Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Cold Calls
I just had a cold call sales call from a very enthusiastic salesperson trying to send me some software, it was over the phone, and I probably will never buy from them for a number of reasons.
- He went straight to a sales pitch and did not take the time to even figure out if what he was trying to sell me was a fit for me.
- I was confused. I was trying to figure out what was relevant about this software; how it was going to help me in my business. Now, I gave him a little bit extra time because the person who runs the company, he mentioned them, and I knew him, you know, from a number of different views of years ago. And so I wanted to give him a chance, I asked a lot of questions to really figure out if it was the right software for me.
So sales leaders, it's really, really important right now to help your team to earn the trust of the buyer.
What that salesperson needed to do was earn enough of my trust to give him my time to take that free demo that he really wanted me to sign up for. He was going to give me free month access to the software, all of that. I don't care. My concern was I have no time this week (and why should I give you my time?). He didn't overcome that first objective.
I recommend that people really prepare for calls when you're reaching out.
You need to understand the client more, and you need to earn their trust by helping them see how having that conversation with you would be of value to them.
If you'd like a conversation on how to help your team do this a little bit more, I offer a few exploration calls every week.
