call, why didn’t he just stay on the other phone and call me from that one?
When he called back, he introduced himself with his name and company (good so far). Then, he went into a long spiel about what his company did, and that this was definitely a sales call, that he’d be wanting to talk about getting my hiring business, and could he have 30 seconds? This spiel took him more than 30 seconds. I timed it. So at this point, I just explained that I don’t do hiring because I don’t have a staff. That’s not 100% true, as I just hired my very own sales executive (the business is growing), but I didn’t have any MORE need for hiring.
Then he asked, “Well, could you tell me who would do all the hiring at Salesforce? It’s a big company.” That’s when it dawned on me. He thought he was calling an executive at Salesforce. For those of you who haven’t been with me for the nearly 19-year ride of my business (most of you), I’ll give you the backstory.
When I started my business on September 1, 2004, I called it “Salesforce Solutions.” The idea was not that I worked with the Salesforce CRM, it was that I solve companies’ problems with their own sales forces. Seemed like a great idea, but it wasn’t, due to marketplace confusion (up to and including calls like this one). That’s why I rebranded around my own name in 2014 – ten years ago. This guy had somehow gotten ahold of ten year old data and thought that he was calling an exec with a large company. I explained his mistake to him, politely, and wished him well.
He is probably thinking, “I don’t know why I’m cold calling – cold calling doesn’t work!” No. He’s just very, very bad at it. Before I give you the four keys to being good at cold calling, however, I want to talk about the elephant that I put in the middle of the room.
If I’m talking about the future of selling, artificial intelligence, what ChatGPT can do, etc., then why am I talking about this old sales technique? Simple. First of all, cold call prospecting is STILL the most controllable way that salespeople can build their businesses and attract new customers. Other strategies, such as networking events, social media, etc., are great and can work, but they are not numerically predictable and controllable. And we need a method that is. Cold-call prospecting should be part of your repertoire and routine.
Second – and now we can directly look the elephant in the eyes – cold calling is not (yet) something that AI can do well. In the article I wrote a few weeks ago, I said that salespeople need to get better at those things that AI cannot do well. Cold calling is one of those things. By using AI well in things that it’s good at, and then using the time saved to improve your skills at the things it does not do well, you can become the complete package. With that said, here are the four keys to being good at cold call prospecting:
- Test your technology. This means that, if you’re using the phone, make sure that you get a good connection and that you are understandable on the other end of the line. If you sound like you’re calling from the bottom of an oil well, find a different phone. You MUST be understandable. And while we’re on the topic, no damned auto-dialers! As a call recipient, nothing kills your chances quite like the 2-3 seconds of dead phone line between the time that the call recipient answers and says, “Hello? HELLO?” and you pick up and start talking. Use your fingers and dial the phone.
- Use a good database. Even the best databases can have about a 10% obsolescence factor – but in this case, “obsolete data” means a year and a half, not ten years. I think someone would have to be working hard to find data old enough for my past company name. By the way, here’s a quick hack. Most good library systems have subscriptions to free database services like ReferenceUSA, Data Axle, A to Z Databases, or the like. These databases give all pertinent information including contact names. You must have a NAME to ask for – not “the person who.”
- Be concise and powerful. From the time your prospect picks up the phone, you have 15 seconds – MAXIMUM – to give that person a reason to talk to you. Crap like “How are you today?”, “is this a good time?”, or other babbling uses up that 15 seconds, as well as your prospect’s patience. Introduce yourself and give ONE powerful sentence that explains how you benefit your customers, and how you could benefit them. Yes, this requires thinking and refinement. DO IT. You could even try getting ChatGPT to help you write the sentence!
- Ask a strong question. After giving your one-sentence explanation, ask an open ended question about the prospect’s potential problems and needs to stimulate the discussion. Then you can ask for an appointment.
If you’re thinking that cold calling doesn’t work, it’s time to get good at prospecting. Don’t waste your prospects’ time – or yours.
