Cold calling is one of my favorite things to do in the entire world.  Does that sound crazy?  It probably does.  Let me put it this way.  First of all I love sales.  Secondly, I love knowing I can control how well we do quarter to quarter.  Cold calling is at the center of any successful sales campaign.  And I love doing it.
 
Rather than make this post a lengthy discussion about cold calling techniques let me make four key points:

1. Cold calling is the start of every revenue generation exercise; especially in a smaller/younger business where references cannot produce an abundance of new prospects.  Starting an exercise that will eventually put cash in your bank account is exciting and fun.
   
2. Empathy is the critical element that takes the sting out of cold calling.  See this link for more details.  Once you don’t feel bad about cold calling it becomes quite a bit of fun.
   
3. Never assume, always diagnose.  Think like a doctor- spend your cold calling efforts on a diagnosis plan.  For example … What ’symptoms’ would your target customer exhibit if they needed but didn’t have your product?  What are the results of not acting?  Develop an answer to those two questions.  Now turn the cold call into an explanation of the potential negative results and a pitch for teaming with your prospective customer to look for any symptoms.  If they agree you now have the access and privileges to dig deep to look for symptoms and the leverage to convince them to act (if your product can truly help them.)  From cold call to doctor call; that is exciting.
   
4. The right level of expertise in cold calling and sales turns your results into a predictable numbers machine.  Almost nothing is better than predictability in sales.
   

Good luck out there and send me a comment - we would be happy to help you with your specific approach and see if we can make it as fun for you as it is for us.
 

The best thing that happened to us at FundingUniverse was our renewed drive to focus on Sales & Marketing. About 3 months ago, we were facing a very difficult situation where cash was low and we were needing to get our subscription model launched. During the previous 4-6 months, our company was very focused on research & development. We spent quality time planning and developing a compelling membership subscription, but it was time to get the product to market. At the time (3 months ago), our team came together and made some very difficult decisions and sacrifices with the ultimate decision being that we would work harder, stay up later, and give more. What happened next was clearly remarkable: office doors began to shut (less distractions), the daily ritual of the office basketball break was soon forgotten, and the team got on the phones. It was a spectacular phenomenon: the team was taking home less yet giving more. The decision: Focus on Sales & Marketing. It was the best thing that ever happened to our company. Jeff and the team started rocking on the phones. We brought in a Rockstar named Jerry Khemraj. Jerry knows his stuff and helped to get things off the ground. Results: 1. December was a record month of revenue. 2. January doubled December’s revenue.

The past couple of months have been a fantastic learning experience for my team and me. You always hear that the most successful companies are focused on sales, but it often takes some tough trials to have it really sink in. Most entrepreneurs (including me) often think that they have to have the next best mouse trap. They spend most of their time going in circles trying to make a perfect product. Don’t get me wrong — it’s important to have a solid product/service, but it’s more important to focus on sales. 

Studying sales processes in diverse industries, to me, is like watching game reels before the big match. I love to do it and find creative solutions in every industry I study.  The process that intrigues me the most and the one I’ve studied the most intensely during my career is the ‘sales process’ the doctor uses to sell you a cure.

Isn’t this interesting…

A doctor is important enough for you to go to them.

Generally a long wait is worth your time to get to see the doctor.

The more important the problem you have, the more important the doctor becomes.  And, by the way, you don’t try to go the least expensive route.

Doctors don’t sell you – they diagnose you using data points you provide.  And you believe them and act on it.

Doctors can tell you about a problem you don’t even know you have.

The diagnosis and recommendations you get from doctors always trump those you get from a friend or family member … or even a website.

The ‘sales cycle’ is very short.

Doctors are always going straight to the decision maker for the decision.

Every time you have a problem you go back for another consultation.

 

We tell our team, “You are not a salesperson, you are a DOCTOR”.  When we find ourselves working with prospects to DIAGNOSE their problems we seem to end up in a doctor-like situation.  Our prospects buy more quickly, they trust our recommendations, the decision maker is involved early and often, and they appreciate our advice and come back for it often.
 

