Gain Recognition With Perceptive Prospecting

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Gain Recognition With Perceptive Prospecting

Written by Stu Schlackman

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Cold Calling That Builds Great Relationships

Most of us dislike putting on our “salesperson persona” when we make cold calls. We think it’s needed, however, because we’ve been trained to make the sale. And yet we’re interacting with a live, breathing person without having any real connection to him or her. It often feels fake, and it often is.

Sometimes the finest solutions are the simplest. Focusing on relationships when making cold calls is one of them. It keeps us genuine, and eliminates our dread of making cold calls. We’re real people talking about real things. We’re interested in the conversation, and it shows.

This artificial role puts a great stress on us, and sabotages our cold calling conversations. When we aren’t genuine, it’s a red flag to the other person that we have a sales agenda. This puts nearly everyone “on guard.” They’ve never met us and are wary of possibly being manipulated.

Have you ever noticed that most cold calls break down the moment we try to “move” things along towards a sale? It’s as if we’re getting ready for battle, and the tension pushes us along.

But the person we’ve called doesn’t know us. The momentum we’re trying to impose puts him or her in a defensive position. They’re protecting themselves from a potential “intruder” who might have a self-serving agenda.

So how can we to shift into something more positive? We begin by focusing on the relationship rather than salesmanship. We call with the anticipation of meeting someone new, and looking forward to a pleasant conversation to find out whether we can be of service. This mindset is subtle but powerfully felt by the other person.

Building relationships humanize our cold calling conversations -- and ourselves. We are less artificial. Cold calling conversations become more natural. And people tend to respond with more warmth and interest.

The point is not to use the “technique of building relationship” to improve sales. That’s having a hidden agenda rather than a relationship. Our goal is to see if we can provide something that will benefit the other person. If it doesn’t, then we prefer not to continue interrupting their day. That’s a real relationship, even if brief.

When we’re being real people treating others as real people, the difference is amazing. Both people are both more at ease. We anticipate talking with someone who may possibly have an interest in what we have to offer. And if they don’t, we’ve enjoyed our time with him or her.

When others feel this relaxed mindset from you, they are much more likely to welcome you into their day. But if you rigidly follow a script or launch into a mini-presentation, then your call is immediately pegged as something initiated primarily for your own gain. And that puts most people into resistance.

Here are 8 keys to building relationships in cold calling:

Focus on the other person’s needs rather than on securing a sale
Surrender to the outcome of your cold call so you can connect with your potential client at a human level
View the human connection as an exciting journey in which you encounter new and interesting people
Speak graciously and naturally as you would with any new acquaintance
Remember it’s about how you come across, not about how many people you call
Allow the conversation to evolve naturally
Invite both of you to decide together whether it’s worth your time to pursue the conversation further
Use phrases that are non-aggressive yet very effective

So try this. Practice shifting your mental focus from salesmanship into a place of relationship. You’ll find that your genuine enjoyment of the conversation rubs off on the other person. They’ll be less defensive and more likely to share with you truthfully.

One of the best ways to build relationship is by using phrases that carry the human element very well. Start out by asking, “Hi, could you help me out for a minute?” The most common response will be, “Sure. What do you need?”

Your next question might be to ask whether they are open to the idea of looking at different ways to, for example, reduce their expenses. Most of the time the reply will be something like, “Well, sure, what kinds of expenses are you talking about?”

Now you are able to open the conversation between the two of you and build an initial relationship. It’s easy and comfortable to continue from there.

When you do this, you’ll experience so much success and satisfaction that it will really change the way you do business. And it will bring sales success beyond your imagination.

The Psychology of Prospecting

If you want to exceed your budget consistently and bring new business into your company, you need to be successful at prospecting, period! This is why the most successful sales professionals earn the big bucks! Sales managers hire sales people that can bring in new business, not manage existing accounts. Yet there are many ‘newbies’ that come into a new company hoping that they will be handed a gravy train account that just keeps sending in new purchase orders. Maybe that happened 20 years ago but not in this millennium.

To successfully prospect, you have to understand these three realities so that you have realistic expectations.

1. Get focused and dedicate the time. Successful sales professionals prospect between 4-10 hours a week and in some sales environments, it’s double that. Whether it’s doing research on a prospect, going to an industry event, a network meeting or cold calling to set up meetings, you have to do the time. Sitting by the phone for 3 hours and hoping you will get calls from a prospect to set up a meeting has about the same odds as snow in Texas in August! You must be proactive & focused to be successful in prospecting. The good news is that prospecting today is much easier than ever before thanks to the Internet and social media. You may wonder, how can that help my prospecting? When you post articles on websites in your industry and on LinkedIn you gain recognition and eventually status. Link these back to your website and it moves you up the rankings in Google and other search engines. You can also invite prospects you’re targeting to free webinars or Tele-classes. Or sign up to speak to professional, community and civic groups like Rotary or Chambers of Commerce. All of these methods will build your brand and your credibility!

2. Understand cold-calling. This is one method that many of you will avoid like the plague. Why? Because when you call prospects that don’t know you or your company, you will likely meet resistance, and who enjoys that! When it comes to cold calling, you are guilty until proven innocent. When prospects receive calls from sales people they don’t know, their initial reaction is to get them off the phone. They aren’t necessarily rejecting your solution; they are rejecting you – and, that’s tough to handle. Their perception is that you are interrupting them to sell something without having a clue about their business, goals, problems or needs. At least that is their perception and we know that perception is reality. To get around their mindset that we are guilty within the first 10 seconds you have to change their perception.

3. Set an intention. When you prospect, your intent counts more than technique. I’m not saying that technique doesn’t matter- it definitely does and my colleague Barry Caponi has the best technique I’ve seen when it comes to cold calling. The key point is that your “intent” is not to make a friend or a sale over the phone. How often have you called a prospect and the first words out of your mouth are “how are you doing today”? You don’t know them well enough to ask that! What if they say something disastrous? You’re not calling to find out about their personal life, you’re trying to get an appointment---period. To get an appointment, you need to quickly convey that you have something they can benefit from. In order to capture their attention you can focus on the following:

Do your homework - show them you have knowledge of their company or industry by citing a key issue or trend.
Align your message by telling the prospect what problems you solve and mention a company in their industry that has been successful with your solution.
Ask thoughtful questions that uncover issues they might be having today. Go beyond the overused, “what keeps you up at night” if you want this conversation to continue. Then listen. Your demonstrated understanding of their answers will increase the likelihood of a face to face meeting.

For you to be successful in prospecting you need to start with the right frame of mind. Get focused and dedicate the time, understand cold-calling and then set a solid intention on behalf of your prospect. The more you focus on their goals, the more likely it is that your solutions will meet their need.

Good selling!

For more information to help you be successful in prospecting, click here.

Stu Schlackman
		About the author:
		Stu has spent over 25 years in sales management, sales and sales training with world class companies like Digital Equipment Corporation, Cap Gemini and EDS. His focus is on “the application” of the skills and techniques he shares. He is the author of Don't Just Stand There, Sell Something and Four People You Should Know. .