Friday, December 26, 2008

Cold Calling Mistakes - 8 Things You Should NOT Do!

By Brian McCoy

1) Purpose Of The Call

Before you even dial the phone, you should have a clear understanding of your call's purpose and what your end goal is. What direction do you want your potential client to head in after the call? If you fail to plan, you won't achieve the goal for your call.

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) Listen To Your Prospect

If you want to know what your prospect is thinking, just listen to them. Make sure that you do not monopolize the conversation. Poor listening skills will lead to failure.

5) Making Your Fears The Prospects'

Although you might think that someone is pushing you off because they are busy at the moment does not mean that they don't want to speak to you. Request a better time to reach them and then call them back at that time.

6) Failing To Ask Enough Questions

There are things that you need to know about your prospect to qualify them, but also make sure to find out about what they want you to know. People love to talk about themselves, their families, and things of interest to them. You will build rapport with them by being interested in what interests them.

7) Be Prepared

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) Ask For It

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. - 16738

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