Why Cold Calling Is NOT A Numbers Game – It’s A Relationship Game
I had a lovely woman cold call ME yesterday.
I know a lot of people HATE receiving cold calls, but it really doesn’t bother me.
To me it’s just someone doing their job.
Especially if it’s a sole-trader or small business owner, having the confidence to put themselves out there and take massive, daunting action to grow their business. Go you!!
Even though this lady was nice and polite, and her timing could not have been better because I actually DO need to hire a VA (that’s what she was offering), I couldn’t help wondering “How could she be doing this call better?”
(Actually, I couldn’t help myself – I posed the question to her! Keep reading to discover the same advice I gave HER.)
The reason most people hate receiving cold calls (and the reason we hate to MAKE them) is because most people are doing it wrong. They feel salesy, pushy, and are an interruption.
Just the very thought of “cold calling” can send some people into a cold sweat, hyperventilating and trembling hands.
I know because I’ve been there.
Yes, it’s true that I built my first business off cold calling, and knocking on business doors, but it wasn’t easy at first.
I had an open office with about 6 of us at the time, and I was afraid to pick up the phone if my people were listening to me. I could only make those calls if everyone was out to lunch, or I would kick them all out.
(I was the boss, so I could do that)
Why was I so scared of others hearing me on the phone?
Not only was I afraid of rejection from the person on the other end (which is to be expected), but now my staff were going to WITNESS my rejection.
If it was just me, I could shake it off and pretend like it didn’t happen… but with witnesses! I’d get the pity nods, the “chin up” smiles, and their opinion of me would slowly droop down to the floor.
Ugh it was terrible.
So why did I do it?
For a start, I was doing it wrong. I was treating it like a numbers game.
Unlike you may have been told by the big corporations, and even books or movies about sales, cold calling is NOT a numbers game.
It’s not about making 200 phone calls, steeling yourself to deal with rejection after rejection, in the hope that finally someone will be lazy or stupid enough to just say yes to whatever you’re selling.
Picking up that phone should only be done when you’re ready to build a RELATIONSHIP with the person on the other end.
Instead of finding a list of companies and numbers to call, and just hitting them up like a phone book, you need to be DISCERNING.
Choose a handful of companies you would love to work with. Research them. Find things in common, understand what they are focusing on, figure out how you can add value.
When you are selective with who you approach, you make less phone calls, you have deeper conversations, and you make more conversions.
Most people won’t be in the market for your offer RIGHT NOW, but by demonstrating that you want to build a relationship, they are going to be open to keeping in touch until they ARE ready.
Here’s how the conversation should flow…
“Hi, I’m calling to introduce myself”
Nope – I don’t care about you. I care about ME.
Instead…
“Hi, I noticed you’ve got an online business, and I’m curious, do you have a VA yet?”
That’s better – ask me a question. Humans are hardwired to answer questions. Even if I was not interested, I would say “no, but I’m good thanks” – still answering the question!
The next line is usually something like…
“I do all sorts of work from managing emails to booking travel to arranging appointments”
Great, but how is that relevant to me? Much better would be to ask another question, like:
“What’s your biggest time-waster that you wish you could outsource right now?”
Keep in mind, that people are busy, and people love talking about themselves. This became so evident to me during this conversation. When she was talking about herself, I felt left out of the conversation, and I wanted to hang up because if it wasn’t about ME, it was wasting my time.
Instead of launching into what she does, why she doesn’t call herself a VA (she’s an Online EA – and I do love that concept), and the activities she can do, the conversation would have flowed much better if she’d done more research and asked me more questions.
“I can see that you’ve got an online course, do you manage all the registrations yourself?”
“Do you do your own website updates?”
“Do you travel much for appointments?”
“I notice you blog very regularly, do you write and upload them too?”
“You’re very active on social – and I love your recent video about XYZ – do you have someone looking after your social accounts?”
These kinds of questions show me that she has looked into my business, she’s identified potential pain points, and that means she’s got solutions for them.
The outcome of a cold call is never to get the business right then and there.
The only outcome should be to secure the next connection – usually an email address.
Even though I AM in the market for a VA right now [in fact, I interviewed one earlier in the week], I am never going to sign on the dotted line by phone call. I’m going to want an email.
When the email comes, I want to read about ME again. I want to hear how she’s looked at my business, why she wants to support me and my business, and how she’s passionate about something that I also care about.
(and all of this can be discovered by a little research – what does my “about me” say? What do I post about online? What was the topic of my latest blog or video?)
After the initial email, I’m expecting her to follow up, and add more value, and see if I’ve made a decision yet.
The business comes from the RELATIONSHIP, not the initial cold call
Even though cold calling has a terrible, fear-inducing reputation, and nobody likes being on the receiving end, when DONE WELL, cold calling can open doors to some incredible opportunities, and can truly build a business.
It just needs to be done RIGHT.
Firstly, figure out who YOU want to work with. Choose a handful of companies.
Second, do your research. Dig into their business. Find their values, what they write about, what products and services they offer. Look for pain points, potential challenges. Seek to understand their industry and how they fit into it.
Thirdly, remember that the outcome of your first call is NOT to make a sale. The outcome is to begin the relationship. You don’t need to get across all your info in one breath. In fact, don’t even talk about yourself.
During the call, focus on THEM. Ask them questions, make them feel important, show you’re interested. Then ask for their email address.
And lastly, have a follow up plan. Your introduction email should be short and to the point, again focusing on THEM and why you’re a match.
But don’t leave it there! Check in a few days later. “Did you receive the email?” Send another email with more value – perhaps an article I might like, or some tips about reducing time-wasting activities.
Cold calling will only work when you forget all about yourself.
Make it about the other person, focus on them, and aim to build a relationship.
Do you use cold calling in your business? How do you go about it?
PS. If you’re reading this, and you know who you are, thank you for the inspiration for this blog post, and I trust our conversation last night has inspired you with future cold calls xx
