On Monday I had a great conversation with another sales author & trainer about the stupidity of cold calling and why more modern, Information Age alternatives are somuch better and more effective today.
More specifically, we talked about how much cold calling works against you, instead of working for you. Many salespeople believe the "numbers game" myth taught to them by the ignorant and outdated dinosaurs of selling. Yes, cold calling sure is a "numbers game," but not in the way you think.
Why High Cold Calling Activity Hurts You
Salespeople are typically trained to believe that the more cold calls you make, the more appointments you'll get, and therefore the more sales you'll get.
What they fail to see, however, is the damage cold calling does to any potential sales relationships you might have otherwise had with all the people who said "no" to you - which in a cold calling situation averages anywhere from 95% - 100%.
Salespeople tend to believe that 100 cold calls are better than 50, that 200 are better than 100, and so on.
But on the phone the other day, my friend made an excellent point:
If you make 100 cold calls, all you've "accomplished" was to anger 100 people!
Keep in mind that my friend is not only a sales expert but also a business owner, and the two of us know just how annoying and disruptive cold calls are.
It's really true: Cold calls angers prospects.
A while back, I ordered a ton of boxes of Girl Scout cookies from a Girl Scout & her mom who had set up a table in our office building's lobby.
I was excited to get the cookies, but...
When they were delivered to my office, and I heard someone walking in, my first thought was, "Who the hell is cold calling me now?" My first reaction was to get up with a scowl on my face.
My scowl turned to a smile when I saw that it was my cookies being delivered!
The REAL "Math" of Cold Calling
Not too long ago I wrote a newsletter mocking the traditional, old-school "sales math" that says if X number of cold calls equals X number of appointments, and it takes X number of appointments to get a sale and each sale earns you X in commissions, then each cold call is worth $5 in your pocket.
It's all a BIG LIE! Want proof? If it weren't a BIG LIE, companies would actually pay $5 per cold call - but they don't because they know FULL WELL that cold calling is a waste of time, and a sorry excuse for them to cut corners on their marketing budgets!
THAT is why they won’t put their money where their mouth is.
THAT is why they won’t put their money where their mouth is.
The REAL math of cold calling is that 50 cold calls angers 50 people. 100 cold calls angers 100 people. And on and on.
Want to succeed in sales? Here's an idea:
STOP cold calling and START delivering value instead!
DO NOT continue doing something that aggravates people and will COST you valuable sales with prospects who would've bought from you, had you approached them in a more respectful and intelligent manner.
If you're sick and tired of cold calling, and sick and tired of knowing that you're angering people, losing valuable sales, and making enemies out of potential customers by doing it, then here's an idea: Instead of cold calling, start using fresh, powerful, effective ideas that actually WORK to get hot, qualified prospects in front of you, who are ready to buy right now.
Stop cold calling forever and become a sales rock star by downloading the free 37-page PDF preview of the Never Cold Call Again System.
New York Times best-selling author Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the Never Cold Call Again® System and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page PDF preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit NeverColdCall.com
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