COLD CALLING – Your #1 Activity (starting today):
If you want to be a super successful, Top Producer… a TopTenPercenter™, what is the first and foremost activity (#1 on your To-Do list) you should do on a daily basis and for how many hours?
Of course you know the #1 thing is outbound cold calling and it takes a certain kind of person to pull it off – a TopTenPercenter™. Cold Calling skills come from one thing… making cold calls. It is a lot like weight lifting… the more you do it the stronger you get. And of course, just like any muscle it is going to get out of shape if you don’t use it.
I don’t care if the sky falls down or there is an earthquake, I’m going to pick up the phone and pound.
After excercising the “muscle” it becomes easy. So now every spare second that I have I’m making another phone call, calling another name and trying to get another person on the phone. You will get so good at it (if you have the proper training) that you will even start to get a little cocky about it… where you feel really good about it.
Can you imagine after 6 months or a year of cold calling? You will have seen it all. You will have been in every imaginable type of scenario or situation on the phone or in person.
You have to go after it with a sense of enjoyment… after all the purpose of your call is to help the person you are calling. Simple as that. You have to enjoy yourself. If you don’t like helping other people then Sales is probably not for you.
At a minimum… you should dedicate (make it a daily practice) at least two and a half hours a day of outbound new calls to people you’ve never spoken to; at least two and a half hours. So in two and a half hours you should be making fifty, sixty phone calls. And, you know, some people are going to start calling you back. You just have to make the first call.
Now I say that you can make 50-60 calls… but very soon with training your ability to get “and KEEP” someone on the phone is going to increase dramatically. And as that happens you will only have to dial 10-15 numbers to engage people into 5-6 initial phone conversations. I call those meaningful conversations.
You know, you have got to be willing to fail in order to succeed. Seriously, many people are going to blow you off. Do not take it personally. You don’t know what that person has going on in their life at the moment you call. So you have to get as many “at bats” as possible on a daily basis. What do you have to lose?
If you don’t make your phone calls then you can be sure those people will never know who you are. If you don’t call or visit and get them to open the door then you will never have the opportunity to be of service to them.
And if everybody hangs up on you, what do you care… you know what I mean? So, you pick up the phone and make those calls.
NOW… if you’re a new Salesperson, you should be cold calling four hours a day. No kidding… that is how you get up to speed fast… your speed to training will be incredible… you really should be looking forward to this part of your career… this is where you build your foundation for many years to come. Many years making many dollars if you are a TopTenPercenter™.
By calling each day, you build up strength little by little, call by call, until you know with full confidence you can talk to anyone, anytime. You have gone thru the training and are now a veteran.
It’s all about keeping your tools sharp… and this is done by being disciplined and making a commitment to yourself… it’s about self-integrity. This is critical:
If you say to yourself, “This is the day. No matter what I am going to make 4 hours of cold calls!” and then you only call for two hours, then what happens is the next day you say, “Today I’m going to make two hours of cold calls!” and then you only do an hour, and then after a while you won’t promise yourself anything because you don’t have any self-integrity.
Integrity is like a muscle too. You have to build it… and if you have it already (which I’m betting you do…) you have to keep it strong. Make a small goal at first (on the first day) and then no matter what… Stick to that goal… make it happen no matter what. Work up to four hours if you have too… And if every day you make a small goal and then you stick to it, then you start to sub-consciously build that integrity muscle even stronger… so the next time you say you are going to do something… you follow thru and make sure it gets done because that is what you are used to doing… if you say it gets done then it gets done. For instance, 2 ½ to 4 hours of cold calling every day.
In no time at all you will be able to get anyone you want on the phone and blow them away with your ability to change their life with your product or service.
STRATEGY:
TRAINING
I mentioned “training” several times so far… it’s important.
There are many places to find training, courses, internet, YouTube, etc. There is no lack of things to watch. If you want to “talk” with someone about what it takes for training to work then let’s talk. I have trained some very successful sales teams. Take a look here and leave me a message if you like what you see… www.TopTenPercenter.com
LEADS
Obviously, the reason you do your cold calling is to get “NEW LEADS”. I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that there are easier ways to get new leads then cold calling. Don’t get me wrong, some organizations build their business on straight cold calling and there is nothing wrong with that in some situations. But there are faster, smarter, easier ways to get new leads.
Just a few words on bulk email marketing. I just spent the last 10 months researching, testing, learning… basically banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to solve this bulk email, lead generation mystical mystery.
First I’ll say that the entire industry from lead lists to landing pages is very complicated. There are 100s of software options available if you want to take the time and focus on building a systematic way to ensure your company ALWAYS has leads… it is very possible. The problem of not enough leads is a problem from yesterday… not in today’s business world using today’s business technology.
Now with that said… you almost have to be a genius to figure out how to build that system (there are so many twists and turns, bells and whistles and ups and downs). And once you have figured it out you realize that it is really very simple. It is very straight-forward with the primary key being consistency. Set up an automated system and let it work.
I’d be happy to consult with you on this… but this is what I’m going to tell you… let someone else have the headaches. You don’t have to build the system… you can buy very targeted leads that come from the #1 lead source in the US today – hands down no competition. Ask me how to get these leads.
There are many companies that will sell you a lead list. Most of those lead lists have been sold over and over again 100 times. Buyer beware of those lists.
You want to find a list provider that runs lists for you daily. Fresh leads. Now, it is your responsibility to convert these people… you have to run them thru your entire sales process and win their business… but at least you will be “at bat”.
My help is available:
Click here for more information: www.TopTenPercenter.com
Contact:
Shane Byers
503-941- 9400
Connect on LinkedIn… www.linkedin.com/in/shanebyers