Saturday, November 29, 2008

Cold Calling Mistakes - 8 Tips To Avoid

By Brian McCoy

1) Understand The Call Goal

Before you even pick up the phone, you need to have a clear idea of your intention and goal for the call. Do you have a direction that you want your prospect to head in after speaking to you? If you do not have a vision for your call, you are unlikely to achieve the end result that you want.

2) Find Out Their True Interest Level

This goal is simple. Do not give away all of your goods without knowing if the person will even take the time to look at them. If they want you to just send them the information so that they can get you off of the phone, don't do it. Do some digging to see what their level of interest is, or if they're just trying to get rid of you.

3) Bad Telephone Etiquette

We all know what good etiquette is, but sometimes we don't even realize when we're not following it. Avoid smacking your gum, eating, multi-tasking, or having distractions in the background while you're making calls. Not only will it be distracting to the prospect, but also to you.

4) Not Listening To Your Prospect

If you want to know what your prospect is thinking, just listen to them. Make sure that you do not monopolize the conversation. Poor listening skills will lead to failure.

5) Avoid Making Your Fears Theirs

Just because your prospect does not have the time to talk to you right now does not mean that they never want to talk to you. Do not jump to conclusions. You may have just caught them at an inconvenient time. Ask them when would be a better time to chat and reschedule your appointment.

6) Not Asking Enough Questions

To find out what you need to know about your prospects, it is critical that you ask enough questions so that you can qualify them. Everyone loves to talk about their own life experiences, their family, and other things that interest them. By asking the right questions, you will build rapport and show interest in what is important to them.

7) Not Being Prepared

You would not go into an important presentation and wing it, and the phone is no different. Spend some time role playing with a friend or your spouse. You want to grab your prospect's attention, not turn them off with you stumbling over your words.

8) Ask For What You Want

You need to give your prospect a call to action. You want them to follow up with what you're telling them by having them do their own due diligence. By asking them to do something for you, you can then follow up with them and see what their own research turned up. - 16039

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