After years of practice, countless hours of study and training for sales jobs, and thousands upon thousands of sales calls, you have become a true cold-calling expert. You can set appointments seemingly at will or close sales over the telephone like no other. However, don’t get too comfortable because here are the three biggest mistakes even the best cold callers can make.
1. Stop listening to the entire response
When you become a professional cold caller, the first thing that begins to suffer is listening to the entire response or objections from the prospective customer.
The rookie caller cuts the customer off with a kneejerk, off-pat answer to a wrongly anticipated objection. Although the pro may correctly anticipate the actual response, and answers with a planned-not canned process, the result is still cutting the prospect off before they have finished their thought.
The experienced cold-caller must allow the prospect to complete their statement and not respond too quickly thereafter.
2. Reverse money mouth
You may be familiar with the term “money mouth.” Money mouth (MM) is that insincere, robotic, overly enthusiastic sounding voice of the untrained, smile and dial telemarketer. That unmistakable sound comes partly from the tension and fear that the telemarketer has when making calls.
The well-trained pro eliminates MM by having no fear and developing a naturally sounding calling voice by training and learning to relax. However, after time, the pro can easily become too relaxed; making cold calls with an almost nonchalant disinterest.
While the rookie has to fear having, “££££” coming out of their mouth; the pro has to be careful of speaking, “Zzzzz.” The best cold-callers have to remember to stay focused on the fact that it is still a business call and there is money involved.
3. Give up too easily due to relying on the averages
The third and perhaps most deadly mistake the best cold-callers make is that they give up on some prospects prematurely. The top-level pro understands the science of cold calling all too well. The pro knows the numbers and the mathematical formulas for success. For instance, the pro will know that for every ten cold calls, she will reach six decision makers, make four presentations, get three “nos” and set one appointment. Because the pro is so certain of the sales funnel process, it is easy to begin to let difficult prospects go; understanding that one in ten will set anyway.
The problem is that the law of averages and those numbers only work when the sales person gives every telephone call their best effort to set the appointment or close the sale. When you start to go easier on some than others, the numbers instantly change.
While the rookie cold caller is often guilty of spending too much time with prospects that prove to be a waste of that time, the best cold callers are often guilty of not investing enough time with prospective customers.
Sean McPheat is the managing director and Founder of MTD Sales Training. MTD Have trained over 30,000 staff worldwide. Sean is regarded as a leading authority in the world of selling and has been featured on CNN, BBC, and ITV. Check his free weekly tips and his MTD sales blog for more advice.
