Most people will say that building walks are simply a numbers game. But is that entirely true? While knowing how many calls it takes to get in the door requires knowing the numbers, overall sales involve strategic thinking.
For instance, what might the potential prospect like to learn about? What value can you bring to the call? These questions involve research. For example, if the company is undergoing a merger, how can your industrial real estate knowledge help them be more effective in the marketplace? Or, if a company is downsizing, how can your virtual office offerings be of service? The more you remain current, the stronger your conversations will be, and the more likely you will be heard.
Stay up to date on industry trends. Stay as current as possible to have worthwhile conversations. Then think about how you can add value to the potential customer. How can you solve their problem or make their day-to-day operations easier? Doing this right means understanding your own offerings inside-out and then taking the time to see how you can introduce a solution in an impactful way. While the goal of the cold call is to schedule a meeting, it’s imperative to be prepared for any conversation! What you don’t address over the phone, you certainly will face-to-face or over Zoom.
On that note, it is always best to meet the prospective client face-to-face. There is little emotion through the screen. People are impacted most emotionally. Decisions to move forward come from happy and excited feelings. Establishing rapport comes from tapping into the emotions of others and being authentic. The cold call has an end goal. And that is to establish enough interest in your offering that conversations become warmer and more impactful. The awkwardness will vanish. There is just a little bit of grunt work to get there.
Final thoughts
The biggest mistake new sales reps make is not making enough calls. They are thrilled to be doing what they love and forget that it takes sales to make things happen. Sales prospecting is 80 per cent of the effort in a new business; the other 20 per cent includes doing the client work.
While not all new business falls into this category, enough do. Set aside the overwhelm and schedule time daily to make cold calls and build your CRM / database. Your leads/list of connections is your lifeline. Qualified leads make things happen.
In order to make enough calls, know your sales cycle. Understand how many nos it takes to get to yes. Simply build your list daily until you have a large enough contact base to make regular follow-up calls.
Small steps each day leads to amazing results. Stick with it. Track your efforts. Spend your time calling the right decision-makers. Like most activities that lead to success, cold calling is not glamorous. But each step you take towards your goal counts. It’s about taking action.
Learn more from Nicole’s YouTube channel here.
Nicole Attias is the owner of Prospect2Win. Prospect2Win is a sales-based company in Canada that is dedicated to helping businesses get in the door through cold calling and presentation training. Nicole facilitates workshops and webinars for real estate agents and various real estate boards. Contact – nicole@prospect2win.com
Stay tuned for my upcoming eBook, “Transform your sales approach – More than just a cold call.”
