Friday, December 26, 2008

Cold Calling Mistakes - 8 Tips To Avoid

By Brian McCoy

1) Purpose Of The Call

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) Don't Give It All Away Too Fast

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) Poor Telephone Manners

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 get a good idea about what your prospect thinks, you need to listen up. Make sure to ask questions, rather than monopolize the whole conversation. If you don't listen, you won't have success.

5) Making Your Fears The Prospects'

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) Failing To Ask Enough Questions

There are certain things that you want to find out about a person to know whether or not you would even want to do business with them. So ask some questions. People love to discuss themselves, their families, and other areas of interest to them. People will respond more favorably to you if you show an interest in them.

7) Preparation In Key

You would be foolish to enter into an important presentation with little to no preparation. The phone is absolutely no different. Take some time to think over what you have to say. It might also be helpful to role play with a friend or loved one. Find out what areas you need to work on and smooth out the rough spots.

8) Request 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. - 16459

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