Always Cold Call!Wimps, bozos, geeks, nerds and punks, never cold call. It''s not in them. They''re gutless, clueless, and cowardly. They, like their fear-of-public-speaking cohorts, will do anything instead of having a show-down with a take-no-prisoners-prospect in real-time. They''ll procrastinate. They''ll make excuses. They''ll worm and weasel their way to one rationalization after another. "Cold calling doesn''t work!" "Cold calling is obsolete!" "Cold calling is for the desperate!" "Cold calling is inefficient!" Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again! Cold calling is the fastest path to a "yes" known to humankind. Wimps, bozos, geeks, nerds and punks, never cold call. It?s not in them. They?re gutless, clueless, and cowardly. They, like their fear-of-public-speaking cohorts, will do anything instead of having a show-down with a take-no-prisoners-prospect in real-time. They?ll procrastinate. They?ll make excuses. They?ll worm and weasel their way to one rationalization after another. ?Cold calling doesn?t work!? ?Cold calling is obsolete!? ?Cold calling is for the desperate!? ?Cold calling is inefficient!?Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again! Cold calling is the fastest path to a ?yes? known to humankind. It works, and my professional life is an ongoing testament to it. Just the other day, I called a book editor at a major New York publishing house. He knows me, by now. But a few years ago, I was an utter stranger, until I cold called. My latest book project isn?t right for his house, but I asked him for a referral to an agent he respects. He gave me a name. I phoned him, he read my proposal and within a week he signed on to represent my new project. When someone asserts cold calling doesn?t work, that?s a personal statement of fear and failure, and fear-of-failure. That guy or gal cannot do it. So, they avoid it, generalizing their peculiar weakness and shameful lack of training and understanding to the rest of the population. Cold calling isn?t obsolete. In fact, it is surging because more passive, if-you-build-it-they-will-come methods, such as dazzling web sites no one visits, and junk emails, aren?t putting food on the table, except for web site designers, Google, and a handful of others. Sadly, most people wait until they are desperate to try cold calling, but it is a great tool when things are going your way. Then, sounding cheerful and at your most resilient, you can dial-and-smile without any pressure. That?s when the sales really multiply. But people get it backwards. They should START their sales efforts with cold calls, and then, before long they?ll have an extensive active roster of customers that they can re-call, which means they?re no longer cold calling, until that is, their customer ranks thin, once more. When I was in the car leasing business I cold called to get my initial accounts. The sales manager thought I was a fool, and told me I?d crash and burn. Within my first week, I leased two cars. Within four weeks, every new trainee at the company was ordered to cold call for new business. Cold calling is super-efficient and I?ll tell you why. People that aren?t interested are thrilled to say no, over the phone. Meet the same folks at a networking mixer, exchange cards, and they?ll hem and haw and never get around to telling you they have zero interest in doing business with you. The phone delivers a fast no and a fast yes?who can ask for more? It?s the muddled maybes and the try me next years that gum up the works and transform us into computer entry clerks at the service of our tracking software, that simply cannot distinguish between genuine leads and dead ends. Anti-cold callers are crutch grabbers. They need ?warm leads,? prospects that have been bought and paid for with big marketing budgets and lots of advertising. If you cold call, all you need is a phone, a pitch, and a number to call. YOU DON?T EVEN NEED A PROSPECT?S NAME IN ADVANCE, if you know what you?re doing. Take it from the ?cold call kid??, it?s the quickest path to a yes, it?s becoming more and more useful over time, and it?s incredibly efficient. Simply tune out those wimps, bozos, geeks, nerds and punks, who never cold call! Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top trainer, conference and convention speaker, and sales, customer service, and negotiation consultant. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is also the best-selling author of 12 books, more than 1,000 articles and several popular audio and video programs. His seminars are sponsored internationally and he is a faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of sales, management and consulting experience to the table, with impressive academic credentials: A Ph.D. from USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies.. |
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