I started my sales career cold calling, but in my mind, doing cold calls is not modern selling. It’s just basic selling. However, I’ve decided to bring in some experts to share some cold calling tips with the listeners of the Modern Selling Podcast.
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Recently, I had Joe Pici talk about how to write a successful cold calling script, and in this episode, my guest is none other than David Walter.
David’s claim to fame is setting 15 appointments every day for six months while working at a contact center. He ran his own call center for 13 years and has now written a #1 Best Selling book, The Million Dollar Rebuttal: Cold Calling is Not a Numbers Game!
Listen to this episode to learn how your sales team can start making more successful cold calls.
3 Cold Calling Tips to Make 15 Appointments a Day
David told me about a time when he had a lot of financial pressure. He got a sales job cold calling B2B companies and he needed to make 10 or more appointments to earn commissions.
The problem was that not one sales rep in the company was making more than two appointments per day. He realized he needed to make 15 appointments to earn the kind of money he needed.
I listened to this @GoModernSelling ep. Now I'm teaching great tips to my #SalesTeam to convert #ColdCalls into appointments! Thanks to @M_3jr CEO at @GoVengreso and @LeadGenSecrects Click To TweetSo, inspired by Zig Ziglar’s book See you at the Top, David began telling his reflection in the mirror every day, “I’m going to set 15 appointments.”
Eventually, that started to happen and he set over 1,800 appointments in six months.
Here are David’s top cold calling tips.
1. Cold Call with a Winning Mindset
According to David, it all starts with your mindset.
“When I set that goal, my subconscious mind started figuring out all the steps I would have to go through,” David says. “Anything’s possible. That was my attitude. I started with the end in mind, and the idea that if I start with a ‘yes’ at the end, what would I have to say to get every person back to that ‘yes’?”
2. Eliminate objections with the right questions
One of the obstacles David encountered was that although he was getting through the gatekeepers and talking to the right people, most calls would end up with the same answer: “send me more information.”
But as every sales professional knows, “send me more information” is just a way for buyers to brush you off.
David got frustrated by that response and realized he needed a rebuttal to that objection. Instead of arguing with them, he would aggressively agree.
The million dollar rebuttal starts with agreeing with the prospect.
Contrary to what most sales reps are taught to do, David would answer excitedly, “I would love to send you some information.”
Such a response would throw people off. He would then ask, “What kind of information do you want? Customer testimonials, a brochure? Do you want the price?”
Listening to this @GoModernSelling ep. I changed my vision of #ColdCalling and how to ask the right questions. Thanks a lot to @M_3jr CEO at @GoVengreso and his guest @LeadGenSecrects 👏🏼 Click To Tweet“It’s like throwing that red meat bait, they go for it.” David says. “What prospect wouldn’t want to hear the price before they ever have to deal with the salesman?”
The psychological principle here is to get them to agree with what the sellers are saying, to get a “yes.”
But then David would try to talk them out of it and say, “I don’t really think you want the price. Do you really want it?”
This cold calling tip helped David disarm prospects who didn’t want to talk to him, and actually start a conversation about their needs.
Listen to the episode to discover the questions David asks during his cold calls.
3. Create a need for your potential client
Conventional sales wisdom says you need to find a prospect with a real problem or need to be able to sell your solution to them.
But the first thing most prospects say after hearing a sales pitch from a salesperson is, “I’m happy with what I have at the moment.”
According to David, if your sellers are going to make 15 appointments a day, they can’t wait to find the people that actually think they have a need or who are not happy with their current vendor.
“I realized that most businesses don’t know they have a need,” David says. “They can’t smell their needs because they get used to them. The issues with the slow computer, you know, all the different things that happen. That becomes their normal. Cold calling is easy. But it’s hard if you’re trying to find a need.”
Again, the secret here is to agree with people, agree with their perspective. “If I were in your shoes, I would agree with you.”
WOW! This @GoModernSelling ep. by @GoVengreso changed my perception about #ColdCalling and how the #SalesPerson can turn that into a #sales conversation. You rock! @M_3jr and @LeadGenSecrects Click To TweetA subset of people who say they are happy with what they have are actually open-minded. That’s who your sellers should identify and say, “I’m sure you are happy but there might be something better out there, things might change in the future, right?”
People will end up agreeing with the sales rep and would like to hear more about the product or service.
In other words, the salesperson’s job is to become an effective listener and acknowledge someone when they say, “I don’t. I won’t. I can’t. It’s not the right time,” and then turn that into a sales conversation. To ensure consistent performance and adherence to best practices, implementing call center quality assurance software can provide valuable insights and facilitate continuous improvement through data-driven evaluations and targeted coaching.
Make sure to listen to this episode as David tells some real-life cold calling stories where he used these tips to set more appointments and close deals. And do not forget to check out our sales messaging playbook.
Remember! Prospecting is the first step in the sales process and it is the hardest part of selling. Check out our definitive prospecting guide for sales management to grow pipeline.
Outline of this Episode
- [3:15] About David: From Selling Encyclopedias to Best-Selling Author
- [7:20] 3 Cold calling tips to set 15 appointments a day
Resources Mentioned
- Follow David on LinkedIn
- David’s book: The Million Dollar Rebuttal: Cold Calling is Not a Numbers Game!
- David’s Favorite Movie: Back to the Future
Connect with Mario!
- www.vengreso.com
- On Facebook
- On Twitter
- On YouTube
- On LinkedIn
