The Dreaded Cold Call
Cold calls or cold visits can be an intrusive, interrupting, ineffective, and expensive method for contacting new business prospects. With the exception of a retail environment, this approach is not usually effective. However, in circumstances where you have no choice, there are several things you can do to increase your chances for success.
Most people have had some sales experience in their past. You probably have both good and bad memories. Chances are your sales experience started many years ago. You may have sold Girl Guide cookies door-to-door or been asked to preside over a booth at the school fair. One of your summer jobs may have included calling customers on the telephone or working in a store. If you were fortunate, a superior provided some guidance and helped you through that difficult time of meeting new prospects and turning them into customers. Hopefully, you learned to let prospects know what you can do for them and to match this information to their needs.
You can make a cold call in several ways: by telephoning a prospect, by visiting a potential customer (you were in the area anyway), or by approaching a customer in a store. In each of these situations, the same fears and apprehension can paralyse you and cause you to blow the opportunity. But most of the concern only exists in your mind.
Cold calls are not about winning or losing; they are all about communication. In the cold or beginning stages of a relationship, you are exchanging information. Your objective is to discover the other person’s needs and to demonstrate how you can satisfy him or her.
Some people will say that they are not salespeople or that they hate to sell. They may believe this because of past negative experiences. The reality may be that they were not prepared properly. If you are familiar with the basic requirements of a new business situation, you can be prepared for anything.
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