Saturday, October 15, 2011

Cold Calling Sucks and Frankly, it's Really Stupid

I have alluded to this concept in previous posts, but today I felt it high time to really discuss this topic in greater detail. So let's set the table first. I started in telecom sales in 1999. It was my first real B2B sales position and I knew nothing about the Baltimore business landscape. My company preached "go out and collect 20 cards and make 20 phone calls every day and you will be successful." I hated collecting cards. I did so only when absolutely forced to. Usually this meant there was a national contest that participation was mandatory and their were prizes for certain categories. I always won the "most cards collected" one for my office. It was easy & I don't mean that I went a grabbed a fish bowl from a local tavern. What I would normally do is hit a medical building with 50-100 Doctors offices and collect those cards. Now, most of the names on those cards were the wrong person for me to talk to, but that isn't what the contest was about, it was about collecting cards, it made the bosses happy.
So you will notice that the OVERWHELMING number of people who advocate cold calling are either sales managers or people trying to sell "cold calling" techniques to sales managers. When I first started I only cold called. I would get contact lists from Dunn and Bradstreet and that would give me a targeted location, company name and contact person to speak with. In a given day I would make 100 calls, I would talk to 10 people and set 3 or 4 appointments. I usually did that twice a week and that gave me enough activity  to keep my manager happy. So here is a question for you good readers today. How many of you can genuinely tell me that the last time you made 100 cold calls that your spoke to 10 decision makers and set 4 appointments? So what changed? Do I just suck at cold calling now ( sure, maybe the answer to that is yes, but lets put that aside for a moment). If you make those 100 calls, how many decision makers do you get to speak to, 2 maybe 3? So right there the contact percentile has been cut by 70%. Now I don't know about any of you but I can't live on 70% less money than I did ten years ago. And there is one truth about sales that I agree with, it's a numbers game. You still need three times your quota in your funnel every month to hit your target. But that has become increasingly difficult, so back to my original question, what changed? I can't speak for every industry but I know telecom was wide open in 1999 and you could openly call people and get through to the right person. Depending on your market sector, that right person would often answer the phone. In 2011, that has changed incredibly. Thanks to the Snake Oil sales people out there that give legitimate sales people a bad name, the actual DM that will take the time to answer the phone is almost completely gone.

So how do you get people to take your call? There are lots of theories on this one. Here is what I have found success with. First, you connect with people through networking, the chamber of commerce and philanthropy. Find something you are passionate about and then volunteer. You build up a list of people that may or may not be good customers for you but most certainly can make introductions for you.

Step two, research. Use your local business journal, use the Internet, I am very fond of Linkedin and I research people on there all the time. Most specifically, I am looking for people with specific business titles that have mutual contacts with me. I will then ask that person for an introduction. If I have done right by this person in the past and introduced them to good people then the introduction shouldn't be a problem. If I don't have a mutual contact then I look for other common ground. Did we go to same college? Are we part of the same fraternity? Do we like the same sports teams? Do we advocate for the same or similar causes?You are looking for things that make you stand out as a person so that you are no longer just "another salesperson." Once I find that common ground I will call and ask to speak with them. Undoubtedly I will get transferred to voice-mail and that is my chance to introduce our common ground and see if they are willing to speak with me. If they have a receptionist/screener that says they don't have voice-mail  (here's a hint, that's a lie) I decline leaving a message and instead I look up their email through more Internet research (jigsaw is very useful for this, but that is another topic for another day) and when I send the email I mention the connection in the subject line. For example if it is my college then I say "hello fellow Retriever." for those that don't know, UMBC's mascot is a Retriever, so it has meaning to the alumni.  If none of this works, then go back your network and just start asking around. Eventually, if you bring a name up enough times to enough people, you will eventually get the right contact and the right introduction.
I actually just had this very experience. I saw a company article in the Baltimore Business Journal ( another favorite) about a new space opening. I did some research and found the right person. I called and asked about the new space. They said "not interested" and hung up. Very odd, because I knew that their new office would need my services. Even if they don't buy from me. So I went back to my network and found that the person I need to meet with has a mutual contact. I asked for an introduction. She told me that they are very tough to deal with but she would make an introduction for me "no promises." So a month or so went by and I sent an email back to the customer and mentioned that our mutual friend had indicated they are very hard to meet with and that they don't really like sales people. Told them I completely understand, that I don't much like sales people either. That little bit of humor seemed to be enough to open the opportunity. Now, it took me another 6 months from that email to actually get the meeting, but I did get the meeting and it looks like there is a great opportunity for me to do business with them and they will be a tremendous "named account for me in Baltimore.

