3 Success Stories

100 best sales & marketing ideas: 81-90 | LifeHealthPro

89. Make those calls
Making those dreaded sales calls are heart-pumping, gut wrenching tasks that most people are incapable of executing well. There are two reasons that making phone calls to referrals or even to cool prospects are difficult. Either the mindset is wrong or the preparation is wrong, or both. The mindset is simple. Each time you pick up the phone, think of the person on the phone as a friend. How would you call a friend? It would be with sincere energy. You would anticipate talking to your friend with mild excitement. The attitude is “Hi, John, how is your day going?" Of course, you have to introduce yourself, but your tone and energy needs to be very friendly. Mostly, your natural state of mind must be "I'm just calling a friend." Also, your life doesn't depend on the outcome. Don't sweat the rejection. There are tons of prospects.

Subject preparation is extremely important so you can talk intelligently and at length about the purpose of the call. Don’t be afraid of details. People don’t like evasive salespeople.

This is basic stuff, but the basics are where most people fail. Put together these two pieces and the phone will be your best friend.

— Kim Magdalein, Owner, SeminarsForLess.com
 
I got busy with quoting and writing and put cold calling on the back burner for WAY too long and have fallen off the horse. Huge mistake on my part! Seems like the phone, which was once light and easy to use, has gained it's 1000 lbs back. So, trying to pick myself up and start dialing again. Found this article about calculating the value of cold calls, which may be of interest to others https://www.salesgravy.com/sales-articles/prospecting/is-cold-calling-effective-calculating-the-present-future-and-net-value-of-a-prospect.html

Anyone have some recent or great stories of cold calling success, could use any motivational help I can get right now. I don't need any of the, "Man up and start dialing" or "Put on your big boy pants and just pick the phone up" or any other obvious suggestions :)
 
I got busy with quoting and writing and put cold calling on the back burner for WAY too long and have fallen off the horse. Huge mistake on my part! Seems like the phone, which was once light and easy to use, has gained it's 1000 lbs back. So, trying to pick myself up and start dialing again. Found this article about calculating the value of cold calls, which may be of interest to others https://www.salesgravy.com/sales-articles/prospecting/is-cold-calling-effective-calculating-the-present-future-and-net-value-of-a-prospect.html

Anyone have some recent or great stories of cold calling success, could use any motivational help I can get right now. I don't need any of the, "Man up and start dialing" or "Put on your big boy pants and just pick the phone up" or any other obvious suggestions :)

stay hungry, my friend
 

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I got busy with quoting and writing and put cold calling on the back burner for WAY too long and have fallen off the horse. Huge mistake on my part! Seems like the phone, which was once light and easy to use, has gained it's 1000 lbs back. So, trying to pick myself up and start dialing again. Found this article about calculating the value of cold calls, which may be of interest to others https://www.salesgravy.com/sales-articles/prospecting/is-cold-calling-effective-calculating-the-present-future-and-net-value-of-a-prospect.html

Anyone have some recent or great stories of cold calling success, could use any motivational help I can get right now. I don't need any of the, "Man up and start dialing" or "Put on your big boy pants and just pick the phone up" or any other obvious suggestions :)

You are never "too big" or "too successful" to stop prospecting. To be successful long-term and to be a continuous prospector, we need to change the way we view our time management.

I think a lot of us look at it on the left - carve time out and do your cold-calling. Just like going to the gym, right?
Rocks-Pebbles-Sand.jpg


But... if we can integrate it around a productive schedule, like on the right, and we can keep it as an ongoing discipline.

How can we do that?
1. Be prepared to make calls during the day where ever you may be. Build up your own list and make the calls in-between appointments.
2. If you are visiting clients at their homes/businesses... "clover leaf" around there to introduce yourself and the work you do.

If it were me, I'd always arrive at least 30 minutes prior to an appointment and clover-leaf around it. Then make calls from the car AFTER the appointment.

Door-knock - appointment - calls... rinse and repeat as needed throughout the day.

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As Ben Feldman said "If you have a problem, turn it into a process, and it won't be a problem anymore."
 
DHK, that is a great post sir. That would be amazing if I could get myself to view cold calling in that way. I definitely am of the blocking it out type. I have to get myself in that cold calling mindset and then work it for all it's worth. Picking it up in down times would be a great process to have.

Put one leg in my pants yesterday and got back on the phone a bit. I warmed up to it by calling back through businesses I spoke to 4 and 5 months ago. Then started dialing cold. Didn't pick up any commercial, but I am quotting a home and auto for a business owner today, because of yesterdays efforts.

I also have started really seeing the power of cold calling. Sure, the first call isn't fun and more often than not, doesn't land an apt. or quote. However, it does make future calls 10 times easier. I'm able to lead with, I spoke to so and so back in whenever. It's kind of like what Chris Rock says about kissing. The first kiss is nerve racking and scary and exciting, then all the others a breeze. Maybe that's a bit of a stretch or altogether a horrible analogy, but it makes sense to me in a way.

If anyone has any other great success stories, please share. I'd like this to be a thread where other agents can come and read about the fruit of cold calling labor and hopefully help them get over whatever hump is holding them back.
 
Would you care to reveal where you purchase your numbers? looking for a good company to buy my cold call numbers from.
 
I don't purchase any at this time. i have access to a business database through my local library. If you need to get data, get ahold of Josh on here. He owns listshack and is a great guy to work with.
 
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