Networking

If you are in business in any capacity, you’ve made cold calls. If you’ve had to call anyone out of the phone book for any service whatsoever, you’ve made a cold call.

So why are cold calls so HARD for people to make? How come people DRED making cold calls and how come there are sales classes and books dedicated directly to Cold Calling?

I’ve been in a training class all week to learn the new company’s policies and procedures. Part of what we’re doing also is learning about sales. This part for me is the easy part but for many in the class, it’s the most intimidating. One of the women shared with me that she is extremely uncomfortable talking with people she doesn’t know.

I told her to FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT.

Seriously, getting a script and following by that is a good thing to do, as LONG as you aren’t READING and don’t sound like a telemarketer. That is why people hang up on people, because they sound like a telemarketer.

Here is a cold call that insures that you’ll be hung up on:

Jim: “Who is the Director of Marketing”
Receptionist: “May I ask who is calling?”
Jim: “This is Jim”
Receptionist: “Jim who?”
Jim: Jim Smith
Receptionist: And what company are you with?
Jim: XYZ Company
Receptionist: “May I ask what this is in reference to?”
Jim: “It’s a confidential matter.” Or “it’s a time sensitive matter”

Possible hang up here or:
Receptionist: “Well he’s not in, you’ll have to leave a message”
Jim - hangs up

It’s not so hard people!! Don’t make it so hard. First of all, why are you hiding? If you truly have great information and a wonderful service, people are going to recognize that. If you DON’T have a valuable service and professional product, then get out of the business until you find one!

I also know that people discriminate if your voice sounds different from theirs. If you have an accent of ANY kind, then you better be one of the most FRIENDLY people on the planet, because people are going to discriminate against you. If you are a New Yorker calling the south, people are going to think you are an outsider. If you are a southerner calling New York, then you BETTER speak fast. If you are African American and have your cultural accent, then you BETTER speak CLEARLY and professionally. If you are of foreign decent, then speak SLOWLY and call with a SMILE on your face.

I do have a word for people with accents. If you are working on a phone job, then you would do best to work to minimize your accent. My husband is from Brooklyn and we worked for a LONG time to temper his thick accent. There were certain words that were distinctly New York, such as “Yesterday”. He pronounced that as “Yes-Ta-Day” Another one was “Dollar”. He pronounced it as “Dolla”

Additionally, if you have a foreign name, it’s going to be natural for people to avoid developing a relationship with you because they are going to forget your name. If you have a foreign name AND an accent, the average response to you is going to be much worse than if you have a typical American name.

I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, I’m just stating a fact. You are going to have to be 10x better than your average competitor. Because cold calling is about establishing relationships and it’s much easier to establish a relationship with someone more like yourself.

Here is a good typical cold call:

Jim:”Good morning! This is Jim! Who am I speaking with please?
Receptionist- “this is Sue, may I help you?”
Jim: Hi Sue! Yes, I’m looking for the Director of Marketing.. could you please tell me who that is?”
Receptionist ‘That is Randy Rawls” May I connect you?
Jim: “Great. Thanks Sue. Have a great day”
Receptionist- “You too!”

People want to help people.. IF they are nice people. If they sense that someone is a waste of time, then they are going to screen your calls and NEVER help you. If you aren’t nice or pleasant to the “gatekeeper” then you’ll have problems down the road.

There is a difference of opinion in this of course. There are some people who make phone calls who try to “trick” the gatekeepers or just try to get around them. I think the majority of them are smart and just doing their job when they get phone numbers instead of connecting the calls.

My best advice is that they can help more than they can do anything else, and that making them your advocate is the smartest thing you can do.

Cold calling is nothing more than meeting new individuals to see which companies are the best match for what you are selling. People are on the other end of the phone and so the same things apply when meeting friends. People want to be liked. People want to help. People want to be good to other people. People like hearing their name.

