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There are a lot of sales management teams that struggle with the idea of cold calling and may hesitate to adopt this method as part of their sales process. I often get asked whether I think it is viable in the modern world.
To this question I answer, "absolutely, without question." It is just a matter of the manner in which you carry out the cold calls. I think that is really critical to determining whether or not to adopt this process, as you cannot approach all cold calling in the same way. The days of the sales rep cold calling in an old-school kind of way, whether it is heavy-handed, manipulative or high-pressure oriented, don't work in the modern business world.
People usually know the old tricks, but it is also not a way that fosters an honest and open relationship between the rep and the customer.
There are some examples for when it does work, however, and this may include when a rep is going to sell a product or service in their locale. People are going to want to know who you are, so it is important to reach out to someone in this way.
Although social media has had a significant impact on the way that people look for products and services, there is still a need to reach certain businesses via a phone call.
Lawyer's offices, doctor's offices, CPAs, business owners and manufacturing plants are not going to have their purchasing agents looking up on social network sites for companies who have the associated product or service.
As much as we like to think that social media has become so pervasive in our culture that everyone is using it, people who are in charge of businesses are likely very busy and unable to devote time to looking on the internet while they are at work.
Cold calling is not dead, but the old-school methods of communicating with potential customers should not be practiced by salespeople. There are ways that companies can still cold call in an effective manner, like using the system taught by Resolution Systems. This brings lots of research, resources and elements together in order to make that first contact very positive, beneficial to the gatekeeper and helpful for bringing the representative closer to making a sale.
It is still a viable part of the sales process, but the way in which it is done has become more of an issue for both sales management teams and individual representatives.
People are just hesitant when they pick up the phone, especially since sales representatives do not have the best reputation. You have got to know your audience and you need to do a good job without being manipulative. Instead of calling people and treating them with the respect they deserve, some salespeople simply try to coerce the customer into buying something.
Some representatives that go to a lot of in-person, business-to-customer meetings, do not bring a business card due to the fact that it can provide someone with an easy out. They hear the value proposition and then simply ask for the card as a means of getting them out of their office.
Not bringing the business card makes them seriously consider the proposition, and helps to provide an innovative solution to a common problem. If you don't get the sale right then and there, it is not likely to occur at all. This is also the case for cold calling on the phone, as a repeat call is unlikely to garner success.
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