Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!)

Stephan Schiffman

• Publisher: Adams Media
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781440572180
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Sales
• Index: Business

The definitive guide to cold calling success!

For more than thirty years, Stephan Schiffman, America's #1 corporate sales trainer, has shown millions of salespeople how to close a deal. In this newest edition of Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!), he'll show you why cold calling is still a central element of the sales cycle and where to find the best leads. Updated with new information on e-mail selling, refining voice-mail messages, and online networking, his time-tested advice includes valuable discussion points that you'll need to cover in order to effectively present your product or service and arrange a meeting. Schiffman teaches you how to use his proven strategies to:

• Turn leads into prospects
• Learn more about the client's needs
• Convey the ability to meet the client's demands
• Overcome common objections

With Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!), 7th Edition, you'll watch your performance soar as you beat the competition and score a meeting every time!

CHAPTER 1
Cold Calling Is Essential

A famous professor at Harvard Business School once asked his students to name the number one reason that businesses do not succeed. He got all kinds of answers, ranging from bad management and bad programs to bad products, poor concepts, and lack of capital. After reading all their answers he stood before his class and told them that the number one reason businesses fail is … “lack of sales.”

That’s it. It’s lack of real sales—the work you and I do on the front lines. And if I can’t get in the door to see people, I’m not going to sell.

In most selling environments, nothing can happen unless you’re able to get that first appointment. No matter how well you sell, if you can’t get in the door, if you cannot get an appointment to see somebody, you’re not going to sell. This is the central theme of this book, and you’ll hear it a lot over the next chapters.

To become a successful salesperson, you have to develop a solid base of prospects. This base will only remain solid if you continue to prospect successfully—and the cold call plays a large part in successful prospecting. Cold calling is the best and most economical way for you to develop prospects on an ongoing basis and to get appointments with them. This book is devoted to helping you get in front of your prospects in the most efficient, profitable way—and to overcome your number one competitor.

Your Biggest Competitor

Who is your number one competitor? Interestingly enough, you could name every company in your business—and you’d be wrong. No matter what company you mention, I’ll tell you you’re wrong. You could tell me that you are your own competitor. You’d be wrong again. You could say to me that your energy level is your competition. Wrong.

Your number one competitor today is the status quo. The status quo is what people are doing right now. If you understand that, you’re going to be successful. It’s rare that we’re really up against a competitor—we’re usually up against the incumbent, the status quo. Remember, most of your potential customers are happy with what they’ve got—otherwise, they would be calling you!

Once when I was doing a training session I stated that your number one competitor is the status quo. A sales rep raised his hand and said, “Steve, I’ve never heard of that company. Who’s Status Quo?” Don’t get sidetracked. Remember: you’re up against the way your prospects are doing business now!

Where Sales Come From

First, I want to discuss something that upsets many salespeople. The fact of the matter is you’re going to get one-third of all your sales no matter what you do. Let me repeat that: You’ll get one-third of all your sales no matter what you do.

In fact, you and I have seen people who shouldn’t be allowed to walk the streets without a leash who still make sales. The reason people like that are able to make a living is that their sales are based on needs for consumer-driven products. Eventually something breaks; eventually you’re going to need a new car; eventually you’re going to need more lettuce; eventually you’re going to buy a new television. That’s true even in a down economy. During the Great Recession of 2008–09, sales of consumer goods took a downturn, but they didn’t stop. People still need stuff, and companies need to sell stuff to them. Successful salespeople understand that they’ll get one-third of their sales no matter what, simply because they knock on enough doors. But is that enough?

The Sales You’ll Never Get

Then there’s one-third of your sales that you’re not going to get. For whatever reason, no matter what you do, you’re just not going to get the last one-third of your sales. Sometimes it’s because the other guy, the other salesperson, gets it. Sometimes there are internal changes at the target company that you can’t control. Either way, you’re not getting the business.

The Sales That Are Up for Grabs

The last one-third is up for grabs. That’s what we’re going to discuss here. I’ll show you how to develop your competitive edge, get more appointments, and get more of that last one-third, which is where the good salespeople separate themselves from the mediocre salespeople.

The interesting thing is that plenty of salespeople make their living by simply accepting the first one-third. They’re just taking orders.

In fact, there’s a guy in Times Square who sells a little wallet-like card case. He simply stands there and says, “Wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy?” You get the idea. That’s all he does!

