Take a moment and ask yourself how often, in your personal life, do you engage with a cold caller? Do you just hang-up? What is it that we find so annoying about cold callers and what can we learn from that? In the world of B2B sales calling is an inevitable part of prospecting and most would agree it isn’t pleasant.
The problem with most cold callers is that they haven’t stopped to reflect on what they find so objectionable about being on the receiving end of these calls. They make some pretty fundamental mistakes not because they set out to be obnoxious or bothersome but because they have been taught to do so.
Traditional cold calling techniques are based on what was effective many years ago; a time where there was no email or voicemail, when there was a reasonable expectation of constant accessibility. Back then cold call recipients were less stressed and harassed and as a result more willing to engage with a cold caller.
Today we need to be different.
To begin with, when on the phone with a new prospect, ask for permission to continue talking. This may seem obvious but almost without fail cold callers just continue talking, never showing the prospect the common courtesy to opt into the conversation.
Next, disclose what it is you wish to talk about up front and do it succinctly. This should never take more than a minute.
Then be specific about how long the requested conversation will need to be and again, make it short.
Finally, give the prospect the choice to continue talking -or not- after the initial conversation.
If you start to treat prospects with the same level of respect and courtesy you would a peer you have a better chance of being treated like one.