Cold calling can be fun if you let it. Just remember that when people solicit you at home, you may not always be the nicest; so do your best to understand others when you are on the other side. Be as warm and friendly as possible. Relay a sense of confidence, that you have a product or service that can really help.

Then, when you get the client on the phone, do it all over again.

Then make another call, and do it again. And again, and again and again.

For some of us, the cold calling never ends.

Mary Gardner is a professional networker, recruiter, author and coach. She’s coached and trained celebrities, executives and hundreds of professionals. She’s an expert communicator and is available to help top notch professionals find a job. You can find her at mary@marygardner.com

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In sales we do tend to become focused upon our own little worlds. Our company, our desk, our clients; but there is a whole world of people out there living their lives in their little worlds too. And they do a lot of business. The purpose of personal networking is to move yourself into these people’s networks so that you can do business with them naturally and without cold calling. Now, I am not for one second suggesting that you should stop cold calling but you can use personal networking to greatly increase your chances of success and referrals.

Pareto’s Law states that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. Chances are that these are the clients that you have strong relationships with, your “champions” if you like. So start to network with them. Find out who they know, who they can refer you to and who they would approach for business if they were you.

Now you may be thinking, “Well, I cannot do that.”
Or even, “Well, they would have given it to me if they had any contacts, wouldn’t they!”.

Wrong! On both counts! People who do not sell for a living do not understand what you want if you don’t tell them. They may well think that you do not need or want their help. Approached properly your clients will help you, they will give you leads and they will sell your services for you. I advocate that everyone I coach has a “circle of influence” - a group of people who always speak well of you, will refer you to other people and who will happily pass leads to you. Start by identifying ten people for yours now and start to network with them. As time passes you can expand this group. You will find that many of your best clients will be people who are referred to you by your existing best clients.

And remember! In sales, none active clients can be “champions” too so keep in touch with them. I have won many large pieces of business from clients who work with my competitors for a variety of valid reasons but then recommended me and not them!!! Why? Because the salesperson who sold them had something specific that they wanted at the right time but I had the networking skills and the credibility so they gave their referral business to me not the other salesperson!

“But Gavin, I have only just started out and I haven’t got any clients or any people to get into my circle!!!!”

Well, firstly I don’t believe you. Ten years ago I was offered a job with a large financial advisors in the City. I was very tempted. It was more money than I was earning, the commission was incredible and the offices were flash. I decided that it was not the path for me but I do remember their first question in the interview, “When you start with us you have to make a list of 200 people you know. Now you many not think that you know 200 people but you will. Write down all of your family, all of your friends and then everyone you know through them. It may take you a while but you’ll get there. Your first job is to ring them all, tell them what you are doing and ask them how they can help. Can you do that?”

So you see you will know people, when you try. Are you ready to try yet?

But there are other ways to get to know people and here are just a few. I am sure that you will have more and better ideas because you know your business better than me

Business groups, user groups, networking groups (such as BNI), breakfast clubs, Toastmasters, church, rotary, rotaract, the round table, standing in queues, public speaking anywhere, charity work, in restaurants, volunteer service, hotels, at the gym, professional associations (such as REC), your local business link, schools/ colleges / universities, neighbours, friends, family, colleagues, ex-colleagues and many, many more.

And as a final note before you all leave your desks to take your best clients out for lunch or to go and visit BNI! You are running your own business. You are responsible for making the sales that you need to hit target. You need to work out - by yourself and in discussion with your manager or coach - the best way to do that. Every networking meeting you attend should have an objective!

Several of my ex staff may well be reading this thinking, “I cannot believe him - he stopped me going to the XXX user group.” Yes, I might have and if you remember I asked you why you were going. If the objective is not clear and not quantifiable - don’t go. It’s not a “jolly” or a day out of the office, it’s a proven business development method!

For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.

Visit http://www.gaviningham.net now to join Gavin’s free monthly newsletter packed full of sales secrets, strategies and tactics. Join now and get Gavin’s ground-breaking 9-part objection handling course absolutely free.

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