Okay, I’ve been rough on salespeople making cold calls recently. And they deserve it. This is risky stuff because it is so easy to blow…so if you (or your sales staff) are doing cold-calling, how can you improve?
Harry Joiner, the “Marketing Headhunter” has a recent post that asks the question Does Cold Calling Work? Really, it is question he asks at the end, but the post is filled with thoughts, links, and advise for the cold caller.
Some points I found:
- Remember you are interrupting someone
- Cold-calling is a chess game
- Nurture the leads: “Take things a step at a time: You can’t get from first base to third by running across the pitcher’s mound.”
- 50% of salespeople don’t make more than one contact
- Easy 5-step process to get to a second contact
Oh and here’s the sales-dork move of the week:
A sales guy visited our offices and left his business card with the receptionist for me. So I’ve got to go off what the card says, which isn’t much, or go to his website. Biz cards are fun to see if you can toss into the trash! 2-points for Dave!
A B2B marketing blog by an honest-to-goodness marketing manager for an industrial manufacturer.