Saturday, November 29, 2008

Cold Calling Mistakes - 8 Tips To Avoid

By Brian McCoy

1) Purpose Of The Call

Before you even make the call, identify the purpose and end goal of your call. What action do you want your prospects to take after the call? If you don't have a goal, you won't get the result that you want in the end.

2) Don't Give It All Away Too Fast

When your prospect says, "Send me some information," that does not translate into them reading that information. Do not oblige them and send information just as a means to get off of the phone. Find out if they really want the information, or if they are just trying to get rid of you.

3) Poor Telephone Manners

Good phone etiquette seems simple enough to achieve. However, when you are in a stressful situation, you might not even realize what you are doing. Do not chew gum, snack, or attempt to multi-task while you are making a call. Your prospect will be distracted by your poor manners and they may get the wrong impression of you.

4) Listen To Your Prospect

If you want to know what your prospect is thinking, just listen to them. Make sure that you do not monopolize the conversation. Poor listening skills will lead to failure.

5) Don't Make Your Fears Theirs

Just because your prospect does not have the time to talk to you right now does not mean that they never want to talk to you. Do not jump to conclusions. You may have just caught them at an inconvenient time. Ask them when would be a better time to chat and reschedule your appointment.

6) Not Asking Enough Questions

To find out what you need to know about your prospects, it is critical that you ask enough questions so that you can qualify them. Everyone loves to talk about their own life experiences, their family, and other things that interest them. By asking the right questions, you will build rapport and show interest in what is important to them.

7) Preparation In Key

You would never dream of speaking to a room full of people without having prepared ahead of time. The phone is no different. You really need to take some time and go over what you have to say. Ask a friend or family member to do some role playing with you. There's nothing worse than fumbling over your words when you are talking to a prospect.

8) Request What You Want

You want to push your client to action. Ask them to do their due diligence and research what you're telling them. By asking them to do something for you, you will be creating an opportunity for a callback to make sure that they have followed through with their end of the deal.

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