So to all you sales managers and business owners that preach to your sales people the "Value" of the cold call, take a hard look at the success rate and instead, teach your people to build long lasting relationships that can create powerful referrals.  

And to all the "cold call Gurus" out there peddling your wares to corporate America here is a request " go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here."

Thanks for reading today!

Mike S.


BTW, I really hope you can come out to my one of my networking for a cause events. Click the links below and I hope to meet you in person very soon.

Networking and FUNdraising in Baltimore 11-11-11

Networking and FUNdraising Ram's Head Savage Mill 10-17-11

8 comments:

  1. Thanks Mike - excellent! and in a similar position to yours if only more managers would subscribe to your point of view.
    Alex
    PS. I don't mind the peddlars selling elsewhere as long as it's not in the UK :)

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  2. That is a great article. I hate cold calls.. I hate it when I get cold calls from sales people... I hate getting the calls where they are reading a script and then if I ask a question they don't miss a beat and never answer my question.. (maybe it was a computer I don't know.. I just hang up on them at that point) My company offers such an amazing product but getting to the right person is always a challenge.. and I know I can help them and it is frustrating because the industry has been so damaged by "bad sales people" So your tips are very helpful. I have always believed that the relationship with the customer is the most important.. Building Trust and providing excellent Customer Service is key!!

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  3. I enjoyed this article very much. I have found LinkedIn to be very useful for this type of networking - and it is very true that approaching people this way helps warm up the initial contact so it's not such a "cold" call and annoying.

    Thanks for sharing your experiences.

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  4. thanks Liz, feel free to contact me through linkedin

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  5. Awesss.thank you for verbalizing what I have been thinking! Having been a veteran of sales for awhile, I can't agree more. How do we get the boss to agree??

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  6. Sheree: that really seems to be the problem. You would think that ownership would want to see such changes but they are still clinging to old methodologies, wondering why sales are down. must be lazy salespeople, right?!

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  7. Sheree: Your boss will agree when you hit the numbers. I have never heard a boss that would argue with success.

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  8. It's all in the mind. If you pick up that Phone already dreading the call, then it will reflect in your tone. You are calling people who are either stuck behind a desk from 8-5 everyday pushing paper or running around from location to location like a chicken with their head cut off. The last thing they want to hear is someone with their fake phone voice telling them what their needs are or trying to sell them something because they read information off their website. Call them and talk to them like you would a friend, tell them who you are and exactly why you are calling. I have even told customers that I just picked their name out of a phone book because I have never heard of them and was curious about their business. If you get push back, that's ok, because they haven't hung up the phone. Any conversation is good conversation. Then ask them questions you may already know the answers to. I always start with the the IT department, which is the exact opposite from what you are taught but if I'm looking for information they are the ones that are going to give it and most will talk for HOURS about it if they could. If they don't have an immediate need that I can fulfill that's ok cause in a couple of months they may and they are going to remember that sales rep who took the time to listen. Also, call them once a quarter to check on them and their dog. The most fulfilling sales for me is when a client came to me because I listened and didn't just brush them off because I had a quota to make. If you are patient and put the focus on the client and not your quota you will find your funnel overflowing. Don't be scared to be persistent either when you dont get the person you are calling. Always leave a voicemail. Call other people in their department. Not convinced? It is July 2012 and I have made my quota for the year x 3. Fact is, you never know who is buying and when, so call them all. Don't discriminate!
    Oh, and I call straight out of our state's business listings. No research, no name dropping, just me doing what I love to do. I hope this changes some sales reps outlook on cold calling or atleast provides a sunnier outlook towards it. Thanks for listening!

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