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Category: Articles » Business » Sales » Article » Article Code

How To Prepare for Cold Calls When Resistance is Likely

Many sales reps look at ads, direct mailing pieces, catalogs, the Internet, anywhere there's advertising as sources of prospects. This is wise. But I find so many of these people ill-prepared for what they inevitably hear on calls. Here's an example of what I received. Caller: "Hello, this is Bill Jones with Video Recorders. I saw the ad for your Getting Through to Buyers video program, and we do video duplication." "Uh-huh." He became flustered at this point, probably because I didn't say, "Oh, you do video duplication? Where should ... read more

Article Title:

Article Body:

Many 
sales reps look at ads, direct mailing pieces, catalogs, the Internet, anywhere 
there's advertising as sources of prospects. This is wise. But I find so many of 
these people ill-prepared for what they inevitably hear on calls. Here's an 
example of what I received.
Caller: "Hello, this is Bill Jones with Video 
Recorders. I saw the ad for your Getting Through to Buyers video program, and we 
do video duplication."
"Uh-huh."
He became 
flustered at this point, probably because I didn't say, "Oh, you do video 
duplication? Where should I send my master copy; you can do 
mine."
"Uh, I'd 
like to talk to you about doing yours."
"Look 
I'll save you some time. I selected my existing company after evaluating quite a 
few. They have a very good price, quality is fine, and service is great. I have 
no reason to even consider looking around. Even if I did, I ordered enough to 
last me the rest of the year."
"Oh, OK. 
Keep us in mind."
Yeah, 
sure.
Analysis and Recommendations
So you 
might be thinking that I gave this guy an iron-clad objection that was 
impenetrable. And you're right for the most part—when it comes to getting a sale 
on that call. However, he undoubtedly runs into that same objection quite a bit, 
so I'm surprised he hasn't learned to use something that won't totally slam the 
door so suddenly in his face. Here's what I would do in his 
situation:
o 
Call Strategy and Preparation: If I were placing this call, my Primary Objective 
would be to get commitment that the prospect would use my service the next time 
they duped tapes. Although that wouldn't be achieved on a majority of the calls, 
it's always best to aim high. After realizing on the call this wouldn't be 
reached, objectives in descending order would be: to get commitment that I could 
at least bid on their next job, and if that wasn't met, to get agreement that 
they would at least keep us on file as a back-up supplier in case their existing 
duplicator for some reason no longer met their needs, or if they had other 
future projects coming up.
o 
Preliminary Information: He knew nothing about me when he called. He could 
have asked the person who answered the phone here about who we now use, how many 
we typically order, what we pay, and any other qualifying information which 
would have better-equipped him for the call.
o 
Opening Statement: He gave no reason for me to even listen. He may as 
well just said. "Well, I've finally 
called you, so I guess you can start using us 
now."
Simply 
dialing the phone does not give a person the right to take someone's time. 
Promising or hinting at some value they could get 
does.
I would 
have listened to this: "I'm Bill Jones 
with Video Recorders. We specialize in top quality video duplication, and now 
work with quite a few training organizations. Depending on the price you're now 
paying and your level of satisfaction with the quality and service you're 
getting, it might be worth it for you to take a look at a bid we could do for 
you. I'd like to ask a few questions to see if it would be worth your while to 
talk about it."
I would 
have been more likely to answer questions at this point. However, even if I did 
retort with the same objection mentioned earlier, he could have picked up on it 
and used it to ask more questions. For example, "I see. What price are you paying?" If 
that resulted in a dead-end, a last resort question to at least try and 
accomplish the last chance objective would be, "What plans do you have in place for a 
back-up supplier, if for example, you needed a large quantity in a hurry and 
your supplier wasn't able to accommodate you for some 
reason?"
Determine 
if parts of your call process are similar to this one. Analyze every step of the 
process, determine your own strengths and enhance them, and shore up the weak 
areas.

Author Bio:

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