That tells you something about the entire sales process. If you see enough people—figuratively, if you stand there saying, “Wanna buy, wanna buy, wanna buy”—you will eventually make a sale. In fact, as we mentioned earlier, you’re going to make a certain number of sales no matter what you do. If you knock on enough doors, it doesn’t make any difference what you do; eventually you’re going to get a sale.

Suppose I went to the busiest street corner nearest my office (it happens to be Times Square), and I simply put out my hand. Do you think anybody would put money in my hand? Of course, eventually someone’s going to do that. That’s my first third. Now if I held out a cup, do you think I might make more money? Of course. If I add a cup and a bell, bing-bing-bing-bing, would more people give me money? Of course. Add a cup, a bell, bing-bing-bing-bing, and a sign, “Please help me.” Would more people give me money then? Absolutely.

The point, again, is that you’ll eventually make a sale if you see enough people. But this story illustrates that it’s equally important to make the most of the opportunity. It’s not enough to just see people or talk to people on the phone. You have to use the right tools.

The other day I was walking in Manhattan near our office and I noticed a bank with a table right outside displaying a sign that read, “SIGN UP FOR PC BANKING.” Three bank employees simply approached every single person who walked past them and asked them to enroll with their PC banking program. I went up to one of them and asked, “How did you do?” They said, “It was incredible today.” In the last two hours they had signed up 200 people—people who had simply walked past the building. You and I could make sales that way. Simply going after the first third, and doing nothing else, however, is not the way to build a successful sales career.

Timing Is Everything

When we look closely at the prospecting process, we can see why the concept of time is so important. I know that it takes me about eight weeks from the time I first sit down and talk to a prospective client to the time I make a sale. So let’s play this out and see how it works. If I sat down with you on January 1st, I’d know that, if we decide to do business together, I’m going to see a sale not in February, but in March—say, on March 1st. January 1st to March 1st. If my sales cycle is eighteen weeks, it’s going to take me that much longer. The sale will be closer to May.

If, on January 1st, I’m busy because it’s a holiday and I don’t call anybody, and on January 2nd I don’t call anybody because I’m doing something else, I’ve pushed out the date when I can expect to see a sale. Say I don’t prospect on January 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th. Now instead of March 1st, it’s going to be March 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. I think you get the point.

Think about it like this: When you get paid for a sale, when did you really earn that money? Depending on your sales cycle, it could have been as long as three months or even a year ago. If you didn’t do some kind of prospecting a year ago, the odds are that you won’t see any income now. If you look at it this way, what you suddenly realize is that the appointments that you generate today are what create the prospects you meet, which ultimately give you your sale at the end of your sales cycle.

Now that you’ve read about how important time is, you’re probably jumping out of your chair saying to yourself, “I’ve got to get started!” Please finish the whole book before you try to implement the program.

Reducing the Sales Cycle

A couple of weeks ago I went on a sales call. It was a good one. How do I know it was good? Because while I was there, I set up an appointment to come back. By setting the next appointment on my first appointment, rather than waiting until later, I accelerated my sales cycle by three to five weeks.

Let me explain. Typically, on an appointment, a salesperson will tend to say to the prospect, “I’ll call you in a week.” Now we’ve added at least a week to the sales cycle. Then what happens? We might not get the person on the phone that next week. Now we have to wait. Finally, we get the person on the phone, setting an appointment for perhaps two to three weeks later.

By setting the next appointment during the first one, we can save all this wasted time. We really can reduce the sales cycle by three to five weeks!

Gerbil Selling

Let me share another story. Recently a sales call of mine went very well. The presentation was great! Since the presentation had gone so well, I asked for the sale:

Steve: It makes sense to me. What do you think?

Prospect: We can’t do it now.

Steve: Why not?

Prospect: I gotta talk to my boss.

Steve: (Because time is so important) Okay. Let’s go see him now.

Prospect: Well, we can’t do that. I need a week.

Steve: I’ll come back in a week.

Prospect: Nope, no good. I’ll call you.

Steve: No, I’ll call you.

Prospect: I’ll call you.

Steve: I’ll call you.

Prospect: Steve, trust me. I will get back to you. Honestly, I’ll get back to you.

Steve: Okay.

There was nothing else I could do. One week went by, then two. I didn’t hear from him. Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty … It’s now, I don’t know, maybe ninety-eight weeks lat...