Do you have something to learn from doctors?  Would your quota achievement increase if even a few of the nine items above were true for your sales process?
I’ll be spending more time on this interesting topic in the coming weeks and months.  In the mean time spend some time looking at your current process.  Are there a few things you can do to tweak your sales process to be more diagnostic and less persuasive?  Try them out and I think you’ll be astonished at the results.

Share your thoughts and feedback using the [add a comment] link below.

The more and more I interact with business professionals and aspiring business professionals, the more I realize that it is the little things that make all the difference.  Kind gestures (not bribery), genuine compliments (not flattery), quality referrals when deserved (not “leads”), honest feed back (see ”Leadership and Self-Deception”) and respect for time (it is the only real commodity) are just a few of the little things that make all the difference.  I remember hearing in college to dress like the position you would like to have, not like the position you are currently in.  If you would like to be a true professional and respected by all, remember the little things are what make a lasting impression, not only a first impression.

Utah is a great state to do business in.  I am excited to be a part of ConnectBlogs and Connect Magazine and especially excited to be a part of the business community here in Utah.  I look forward to your thoughts, questions, and experiences in the coming years.
 

I am not sure that empathy would be something that the general population would associate with the sales profession.  Poll your colleagues and ask them to name the top ten most empathetic professions and my guess is sales wouldn’t even come to their mind.  Pose the question to yourself … don’t you think sales should be right up there with doctors, nurses, and soda-jerks?  Wouldn’t one of the top characteristics of a great sales person be their ability to understand the customer’s situation so they can more fully work to solve it?
 

At eLampros our pipeline review meetings are filled with employees banging their fists on the table, “my customer released this product six months ago and no one is successfully selling it - it’s not fair, all the research shows that the market wants it but they are not buying.  We NEED to fix this.  We NEED to help their call center learn how to move this in the market.”  Before they begin selling we insist a salesperson describe their accounts with the same passion and pain the customer is feeling.  Having empathy for the customer’s situation helps us to work to solve it rather than to cram our product down their throats.  (Which fewer and fewer businesses will let you do anyway)
 

THE WRONG KIND OF EMPATHY:  Often sales people use empathy but in the worst way possible.  Each of the following introductory statements is empathetic and each is completely inaccurate:  ‘we can save you money’, ‘we can make you more productive’, ‘we can free up your day’.  I have a colleague who get’s very excited when they receive a call telling them how much money they can save.  He says, “Really, that’s WONDEFUL!  Thank you!  How much am I spending now?”  Silence on the other side of the phone.  Point being empathy is a positive facet - scratch that - a critical facet of a sales professional … but only when it’s the right kind of empathy.  Get to know your prospects, understand their pain and be almost more passionate about it than they are and you’ll get the sell every time.
 

EMPATHY IN LEAD GENERATION:  The most important thing every lead generation professional needs to know is this - you are interrupting something very important when you call a prospect.  By definition what they are working on is important because they are working on it.  By definition the least important thing in the world to them is you - or they would have called you.  By definition you are interrupting because they were not expecting your call.  When you understand this you have very important knowledge.  When you put this to work you will change your world. 
 

What would you say to someone you are calling if you knew for a fact that you were interrupting something important?  What are you currently saying?  Do they conflict?  If you put yourself in the prospect’s shoes {visualize being extremely busy with an important task} and then think about what you say to them when you call how would you feel?  Do some of the responses you’ve gotten make more sense to you?  Do some of the hang-ups and false excuses and ’send me an email’ lines seem more realistic?  They should.
 

In our firm we absolutely refuse to meet with someone unless they were expecting our call.  We’re too empathetic of their situation.  If they are expecting my call and I’m on their calendar I’ll meet with them.  If someone calls them during our call THEY are interrupting and I’m the important thing they are working on.   Suddenly calling 100 people a day to set a time to talk seems significantly less daunting then calling 100 people a day to see if I can find someone willing to listen to my pitch.
 

Try it out - empathy in sales and lead generation may be one of the most important yet subtle things you can do to assure your growth.