Saturday, November 29, 2008

Cold Calling Mistakes - 8 Tips To NOT Do!

By Brian McCoy

1) Know Your Call's Goal

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) Find Out Their True Interest Level

This goal is simple. Do not give away all of your goods without knowing if the person will even take the time to look at them. If they want you to just send them the information so that they can get you off of the phone, don't do it. Do some digging to see what their level of interest is, or if they're just trying to get rid of you.

3) Poor Telephone Manners

We all know what good etiquette is, but sometimes we don't even realize when we're not following it. Avoid smacking your gum, eating, multi-tasking, or having distractions in the background while you're making calls. Not only will it be distracting to the prospect, but also to you.

4) Listen Up

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

There are things that you need to know about your prospect to qualify them, but also make sure to find out about what they want you to know. People love to talk about themselves, their families, and things of interest to them. You will build rapport with them by being interested in what interests them.

7) Not Being Prepared

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) Ask For It

You need to give your prospect a call to action. You want them to follow up with what you're telling them by having them do their own due diligence. By asking them to do something for you, you can then follow up with them and see what their own research turned up. - 15634

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