Two Proven Secrets to Cold-Calling Success

On the surface, the phrase “effective cold calling” seems like the ultimate oxy-moron, easily beating out “jumbo shrimp” or “congressional ethics. After all, picking up the phone and trying to sell anything to a complete stranger is a decidedly tough nut. But when it is approached as both a marketing weapon and a sales vehicle, you can move cold calling beyond robotic word spew. Here are some fresh ideas, based on the insight of industry experts, on the art of winning over a prospect with a phone call.

1. Warm up first. Many cold-calling regimens involve hundreds of calls every day. If the first few go nowhere fast, it’s hard to stay focused and motivated. Before you pick up a prospect list, call a few friends or someone you’ve worked with to hit a positive stride. “The first few calls every day should be ‘warm’ calls,” says Linda Finkle, a consultant in Potomac, MD. “Call someone you know who will not hang up on you.”
2. Talk to the wrong person. This seems akin to tying boulders to your legs before your first swimming lesson. If you initially hook up with the wrong person and ask whom you should contact, you will have legitimate footing from which to proceed, because you can then tell your prospect that you were referred by a colleague, making the conversation far less awkward. “Suddenly, you have relevance inside the organization,” notes Heath Shackleford, a communications professor in Nashville, TN. “That little bit goes a long way.”